Meixian dialect
dialect of Hakka Chinese
The Meixian dialect (Chinese: 梅縣話; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Mòi-yan-fa; IPA: [moi˩ jan˥ fa˥˧]), also known as Moiyan dialect, as well as Meizhou dialect (梅州話), or Jiaying dialect and Gayin dialect, Kayin dialect is the prestige dialect of Hakka Chinese. It is named after Meixian District, Meizhou, Guangdong. Sixian dialect (in Taiwan) is very similar to Meixian dialect.
Phonology
Source:
Initials
There are two series of stops and affricates in Hakka, both voiceless: tenuis /p t ts k/ and aspirated /pʰ tʰ tsʰ kʰ/.
* When the initials /k/ ⟨g⟩, /kʰ/ ⟨k⟩, /h/ ⟨h⟩, and /ŋ/ ⟨ng⟩ are followed by a palatal medial /j/ ⟨i⟩, they become [c̟]/[c] ⟨g(i)⟩, [c̟ʰ]/[cʰ] ⟨k(i)⟩, [ç] ⟨h(i)⟩, and [ɲ̟]/[ɲ] ⟨ng(i)⟩, respectively.
Rimes
Moiyan Hakka has seven vowels, /ɹ̩/, /i/, /e/, /a/, /ə/, /ɔ/ and /u/, that are romanised as ii, i, ê, a, e, o and u, respectively.
Finals
Moreover, Hakka finals exhibit the final consonants found in Middle Chinese, namely [m, n, ŋ, p, t, k] which are romanised as m, n, ng, b, d, and g respectively in the official Moiyan romanisation.
Tone
Moiyan Hakka has six tones. The Middle Chinese fully voiced initial syllables became aspirated voiceless initial syllable in Hakka. Before that happened, the four Middle Chinese 'tones', ping, shang, qu, ru, underwent a voicing split in the case of ping and ru, giving the dialect six tones in traditional accounts.
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