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Wu
Region
Shanghai, Zhejiang, Southeastern Jiangsu, parts of Anhui and Jiangxi provinces
Ethnicity
Wu people
Native speakers
80 million (2007)[1]
Language family
Sino-Tibetan
Sinitic
Wu
Dialects
5-6 major groups. Notable localities include Shanghainese, Suzhounese and Wenzhounese
Writing system
Chinese characters
Latin script
Language codes
ISO 639-3
wuu
Glottolog
wuch1236
Linguasphere
79-AAA-d
[image reference needed]
Wu (traditional Chinese: 吳語; simplified Chinese: 吴语; Wu romanization and IPA:ngu ngei [ŋu²³³.ŋə̰i²¹⁴], wu6 gniu6 [ɦu˩˩˧.n̠ʲy˩˩˧] (Shanghainese), ghou2 gniu6 [ɦou˨˨˦.n̠ʲy˨˧˩] (Suzhounese), Mandarin Wúyǔ [u³⁵y²¹⁴]) is a major group of Sinitic languages spoken primarily in Shanghai, Zhejiang Province, and the part of Jiangsu Province south of the Yangtze River, which makes up the cultural region of Wu. Speakers of various Wu languages sometimes labelled their mother tongue as Shanghainese when introduced to foreigners. The Suzhou dialect was the prestige dialect of Wu as of the 19th century, but had been replaced in status by Shanghainese by the turn of the 20th century. The languages of Northern Wu are mutually intelligible with each other, while those of Southern Wu are not.
Historical linguists view Wu of great significance because it distinguished itself from other varieties of Chinese by preserving the voiced initials of the ancient Middle Chinese and by preserving the checked tone as a glottal stop.[2] The phonological divergence between Wu and other Chinese is significant, for instance, the phrase "Shanghainese language" (上海閒話; 上海闲话) is pronounced as [zɑ̃.he̞ɦe̞.ɦo] in Shanghainese and [ʂaŋ.xaɪ.ɕjɛn.xwa] in Beijing Mandarin. Wu and the Suzhou dialect in particular is perceived as soft in the ears of Mandarin speakers; hence there is the idiom "the tender speech of Wu" (吳儂軟語; 吴侬软语).
The decline of Wu began from around 1986, when students were banned from speaking "uncivilized dialects" during class, a term used by the State Language Commission to refer to all Chinese languages other than Standard Chinese. [citation needed] In 1992, students in Shanghai were banned from speaking Wu at all times on campuses.[3] Since the late 2000s, Wu mostly survived in kitchens and theatres, as a "kitchen language" among the elderly housewives and as a theatrical language in folk Yue opera, Shanghai opera and Pingtan. As of now, Wu has no official status, no legal protection and there is no officially sanctioned romanization.[4]
^Mikael Parkvall, "Världens 100 största språk 2007" (The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007), in Nationalencyklopedin
^Norman (1988), p. 180.
^沈栖 (20 July 2020). "保护传承方言文化刻不容缓". 东方网. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021.
^阙政 (19 November 2012), 第三种语言从娃娃抓起, 新民周刊[Xinmin Weekly], "page 34" (PDF)., "page 35" (PDF).. Reprinted alongside other articles in the same issue as: "媒体呼吁拯救方言:要从孩子做起". 16 November 2012. pp. 1–3. Archived from the original on 20 November 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2021 – via Sina News.
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