Differences From The Zhangzhou Dialect
Although Penang Hokkien is obviously based on the Zhangzhou dialect, there are some obvious differences, which in many cases result from the influence of other Minnan dialects, e.g.:
- The lower "Entering" (8th) tone in Penang, which is pronounced high (4) as in Amoy and many other parts of Fujian, whereas in most Zhangzhou dialects it is low with a slight lilt (12);
- The use of -u in some words such as 汝 lú, 豬 tu, 魚 hû, etc., where Zhangzhou has lí, ti and hî. This is a characteristic of dialects in other parts of Zhangzhou and Xiamen prefectures.
- The use of -iauⁿ instead of the Zhangzhou -iơⁿ, e.g. 羊 iaûⁿ, 丈 tiaūⁿ, 想 siaūⁿ;
- The adoption of pronunciations from Teochew: e.g. 我 wá (Zhangzhou: góa), 我儂 uang, 汝儂 luang, 伊儂 iang (Zhangzhou and Amoy: 阮 gún / góan, 恁 lín, in)
- The adoption of Amoy and Quanzhou pronunciations like 否勢 pháiⁿ-sè (Zhangzhou: bái / pháiⁿ-sì), 百 pȧh (Zhangzhou: pε̇h), etc.
- The use of unique variants such as 何物 (甚麼/甚物) háⁿ-mıˈh (Longhai: áⁿ-mıˈh; Zhangzhou: sáⁿ-mıˈh or siáⁿ-mıˈh).
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