Jōgen

**Jōgen** [丞言; じょうげん] is the Kantonese term for dialect. They can also be known as 丞妻 [*jōban*], 负寡 [*burayame*] or 苒妻 [*honban*]. The main dialects of the Kantonese language fall into five primary groups: northern, southern, central, eastern and western. The various languages spoken on the islands surrounding Kanton form a separate branch of this linguistic family, and are not Kantonese dialects, although they are sometimes referred to as such.

It is estimated that there are over 200 different dialects still spoken in Kanton, although possibly another 150 or so have died out in the last one hundred years. Some dialects may have only a handful of native speakers left [see -- dialect], while others, such as the Zōku variety, have hundreds of thousands.

## History

The existence of regional variants of Kantonese has been confirmed since the dark ages. The Hohonnōkai, the oldest existing collection of Kantonese poetry and prose, includes literature written in dialects of central and northern Kanton. Unfortunately the specific features of ancient dialects have not been recorded, and so it is unknown to what extent modern ones have inherited their features and structure. Only some island dialects, such as Zōhai, still retain the remnants of the oldest traceable vernaculars.

In the late middle ages [the Kenrei Period], regional dialects began to be studied at a basic linguistic level, and even cropped up in poems. In particular the Mikei dialect experienced a period of popularity in the early 1300s, as it was regarded as having 'elegance' and 'refinement' suited for spoken poetry. One particularly illuminating source, written by the scholar Hatsuyama Kanbō in 1416, provides an in-depth look at the dialects of his home province, modern-day Danamure Prefecture. Through his writings we can see that the modern-day vernacular of the prefecture is not dissimilar to what was spoken six hundred years ago.

The de facto Kantonese changed constantly throughout history, but was always connected to how the courtiers and elite spoke in the nation's capital. Even now, standard Kantonese is based on the urban dialect of [capital]. Before the Chisō Period, there was no such thing as standardisation of Kantonese, and it would have been very difficult for people even from neighbouring provinces to understand each other.

With modernisation in the late 19th century, the government began to fully promote the establishment and spread of a standard language. Regional languages and dialects alike were slighted and suppressed, leading speakers to feel a sense of inferiority and shame. The desire to 'fit in' and speak without being ridiculed was exacerbated by strict punishments against those who spoke their own vernaculars. From the 1900s to the 1940s, the push for the replacement of regional dialects with Standard Kantonese reached its peak and became inescapable.

Now, Standard Kantonese has spread throughout the nation, and traditional dialects are in decline. This owes to the effect of television and radio, the education curriculum, expansion of traffic, urban concentration and many other factors. However, regional speech is now often valued as being 'nostalgic', 'cute', 'friendly' and a marker of 'precious local identity', and many dialect speakers have managed to overcome their sense of shame regarding their natural way of speaking. The contact between regional dialects and languages and Standard Kantonese creates new speech forms amongst the newer generations, such as the Zōhai dialect, which is a mix of two different languages.

## Classification

There is a generally accepted approach to classifying Kantonese dialects. Most scholars agree that the mainland dialects can be separated into five groups: northern, southern, eastern, western and central. The coastal dialects are often referred to separately as *saibyō-jōgen*. The central dialects are referred to as *chōma-jōgen*. In more detail, northern dialects are known as *zōku-jōgen*, southern as *kiku-jōgen*, eastern as *shiku-jōgen*, and western as *kanku-jōgen*.

## List of dialects

### Northern dialects [Hon-jōgen]

* Zōhai dialect
* Shinzōku dialect
* Aoma dialect
* Heisai dialect
* Ganyama dialect
* Mikei dialect