Xiang (湘语/湖南语)

Xiang (Hunanese) is spoken by about 36 million people in China, mainly in Hunan (湖南) province, particularly in the cities of Changsha (长沙), Zhuzhou (株洲), Xiangtan (湘潭), Yiyang (益阳), Loudi (娄底), Hengyang (衡阳) and Shaoyang (邵阳). There are also Xiang speakers in southern Shaanxi (陕西), southern Anhui (安徽), northeast Guangxi (广西), Sichuan (四川) and Guizhou (贵州) provinces.

Some scholars divide Xiang into two distinct varieties: Old Xiang, which is spoken in the southern parts of the Xiang-speaking area, and New Xiang, which can be heard in the northern Xiang-speaking area and has been influenced by Mandarin. Xiang names for these varieties are 娄底话 /siɔ̃⁴⁴ ny⁴²/ or Loudi language for New Xiang and 长沙话 /ɕiæ̃³³ y⁴¹/ or Changsha language for Old Xiang.

Xiang pronunciation (Pinfa romanisation system)

Gan pronunciation (Pinfa romanisation system)

The Pinfa romanization system was developed by Dr C. F. Lau, a.k.a. Liu Zin Fad (劉鎮發) for Hakka, and was later adapted for Xiang and Gan.

There are three main groups of Xiang dialects:

Chángyì sub-group (長益片), which is spoken in Changsha (长沙), Yiyang (益阳) and 29 other cities and counties.
Lóushào sub-group (婁邵片) which is spoken in Loudi (娄底) Shaoyang (邵阳) and 19 other cities and counties.
Jíxù subgroup (吉漵片), which is spoken in Jishou (吉首), Xupu (漵浦) and 6 other cities and counties.

Chinese Translation

of names and phrases