Guanzhong dialect

''Note: The following is a description of the lect of urban Xi'an, and should not be used as a generalization of all of Guanzhong.'' Like other Mandarin dialects, Xi'anese is tonal has a strict CGVN syllable structure. The following is an outline of phonemes as seen in the speech of younger speakers, with romanization adapted from Hanyu Pinyin. Initials Older speakers may also have a pair of labiodental affricates . Finals Some older speakers may have an irregular rime for some words with the (e) final. Erhua Erhua in Xi'an's local variety is rhotic. All rimes have the potential to undergo erhua aside from er and . Note that, as per Sinological IPA, refers to an approximant . Tones The speech of Xi'an has four tones and one neutral tone. It also has tone sandhi system. Like many other Northern Mandarin varieties, the variety lacks a checked tone, and instead distributes it regularly in its other tone categories. Right-prominent sandhi Two syllables with dark level tones spoken in succession results in the prior's tone mutating into 24 /˨˦/. Two syllables with rising tones spoken in succession or a rising tone followed by a neutral tone results in the prior's tone mutating into 21 /˨˩/. Erhua sandhi A departing tone that has an erhua suffix is realised as 53 /˥˧/. Certain tones, in syllables that are reduplicated and with erhua applied, undergo sandhi on the second syllable. The dark level and rising tones both is realised as 24 /˨˦/ and the departing tone becomes 53 /˥˧/. == Internal differences ==

''Note: The following is a description of the lect of urban Xi'an, and is largely irrelevant to other lect areas.'' The speech in all districts of Xi'an except for Yanliang is often considered part of Xi'an's urban variety. This lect, like other Sinitic languages, shows differences between urban and suburban dialects. Generational differences are also present. Regional differences The varieties in suburban parts of Xi'an have certain phonological differences to that of the urban center. The urban alveolar plosives , when followed by , palatalize in some parts of Baqiao District. In Dizhai, the labiodental affricates are realised as . In many parts of suburban Xi'an, the vowel breaks into after labiodental fricatives . Generational differences The speech of the youth shows clear influence from Standard Mandarin. The two most noticeable differences are as follows: Young people's speech merges the labiodental initials with the retroflex series in certain situations. Young people's speech breaks the vowel after labiodental fricatives . Religious differences The Muslim Hui people differ from the speech of the Han Chinese primarily in terms of vocabulary. These differences can be seen in, for instance, familial terms and terminology from the Qur'an. ==See also==