Characteristics of Yancheng dialect

Yancheng is now the largest prefecture-level city in Jiangsu, with the second largest population in the province. The map of Yancheng looks like a gourd ladle, so people sometimes call Yancheng the gourd ladle city. Because the terrain is long and narrow, from the northernmost point to the southernmost point, it is nearly 200 kilometers, so the dialects of cities and counties vary greatly. In the future, everyone will hear from Yancheng people, but they can't understand their speeches. Don't be surprised.

Generally speaking, Yancheng dialect belongs to Jianghuai sub-dialect, but the transition gradient from north to south is relatively large. Xiangshui County in the north is similar to Lianyungang, Funing in Binhai is similar to Huaiyin, Du Yan, Jianhu and Yangzhou, and Dafeng Dongtai is similar to Nantong. Even within a county, the accents vary greatly, such as Sheyang, Funing in the north and Huangjian in the south. Another example is Binhai, and the main irrigation canal in northern Jiangsu flows through its territory. Interestingly, there are differences in accents between the north and the south of the county, such as fish, Yu in the north and Wu in the south. Moreover, in history, many ancestors of Yancheng people migrated from Nagato, Suzhou, and some places have some characteristics of Wu dialect. Many Haimen people immigrated to Yancheng in modern times, including many of my classmates.

Give a vivid example of the differences between the northern and southern dialects in Yancheng, such as the appellation of children. In Xiangshui, the child's name is Xiaoxue, and in Funing, Binhai, it's called Xia Zi. Sheyang changed slightly, called Xiaowazi, or Duckling, while in Yancheng, they were called Bao Xiao, while in Dongtai, the pronunciation was different.