and marked as in Cantonese, though it is distinct enough. There would seem to be some difference between some of the third rising tone words in Höng Shán: at all events this is noticeable in comparing the two words 來 lóí and 吃 yák in this third rising tone; the latter is much shorter in duration of sound than the former, and it also rises from a lower level—in fact it even at its close does not reach the level from which the former starts. This may also be noticed in Cantonese with regard to 嚟 ꜂laí and 吃 ꜂yák. The emphatic elongation and and consequently longer rise of this tone is an interesting feature very noticeable in Cantonese. It is higher in its inception than the Cantonese ordinary 上上 shöng shöng, upper rising tone, but appears to be of the same duration of sound.
The 中入, chung yap, middle entering tone, is between the Cantonese 上入 shöng yap, upper entering tone, and the Cantonese 中入, chung yap, being midway or about that between the two. It is shorter in duration than the Cantonese 中入 chung yap. It does not always follow that because a word is in the 中入 chung yap in Cantonese that it is in the 中入 chung yap in the Höng Shán dialect; lect; for instance 隻 chek꜆ is shöng yap in the Höng Shán instead of being a 中入 chung yap, and so in 捉 chuk꜆ 𡰪 tuk꜆ 壆 pok꜆ 駁 pok꜆ 𣐝 láp꜆, while 責 tsák꜆ and 鼈 pít꜇ are both in the 下入 há yap, lower entering tone, instead of being in the 中入 chung yap.
It will thus be seen from the above, that these extra tones in the Höng Shán dialect do not appear to be as fully developed as in the Cantonese—their use is not so extended as in the provincial city. It would appear very much as if the Höng Shán people were following, or had followed the Cantonese in their use of the three extra tones, but had not yet reached the extent to which the Cantonese have gone. It is impossible to say at present whether this supposition is only a plausible surmise or whether it is the real explanation of the case. It is reasonable to suppose that, even if they were all advancing originally together, the metropolis of the province would be more progressive than the country districts.
After this account of the tones it can readily be understood that the speech of the Höng Shán native at once betrayeth him, for he can scarcely open his lips before the lower tones into which he throws many words at once point him out; but besides this feature of lower tones, there are many other peculiarities which differentiate him in the matter of speech from his fellow-countrymen:—his peculiar use of 個 ko for this, the substitution of the duller sound of a before ng and k instead of retaining the sharp crisp i; and his other dialectic usages, some of which have been already pointed out, all proclaim him at once to hail from the 'fragrant hills' of the Macao district. Not least amongst these peculiarities are his constant use of different words—some new to the Cantonese and some used in a different manner and some used in a different sense to the Cantonese.—We now propose to give some illustrations of the different use of words—new and otherwise; but, before leaving the tones and doing so, we would just remark that the dialect of the San On district is somewhat similar to the Höng Shán in some respects, as regards the tones, but still there is a great difference and there is no danger of not being able to clearly distinguish men from each district. There is also a slight resemblance in the Tung Kwún dialect in some very few particulars as regards the tones. But otherwise the Höng Shán dialect appears to have very close affinities with the dialects of other districts, though, of course, it is possible that more extended study of the different dialects on the sea-girt coast of this province might bring to light more similarities.
As far as the writer has been able to discover, a solitary instance is found in the Höng Shán dialect in which it differs from the Cantonese in dropping the final in the
