Soeinam Language

Soeinam language (or Soeinam Chinese, Soeinam, Mandarin: 綏南話, Soeinam: 綏南語, IPA: [sœi˥ nam˨˩ ŋiɔ˨]) is a tonal language derived from Middle Chinese.

Classification and Dialects


Initials
After going some changes, such as retroflex stops merge with retroflex sibiliants and some other changes:
 * /ɳ/ merged with /ɲ/. (娘母歸日)
 * Voiced labials become implosive.
 * Most voiced stops and affricatives become whether tenius (for level and entering) or nasal (rising or departing). (全濁清化)
 * Voiced dental sibilants all become voiced fricatives. (從母歸邪)
 * Voiced velars all become nasals. (群母歸疑)
 * New sound /p̪͡f/ (沛母) has been isolated from /pʰ/ when it's high rising tone (陰去) and entering tone (入聲).

Finals
A final of Project 9 contains medial, coda, and onset. Some finals of words in Middle Chinese has change (most of them lose their medials) and here's some rule:

Tone and Tone Sandhi


There are at total 8 tones in Soeinam. There is no such a clear rule that one could know the contour of the tone by its name. The tone contour has changed since Soeinam was isolated from (Late) Middle Chinese. Here are the comparison of tones: Soeinam has the voicing distinction like Taiwanese and Contonese do. All "dark" tones (whose initials are voiceless) in Soeinam receive high-starting tones (high, high rising, high falling, high), whereas those "light" tones receive low-starting tones (low falling, low, low rising, mid). Mandarin, which has the "simplified" version of tone system, has no such feature.

Soeinam has a complex tone sandhi system, though it's being simplified these days. In "traditional" Soeinam, there are "two circles" in this system shown right. There are two major rules: In varnecular usage (most Northern dialects), light tones seldom change. This is probably due to the infuence of Mandarin.
 * 1) Every character except for the last one in one word must change their tone. 少女 sjau3 njo6 [ɕau˥ ɲɔ˨]. Implied by black arrow in the diagram.
 * 2) The finals of checked tones are reserved only when they appear in front of another checked one. 綠玉 lok8 ngok8 [lok̚˥ ŋɔk̚˧]. Implied by blue arrow in the diagram. This rule doesn't apply to those -h finals.

Some comparisons
我寫我口維

nga6 sia2 nga6 khau2 ue2 (I write what I say.)(我寫我說的)

少女手掬澈玉，自徑往重林行去

sjau3 njo6 sju2 kut4 chet4 ngok8 tsi7 king3 ong6 tsrong5 lim5 gang5 kiu3 (The girl holdsa clear pearl, going to the heavy woods alone.)(少女手捧著清澈的寶珠，獨自往森林裡走去)