Nantong - Dialect

Dialect

Nantong city and its 6 counties (or county-level cities) are rich in its diversity of languages, featuring both important Northern Wu varieties and highly divergent dialects of Mandarin (see Nantong dialect). People in the city of Nantong speak a unique dialect which sounds nothing like standard Mandarin or any other dialects, and it is also distinctively different from any surrounding dialects. About 2 million people in southern parts of Tongzhou, Haimen and Qidong speak the Wu dialect, which is often referred to as "Qi-hai Hua" (启海话), meaning Qidong-Haimen speech. It is about the same as the dialect spoken on the island of Chongming, which is a part of Shanghai city. People in northern parts of these counties speak "Tongdong Hua" (tōngdōnghuà 通东话), meaning Eastern Tong Talk. People in Rugao, Hai'an speak other dialects.

Some people believe criminals who were living in Mongolia or Tibet moved to Nantong when the land was first formed hundreds years ago. Hence it is said that a small group in Mongolia or Tibet speak the same dialect as people in the city of Nantong do.