What do the /pf/ & /pfʰ/ initials sound like in Central Plains Mandarin? I was flipping through the Xi'an dialect volume of the Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects.
On p. 206 I came across:



and on p. 207 there is:



There is the /pf/ initial and the aspirated consonant /pf‘/.
I'm quite curious to see what these sound like, especially since /pf/ seems like a topolectical equivalent of zh in MSM and /pf‘/ one of ch.
What do the /pf/ &amp; /pfʰ/ initials sound like in Central Plains Mandarin?
I live near Xi'an and I can confirm /pf/ &amp; /pfʰ/ are accurate. It's literally p + f. It's like pronouncing /p/ while having your teeth on the lips for /f/, so when your mouth opens, it's a natural /f/.
edit: I think it should be mentioned this is Xi'an-only. Xi'an dialect belongs to 中原官话关中片 (Central Plains Mandarin in the region of Guanzhong), but other dialects in the same subcategory doesn't have /pf/, let alone the broader category Central Plains Mandarin.