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Chinese Dialect Classification
A comparative approach to Harngjou, Old Jintarn, and Common Northern Wu
This volume is an investigation and classification of dialects along the Wu and Jiang-Hwai Mandarin border in China's eastern Yangtze Valley. It is the first monograph-length study to critically question the traditional single criterion of initial voicing for the classification of Wu dialects and propose a comprehensive comparative framework as a more successful alternative. Arguing that dialect affiliation is best determined through analysis of dialect correspondence to common phonological systems, the author develops a taxonomic analysis that definitively distinguishes Common Northern Wu and Mandarin dialects. By clarifying dialect affiliation in the Wu and Mandarin border region, this volume makes significant contributions to our understanding of the true nature of the region's dialects and their history.
Using primarily data drawn from the author's own fieldwork, the volume contains copious comparative examples and an extensive lexicon of the Old Jintarn dialect.
Using primarily data drawn from the author's own fieldwork, the volume contains copious comparative examples and an extensive lexicon of the Old Jintarn dialect.
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 188] 1999. xviii, 317 pp.
Publishing status: Available
Published online on 24 May 2011
Published online on 24 May 2011
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
- Prelim pages | pp. i–iv
- Acknowledgments | pp. v–vi
- Table of contents | pp. vii–viii
- Introduction | pp. ix–xvii
- Map | pp. xviii–18
- Chapter 1: The Problem of Harngjou | pp. 1–27
- 0. Brief background
- 1. The Mandarin nature of Harngjou phonology
- 2. The Mandarin nature of Harngjou lexicon
- 3. Harngjou's Wu-like tendencies
- Chapter 2: Identifying Wu Dialects | pp. 28–49
- 0. The goal
- 1. Some previous definitions of Wu dialect affiliation
- 2. Classifying Wu dialects by reference to a common phonology
- 3. The problems with Chiehyunn based classification
- Chapter 3: Common Northern Wu | pp. 50–82
- 0. Preliminaries
- 1. Common initial categories
- 2. Common tone categories
- 3. Common final categories
- 4. Common distinctions
- 5. Wu characteristics and the common system
- 6. A refurbished set of diagnostic criteria
- 7. A Mandarin-Wu taxonomic key for Jiangsu and Jehjiang
- Chapter 4: Jintarn: The City and its Dialects | pp. 83–101
- 0. Brief background
- 1. The history of Jintarn
- 2. The current dialect situation: Old and New Jintarn
- 3. My Old Jintarn informant
- 4. Old Jintarn phonology
- Chapter 5: Old Jintarn and Danyang: Their Common System and Correlation with Common Northern Wu (CNW) | pp. 102–134
- 0. Preliminaries
- 1. Comparison of their initials
- 2. Comparison of Old Jintarn and Danyang initials to CNW
- 3. Comparison of their finals
- 4. Comparison of Old Jintarn and Danyang finals to CNW
- 5. Danyang and Jintarn tone categories compared
- 6. Comparison of Old Jintarn and Danyang tones to CNW
- 7. Implications of the Jintarn/Danyang reflection of CNW
- Chapter 6: A Demonstration of the Taxonomic Procedure | pp. 135–169
- 0. Introduction
- 1. Check for Mandarin affiliation
- 2. Confirm and characterize Wu affiliation
- 3. Verify affiliation with the Tayhwu group
- 4. Review and evaluation of the results
- Chapter 7: Concluding Observations | pp. 170–181
- 0. Outline of the findings
- 1. Voiced obstruents as a taxonomically insignificant feature
- 2. Comparative characterization in terms of a common system
- 3. A taxonomy for CNW where it borders Mandarin
- 4. The Old Jintarn-Danyang subset of Common Northern Wu
- 5. Looking again at Harngjou and beyond
- | pp. 182–189
- Appendix 1: Informants | p. 190
- Appendix 2: Old Jintarn Syllabary | pp. 191–194
- Appendix 3: Old Jintarn Lexicon | pp. 195–264
- Appendix 4: English to Old Jintarn Glossary | pp. 267–309
- Index | pp. 310–317
Cited by (5)
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Cabras, Giulia
2020. Northwest Mandarin, Standard Chinese, and Tibetan elements in Wutun lexicon. International Journal of Chinese Linguistics 7:1 ► pp. 113 ff.
Simmons, Richard VanNess
2020. Chinese urban language in historical perspective. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 30:1-2 ► pp. 139 ff.
Nikolaev, Dmitry & Eitan Grossman
2018. Areal sound change and the distributional typology of affricate richness in Eurasia. Studies in Language 42:3 ► pp. 562 ff.
Rose, Philip
2016. Review of Jingwei (): A Sociophonetic Study on Tonal Variation of the Wúxī and Shànghăi Dialects. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 26:1 ► pp. 161 ff.
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