An Examination Of The Rules Of Phonetic Changes In Chinese Dialects As Seen Through Phonetic Changes In Dianjiang Dialect Over The Last 50 Years

This study examines phonetic changes in Dianjiang dialect over 50 years since The Investigation of Dianjiang Dialect was reported in 1957 by Zhang Zhongxun and Tao Longxu from Southwest Normal University. Investigation of phonetic changes is conducted at both a current level and a chronological level, and rules of phonetic changes are discussed.The outline of the thesis is the preface and three chapters as follows:In the preface is introduced the rational of conducting this study, demographic descriptions of Dianjiang county, descriptions of Dianjiang dialect, and main contents.Chapter One discusses how the survey of Dianjiang dialect was conducted, including survey items, survey participants and survey methodology.Chapter Two features a comparison of survey data performed at both a concurrent level and a chronological level. First, the comparison of phonetic systems is conducted. It includes the comparisons (A) between today's Dianjiang dialect and the Dianjiang dialect of 50 years ago in terms of phonetic systems, (B) among phonetic variations in concurrent Dianjiang dialect, present in people from different social classes. Second, a comparison of pronunciations of specific characters is made(A) between today's Dianjiang dialect and the Dianjiang dialect of 50 years ago and(B) among people from different social classes concurrently.In chapter three the analyses based on the comparisons are presented, and the means of change and the rules of change are summarized.Chapter Four addresses the patterns and characteristics of current phonetic variations in contemporary/modern Chinese dialects. Based on the analysis of variations occurring in Dianjiang dialect, the cause of current phonetic variations in contemporary Chinese dialects and the means of the variations as well as the characteristics are further discussed.