South Call Lexical Study

The Nan tong dialect is situated between the Mandarin dialect and the Wu dialect. Four small dialects areas of Nantong also belong to these two big areas where dialect is spoken, and displays obvious particularity, but the transition nature of the Nantong dialect is most obvious.In the foundation of describing Nantong's history, geography, population and languish, this article has promulgated the partial morphology characteristic of the Nantong dialect.Firstly, in comparison with standard spoken Chinese morphology, 1 has discoved that the Nan tong dialect has the bright regional characteristic; although it is mostly the same as that of morphology of standard spoken Chinese except for minor differences. Secondly, comparisons with ancient Nan tong dialect, the present Nan tong dialect makes we to see the overall developing tendency of the Nan tong dialect.Finally, comparisons with morphology of the Wu dialect which was close to with the south, and of the north neighbouring Mandarin dialect have been done, I has discovered that the Nan tong dialect not only has the morphology characteristic of the Mandarin dialect, but also has the morphology characteristic of the Wu dialect, and it has more ingredients of the mandarin dialect than that of the Wu dialect.This article draw conclusions that: 1. With tremendous influence on the morphology of dialect, activities of politics, economy, military hastens the dialect morphology to produce the homogeneity, and to causes the changeability. 2. The morphology of the Nan tong dialect not only has the essential feature of standard spoken Chinese morphology, but also has the particulary characteristic. 3. In morphology of the Nan tong dialect, The Nan tong dialect not only has characteristic of the retention of the ancient Chinese, but also has characteristic of participations of the standard spoken Chinese and the peripheral dialect. 4. The Nan tong dialect which lies between the mandarin dialect and the Wu dialect, truly has the transitional characteristic.This article adopts the methods of both description and comparison.