Hoof Township, Ankang City, Gan Language Dialect Island Voice

Niu ti County belongs to Shi Zhuan district which again belongs to the Han Bin district of Ankang. Located in the foot of the Feng Huang Mountain in the southwest of Han Bin district, it has a total area of 46.8 kms and a population of 7729. The majority of its citizens are descendants of hu-guang immigrants from Fu jian, Guang dong, Jiang xi and Zhe jiang province at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty. The Gan dialectal island in Niu ti County of Ankang is one of the two dialectal islands of Shaanxi province in Chinese Language Map Collection. With regard to phonological features, the Gan dialectal island in Niu ti County is a conscequence of immigration at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty; with regard to administrative division, Niu ti County belongs to the Han Bin district of Ankang. According to Chinese Language Map Collection, this region belongs to Zhong yuan official district . With regard to geographic location, Niu ti County is adjacent to Han bin District and Zi yang District, both of which belongs to southwest official district. Therefore, no matter from the perspective of language contact and integration, or the perspective of the formation and development of dialectal island, the Gan dialectal island in Niu ti County is worth studying.Researches in dialects in Shaan nan (the south of Shaanxi province) is a focus nowadays. These dialects are tremendously rich and complex, and the division of dialectal regions in this area is controversial. In order to solve this problem, a penetrating investigation must be carried out. Owing to its unique immigration background and complex geographical environment, the current situation of Shaan nan is different phonology between urban and rural areas, and even between different counties. So the investigation must be specified to units such as counties. As far as Shaan nan dialects are concerned, there have been many reports, but most of them are limited to general description of Shaan nan dialects and the investigation of Niu ti Gan dialectal island is still in blank. Therefore, the results of the present study can provide material for a deeper understanding of Shaan nan dialects.This paper investigates and reports the phonological features of Niu ti Gan dialectal island and analyzes some of its important features. By using both synchronic and diachronic investigation, it tries to find the similarities and differences in phonology between this island and adjacent islands in hopes that geographic features of phonology can be identified. This paper further explores specific methods and results of language contact and intergration.Comparative investigations reveal that Gan dialect in Niu ti County retains the main features of Gan dialect in Huai Hua district while sharing some features with Jiang Huai official dialect. The major effects of Zhong Yuan, Southwest and Official dialects on Niu ti Gan dialect are reflected in intonation and ?. To sum up, Niu ti Gan dialect is influenced greatly by Jiang Huai official dialect, less by Southwest and Official dialects and least by Zhong Yuan dialect.