A Study On The Phonology Of Dingbu Dialect

Located at the junction of the provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu,Dingbu is a small village under the jurisdiction of the town of Meizhu,Langxi,Anhui Province.According to "Chinese Language Atlas",Dingbu Dialect belongs to Pi Ling zone,Wuyu Taihu zone.Through fieldwork,the author detailedly sorted out the phonology of Dingbu Dialect and its homonyms.On the basis of this,the author compared Dingbu Dialect both diachronically and synchronically,summarized the voice features of Dingbu Dialect,and therefore revealed the evolution of Dingbu Dialect as well as its relations with neighboring dialects.The thesis is divided into six chapters:Chapter One: Introduction.It introduced the geography,history,dialect and other information of Dingbu Dialect.Secondly,it introduced the present research status of Dingbu Dialect and Wuyu Taihu zone.And finally it explained the significance of this topic,sources of language materials and research methods.Chapter Two: Phonlogy of Dingbu Dialect.It detailedly described the voice systems of Dingbu Dialect,including initials finals and tones,homophony syllabary and the table of the relations between initials and finals.Chapter Three: Comparison of Dingbu Dialect with ancient Chinese Phonology.It listed the comparisons of Dingbu Dialect and ancient Chinese Phonology and summarized the main phonetic features of Dingbu Dialect.Chapter Four: Comparison of Dingbu Dialect with neighboring dialects.From initials,finals and tones,it compared Dingbu Dialect with Wuyu dialect as well as Jianghuai Mandarin,revealing the similarities and differences between Dingbu Dialect and neighboring dialects.Chapter Five: Changes of Dingbu Dialect occurred during nearly three decades.It explored the self-evolution of Dingbu Dialect during nearly three decades according to "Langxi County" published in the eighties,which had recorded the phonology of Dingbu Dialect.Chapter Six: Thematic studies on the evolution of Dingbu Dialect.This chapter discussed the evolution and evolvement rules of voiced initials,entering tone words as well as the weakening and loss issues of nasal endings.