A Study On The Phonological Evolution Of Kaifeng Dialect In Past 100 Years

Kaifeng lies in mid-east in Henan Province,before 1954 it had been the capital,political,economic,and cultural center of the province,so Kaifeng dialect is always an important respresentative of Mandarin dialect.This essay focuses on the phonological evolution of Kaifeng dialect in the past 100 years.which is very nice to help to study the historical change and futural development,adding the Kaifeng dialect's dynamic research.Karlgren Bernharnd is the first person to investigate Kaifeng dialect with the modern phonetics.In his famous book Etudes sur la Phonologie Chinoise he recorded the initials and finals of more than 3000 characters,which saved the phonology in Kaifeng dialect of the early 20th century.On that base,the author collected the phonology of Kaifeng dialect near the early 21th century,to comprise with Mr.Karlgren's findings.To compare with the phonology in the past 100 years, Kaifeng dialect's sound system has simplified step by step,nearing the mandarin.For one hundred years,the initials changed a little,between some of the finals evolved respectively,some jianyins had disappeared in Kaifeng dialect. In Kaifeng dialect although some characteristics didn't exist,its basic phonological system remain stable.As an important dialect in the central plains, Kaifeng dialect still has a strong influence on the near sound systems.