A Phonological Study Of Gan Dialect In Hunan Province

Based on Language Atlas of China. Gan dailect in Hunan province distributs in 14 cities of east Hunan and 3 cities of southwest Hunan. As to the whole Phonological visage of Gan dialect in Hunan province, it is still short of thorough and penetrating study, this dissertation would try to fill up this blankness.In the way of using the two basic study methods: fieldwork and comparision, this paper describes the Phonological visage of Gan dialect in Hunan from the following three aspects such as onset, rime and tone. The study indicates that: on one hand, it is very identical. in the inner of Gan dialect in Hunan, such as the 18 character generalized in this paper; on the other hand, it has obvious differences, based on these differences, we can plot out Gan dialect in Hunan into 4 subgroups :Yue-Li group, You-yan group, Lei-dong group and Yong-zi group. Comparing the Phonological inside and outside, the paper has discussed the adscription of some dialects in Hunan, and considers that, the Huarong dialect in Yue-Li group belongs to the Southwest Mandarin, which holds two posts concurrently of Gan dialect and local character; and the Yongxing dialect in Yong-zi group is a mixed dialect which mixes Gan dialect' s character; and the Zixing dialect is a Hakka, which retains its local character. And then, the paper traces the forming process of Gan dialect in Hunan, and considers that, the historical vast immigrants from Jiangxi province is the main factor to form Gan dialect and regional difference in Hunan, and the contact between dialects or languages is another factor to cause the regional difference. In the end, the paper indicates that, Gan dialect and Xiang dialect are closely related beforet the Tang and Song dynasty, and the differences expressed nowadays are the result of being influenced by the other dialects or languages.