A Study Of Guiyang Dialect In Late Qing Dynasty

Southwest Mandarin,spaning nine provinces(including an autonomous region and a special municipality),covering a population of 270 million,is a dialect that most widely distributed and used by the largest population in modern Chinese.Guizhou is located at the crossroads of Southwest Mandarin,therefore,the research of entire Southwest Mandarin could not be separated from Guizhou,the center.Guiyang has been the center of Guizhou for more than 600 years,and Guiyang dialect has always been a representative of Guizhou dialect,so the research of Guiyang dialect is particularly important.However,for a long time,due to the lack of historical records,the research of Guiyang dialect mostly stays on the level of synchronic description,and the diachronic research is almost untouched.Based on the Chinese literature written by Paul P.Hubert,a French missionary in Guiyang in late Qing Dynasty,the article describes Guiyang dialect of late Qing Dynasty in terms of phonetics,vocabulary,grammar,and pragmatics,and makes necessary comparisons.The focus of the discussion is on the development and changes of Guiyang dialect during more than 100 years.The article is divided into 6 chapters.Chapter 1 first briefly introduces the general situation from Mandarin to Guiyang dialect.Then introduces the current research situation related to this article,the research significance,materials,methods,etc.and argues that the language recorded by Paul P.Hubert was Guiyang dialect at that time.Chapter 2 discusses Phonology.Summarizes the phonetic system and changes recorded in the literature,comparing the phonetic system with South and North Mandarin recorded in the same period,and discusses the similarities and differences between them.Compares the phonetic system with the present one of Guiyang dialect and explores the phonological evolution over more than 100 years.Chapter 3 discusses vocabulary.Sums up the characteristics of the dialect vocabulary extracted,and conducts a diachronic comparison.The common words and idioms of the dialect are also researched.Chapter 4 discusses grammar.The method of word formation is discussed,with its emphasis on the synonymous different-order words.Usage of several dialect words,some syntactic structures and interrogative sentences are also includes.Chapter 5 discusses pragmatics.In a broad perspective of the dialect,analyzes the conversation of Paul P.Hubert' s literature.Discusses the appellation,the communicative language,and the difference between cultured and common forms of the dialect in communication.Chapter 6 emphasizes the academic value of the literature.Argues that the literature is valuable in the research of history of the dialect and even Chinese language,valuable in the research of Chinese contact,and in the compilation of teaching materials for foreigners.The historical limitations of the literature are also pointed out.Finally,the conclusions of this paper are summarized.