Study Of The Diminutive Of Aboriginal Chinese Dialects Of Northern Guangdong

As dialects of still unknown affinity, Aboriginal Chinese dialects of Northern Guangdong (Yuebei Tuhua, YBTH) is a language treasure trove to be exploited further. There are three kinds of diminutives in form in YBTH, i.e. one is tonal, one is the rime with middle-glottal stop and tonal, the other is the rime with final-glottal stop and tonal. By studying comprehensively the distribution, formal characteristics and function of the diminutive of YBTH, the dissertation shows the basic features of the diminutive of YBTH and analyses objectively internal relations and development skeleton of the three kinds of diminutives in YBTH.