A Study On The Synchronic Differences And Historical Evolution Of WuXi Dialect Phonetic

Beginning with Zhao, Yuanren, scholars have used modern linguistic theory and methodology to study and analyze Wuxi dialect Phonetic, leaving behind much valuable documentation. This article combines contemporary study on Wuxi dialect Phonetic with the author's own research findings in an attempt to analyze Wuxi's speech evolution through the past 80 years.With a brief geography and dialect overview, chapters 1 and 2 categorize urrent Wuxi spoken language into an old and a new style. By analyzing four aspects of speech ---- consonant, vowel, tone and inflection through merging, pronunciation differences between the two contemporaneous styles are compared. In chapter 3, descriptive writings of Wuxi's spoken language from different eras are combined with the author's research results, giving a historical view of the dialect evolution through the past 80 years. Chapter 4 employs social-linguistic theory in an attempt to explain the changes of Wuxi dialect. The use of contemporaneous contrast and historical comparison provides a basis for presenting a historical view of Wuxi dialect. At the same time it augments the reliable materials for Wu-Language study.