New Xiang
New Xiang, also known as Chang-Yi (长益片 / 長益片) is the dominant form of Xiang Chinese. It is spoken in northeastern areas of Hunan adjacent to areas where Southwestern Mandarin and Gan are spoken. Under their influence, it has lost some of the conservative phonological characteristics that distinguish Old Xiang. While most linguists follow Yuan Jiahua in describing New Xiang as a subgroup of Xiang Chinese,[2] Zhou Zhenhe and You Rujie classify it as Southwestern Mandarin.[3][4] However, New Xiang is still very difficult for Mandarin speakers to understand, particularly the old style of New Xiang.
Dialects and Regions
New Xiang-speaking cities and counties are mainly located in the northeast part of Hunan, the lower river of Xiang and Zi. Changsha is representative.
There are three main subdialects under New Xiang.
Subdialect |
Main Counties |
Chang-Tan |
Urban Changsha, Changsha County, Wangcheng, Ningxiang, Liuyang*, Xiangyin, Miluo, Nanxian, Urban Zhuzhou, Zhuzhou County, Urban Xiangtan, Xiangtan County, Nanxian |
Yi-Yuan |
Urban Yiyang, Yuanjiang, Taojiang |
Yueyang |
Yueyang County, Yueyang |
References
- ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Changyi". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
- ↑ Norman, Jerry (1988). Chinese. Cambridge University Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-521-29653-3.
- ↑ Zhou, Zhenhe; You, Rujie (1986). Fāngyán yǔ zhōngguó wénhuà 方言与中国文化 [Dialects and Chinese culture]. Shanghai Renmin Chubanshe.
- ↑ Kurpaska, Maria (2010). Chinese Language(s): A Look Through the Prism of "The Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects". Walter de Gruyter. p. 55. ISBN 978-3-11-021914-2.