Xiang Chinese
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Xiang Chinese test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator |
| Xiang | |
|---|---|
| Hunanese 湘語/湘语 |
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 Shiāen'ỳ (Xiang) written in Chinese characters |
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| Spoken in | China |
| Region | Central and southwestern Hunan, Sichuan, and northern Guangxi |
| Ethnicity | Hunanese people (Han Chinese) |
| Native speakers | 36 million (1984) (no recent data available) |
| Language family | |
| Dialects | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | hsn |
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| Xiang Chinese | |||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 湘語 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 湘语 | ||||||||||
| Xiang | Shiāen'ỳ | ||||||||||
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| Commonly known as | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 湖南話 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 湖南话 | ||||||||||
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Xiāng (Hsiang, simplified Chinese: 湘语; traditional Chinese: 湘語), also known as Hunanese (Chinese: 湖南话), is a Chinese language spoken mainly in Hunan province, but also in Sichuan and Guangxi provinces. Scholars divide it into Old Xiāng and New Xiāng. Old Xiāng dialects are of immense interest to Chinese dialectologists and historical phonologists because they, along with dialects of Wu Chinese, still exhibit the three-way distinction of Middle Chinese obstruents, preserving the voiced stops, fricatives and affricates. However, Xiāng has been heavily influenced by Mandarin, which adjoins three of the four sides of the Xiāng speaking territory. New Xiāng, which has lost the voiced obstruents, is to a certain extent intelligible to speakers of Southwestern Mandarin.
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[edit] Classification
According to Norman (1988), Xiāng belongs to the central group of Chinese.[1]
Moser (1985) said that Xiang used to be part of a broad band of Chinese languages grouped with Wannan and Gan.[2]
[edit] Geographic distribution
Xiāng is spoken by over 36 million people in China, primarily in the central and southwestern parts of the Hunan province, in about 20 counties of Sichuan province, the four counties of Quánzhōu (全州), Guànyáng (灌陽), Zīyuán (資源) and Xīngān (興安) in northern Guangxi province, and parts of Guangdong province. It is abutted by Mandarin speaking areas to the north, west and south, and by Gàn in the eastern parts of Hunan and Jiangxi. Xiāng is also in contact with the Tujia and Hmong languages in the northwest.
[edit] Dialects
New Xiang is orange, Old Xiang yellow, and Chen-Xu Xiang red.
Non-Xiang languages are (clockwise from top right) Gan (purple), Kejia (pink along the right), Hunan Tuhua (dark green), Southwestern Mandarin (dark green, light blue, medium blue, light green on the left), and Waxianghua (dark blue)
As mentioned above, linguists distinguish two subdivisions of Xiāng, namely the Old Xiāng and New Xiāng. Old Xiāng, the variety less influenced by Mandarin, is spoken to the south and New Xiāng to the north.
According to Bao & Chen (2005), three main dialect groups have been identified, amongst other unclassified dialects:
- Chángyì sub-group (長益片) including 32 cities and counties (orange)
- Chángshā city (長沙市), Chángshā (長沙), Xiāngtán city (湘潭市), Xiāngtán (湘潭), Zhūzhōu city (株州市), Zhūzhōu (株州), Píngjiāng (平江), Liúyáng (瀏陽), Níngxiāng (寧鄉), Wàngchéng (望城), Xiāngyīn (湘陰), Yìyáng city (益陽市), Yìyáng (益陽), Táojiāng (桃江), Yuánjiāng (沅江), Mìluó (汨羅), Yuèyáng city (岳陽市), Yuèyáng (岳陽), Nánxiàn (南縣), Ānxiāng (安鄉), Ānhuà (安化), Héngyáng (衡陽市), Héngyángyáng (衡陽陽), Héngnán (衡南), Héngdōng (衡東), Héngshān (衡山), Shàodōng (邵東), Xīnshào (新邵), Qiányáng (黔陽), Hóngjiāng city (洪江市), Huìtóng (會同), Suíníng (綏寧)
- Lóushào sub-group (婁邵片) including 21 cities and counties (yellow)
- Hunan province(湖南省): Lóudǐ city (婁底市), Xiāngxiāng (湘鄉), Shuāngfēng (雙峰), Liányuán (漣源), Lěngshuǐjiāng city (冷水江市), Xīnhuà (新化), Ānhuà (安化), Shàoyáng city (邵陽市), Shàoyáng (邵陽), Dòngkǒu (洞口), Lōnghuí (隆回), Wǔgāng (武岡), Qídōng (祁東), Qíyáng (祁陽), Chéngbù (城步), Xīnníng (新寧) and Máyáng (麻陽).
- Guangxi province (廣西省): Quánzhōu (全州), Guànyáng (灌陽), Zīyuán (資源) and Xīng'ān (興安)
- Jíxù subgroup (吉漵片) including 8 cities and counties (red)
- Jíshǒu (吉首), Bǎojìng (保靖), Huāyuán (花垣), Gǔzhàng (古丈), Lúqī (瀘溪), Chénxī(辰溪), Xùpǔ (漵浦), Yuánlíng (沅陵)
[edit] See also
[edit] Books about Xiang
- Yunji Wu (2005). A synchronic and diachronic study of the grammar of the Chinese Xiang dialects. Volume 162 of Trends in linguistics: Studies and monographs Volume 162 of Trends in Linguistics Series. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 458. ISBN 3110183668. http://books.google.com/books?id=rPtwPsHbvOYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved February 29 2012.
[edit] References
- ^ Norman 1988, §8.1
- ^ Original from the University of Michigan Digitized Sep 9, 2008Leo J. Moser (1985). The Chinese mosaic: the peoples and provinces of China (illustrated ed.). Westview Press. p. 113. ISBN 0865310858. http://books.google.com/books?ei=hqxNT7n2Fcio0AHWh4jBAg&id=VwZxAAAAMAAJ&dq=Those+Wannan+who+went+north+on+business%2C+however%2C+did+learn+Mandarin.+Historically+speaking%2C+the+Wannan%2C+Gan%2C+and+Xiang+sublanguages+appear+to+represent+the+remnants+of+a+once+much+wider+east-to-west+linguistic+belt+that+stretched+along&q=historically+speaking+gan+xiang+sublanguages+remnants+belt. Retrieved February 29 2012. "Instead of northern Chinese, the outreach dialect learned by the Wannan people was usually a prestigious dialect of Wu, such as that spoken in Hangzhou, Suzhou, or (later) Shanghai. Those Wannan who went north on business, however, did learn Mandarin. Historically speaking, the Wannan, Gan, and Xiang sublanguages appear to represent the remnants of a once much wider east-to-west linguistic belt that stretched along"
[edit] Bibliography
- Bào, hòuxīng & Chén, huī. (2005). "Xiāngyǔ de fēnqū" (The divisions of Xiang languages). Fāngyán: 261-270. (鮑厚星, 陳暉. 2005. "湘語的分區".方言: 261-270)
- Norman, Jerry. [1988] (2002). Chinese. Cambridge, England: CUP ISBN 0-521-29653-6
- Wu, Yunji. (2005). A Synchronic and diachronic study of the grammar of the Chinese Xiang dialects. Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 3-11-018366-8
- Yuán, jiāhuá (1989). Hànyǔ fāngyán gàiyào [An introduction to Chinese dialects]. Beijing, China: Wénzì gǎigé chūbǎnshè. (袁家驊. 1989. 漢語方言概要. 北京:文字改革出版社.)
[edit] External links
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