The book was edited by Li Rong, Xiong Zhenghui and Zhang Zhenxing of the Institute of Languages of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
There are a total of 35 color maps, each with necessary textual explanations. [3]
In 1999, this book won the First Prize for Excellent Achievements of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In 1999, won the first prize of the National Social Science Key Planning Project. It has caused a great response in the academic community both domestically and internationally, and has received widespread praise.[4]
Top-level groups and supergroups of Chinese varieties identified in the Atlas
This book proposes a five level classification method for Chinese dialects, which is "local dialects (点 diǎn) - clusters (小片 xiǎopiàn) - subgroups (片 piàn) - groups (区 qū) - supergroups (大区 dàqū)".
In the Atlas, a county or city generally selects one dialect representative local dialects (点 diǎn), while in areas with complex dialects, two or more representative local dialects (点 diǎn) are selected.
Except for dialect points, the scope of other levels varies depending on the actual situation.
Dialects within the same sub district, sub district, district, or major district all have obvious similarities. This is a multi-level classification of Chinese dialects based on common characteristics as the standard. This five level classification method is a progress in both theory and practice compared to the traditional "dialect sub dialect local language" three-level classification method.
clusters (小片 xiǎopiàn) are only identified for some subgroups
local dialects (点 diǎn): localities that were surveyed
The first edition of the Chinese Language Atlas divides Chinese dialects into ten regions: Jin, Wu, Hui, Gan, Xiang, Min, Cantonese, Pinghua, Hakka, and Mandarin. This objectively and comprehensively reflects the actual situation of Chinese dialect zoning.
Contents
The atlas contains 35 colourful maps, divided into three sections:[5]
B9 Wu group (Zhejiang, Shanghai, southern Jiangsu)
B10 Chinese dialects (southern Anhui area)
B11 Chinese dialects (Hunan and Jiangxi)
B12 Min supergroup (Fujian, Taiwan, eastern Guangdong and Hainan Island)
B13 Chinese dialects: Guangdong (mainland)
B14 Chinese dialects (Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region)
B15 Hakka group
B16 Chinese dialects overseas: (a) insular Southeast Asia (b) other parts of the world
C. Maps of minority languages
C1 Minority languages in northern China
C2 Mongolian languages
C3 Mongolian dialects
C4 Turkic (Tujue) languages
Classification of Xiang 1987.pngC5 Manchu-Tungus languages
C6 Minority languages in southern China
C7 Kam-Tai languages
C8 Miao-Yao languages
C9 Dialects of the Miao language
C10 Tibeto-Burman stock languages
C11 Tibetan dialects
C12 Minority languages (Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region)
C13 Minority languages (Yunnan province)
C14 Minority languages on Hainan and Taiwan islands
The maps are printed on loose white sheets measuring 15 in (38 cm) by 20.75 in (52.7 cm).
Each map is accompanied by a blue sheet of the same size containing explanatory notes.[1]
This result is significantly different from previous scholars' classification of Chinese dialects.
Second edition
The second edition of the Chinese Language Atlas is based on the latest research results of Chinese dialects and minority languages in the past 20 years, compiled from the 1987 edition of the Chinese Language Atlas.[6]
Work began on revised edition in 2002.[2]
The work was published in 2012 as a joint venture between the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the City University of Hong Kong.
It consists of two volumes, dealing respectively with varieties of Chinese and minority languages.[7][8]
The revision follows the same structure as the first edition, but the number of maps has increased to 79, and the explanatory text is greatly expanded.
The number of minority languages covered has also increased from 81 to 130.[9]
Comments
This book is the first large-scale project undertaken by the Chinese dialectal community after the resumption of work in 1979. It has received strong support from relevant parties and embodies the excellent tradition of collective cooperation and collaborative efforts in the Chinese dialectal community.
During the work process, on the one hand, we fully utilized the research results on Chinese dialects and the rich survey materials we had accumulated before, and at the same time, we organized a large-scale on-site investigation and verification. These investigations and verifications involve over 600 cities and counties or dialect points equivalent to cities and counties, with investigators traveling tens of thousands of kilometers.
Therefore, the Chinese dialect zoning map and accompanying text explanations drawn on this basis not only succinctly summarize the research achievements of Chinese dialects before this, but also include a large number of the latest achievements in Chinese dialect research. It objectively reflects the actual situation of Chinese dialect zoning and clearly expresses the important characteristics of each dialect area in Chinese.[10]
The Atlas is a significant advancement in the study of Chinese dialects. The publication of Atlas has received attention from academic circles both domestically and internationally, and is considered a fundamental construction in the field of science and culture in China.
In 2001, the provincial boundaries between Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang were officially delineated, with significant changes in the western border between Gansu and Qinghai. The area from the original A-erh-chin Mountains in Qinghai to Danghenan Mountains to Sugan Lake and Turgendaban was transferred to the jurisdiction of Aksay Kazakh Autonomous County in Gansu Province.
^ abBaker, Hugh D.R (1993). "Language Atlas of China". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 56 (2): 398–399. doi:10.1017/S0041977X0000598X.
"Digital Language Atlas of China", compiled by Lawrence W. Crissman, version 6, 5 October 2012, Australian Centre for the Asian Spatial Information and Analysis Network (ACASIAN) GIS Data Archive. doi:10.7910/DVN/OHYYXH (Harvard Dataverse). The full dataset consists of eight layers in ESRI shapefile format derived from the Language Atlas of China. The initial release (under Creative Commons v3.0 – Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike) contains only a draft of the first layer, representing maps A1–4 and marking language families and major Chinese dialect groups, but not individual non-Chinese languages or subgroups of Chinese dialects.
