Studies on Sino-Tibetan Languages, j45-j6j:00-+-8-004-00 l -000030-2

Towards a Common Jiiing-Hufi Sound System

W. South Coblin(Jniversity of lowa

In this paper an effort to reconstruct a phonological proto-system for fivecentral Jiang-Huai dialects is expanded to include a wider range ofdiaiects foundto the east and west of the central area. The result, called "common Jiang-Huai,, isdesigned to account for all currently reported members of the family. Some dis-cussion of subgrouping problems in the family is also included.

Key words: Jiang-Huai dialects, Chinese comparative and historical dialectology,comparative phonological reconstruction

1. Introduction

In an earlier study (Coblin 2000) a common phonological system, Proto-CentralJidng-Hu6i (PCJH), was reconstructed on the basis of data from five Jiang-Hu6i iIiEdialects. At the center of this group of languages is Nankingese (NK), fcrr which alpha-betic records date back about 150 years. The remaining four, i.e. Jirr6ng e6 (JR),Y6ngzhou +Afl'l (YZ), Groy6u Hs[ (cy), and H6f6i AnE (HF), are attested primar-ily in modern field data. Beyond this central core lie more dialects which appear to bepart of a somewhat broader but nonetheless closely related family. These can be dividedinto an eastem group, found in northeast Jiangsii irHfi, and a westem group, foundmainly in central Anhui ftffi. Fromthe eastern group fairly extensive data arc availableon two varieties, i.e.,

1. LiSnyringdng tr-iB (LYG). Sources: Anonymous (1960); chdn and Li (1996-9, vol.2:1881-1901). This place is called XTnh6ili6n *flEE in Anonymous (1960).

2.Yfinchdng ffirft (YC). Source: Anonymous (1960).

In the western or Anhur group there are also two well-reported types:

2. Anqing ?,tr (AO. Source: chdn and L\ (1996-99:1749-6g). An altemate source ofsome interest is Hdo (1982).

\\'. South Coblin

These fwo are also among nine dialects surveyed in tables included in the Anhutshdngzhi *'{ffiE+,c" (Anonymous 1997:109-40). The remaining seven are the following:

3. GuichiHrE tCC).

4. Xudnchdng H,,t[ (XC).

5. Ch6oxidn HF,ft (Cx).

6. Chrixidn i[f;F,fi (Chx).

7.Hud:inbniEffi (HN).

8. T6ngch6nstp,t/I' (TC). Cf. y6ngZixi[ng (1989).

9. Huriiyudn'lFE (Hy)

While this tabular material is generally too scant to support full-scale comparativework, it can throw light on a number of comparative Ji6ng-Hu6i problems.

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JiSng-Hu6i Dialect points in Anhui and Jidngsl

746

Toward a Common Jiang-Hu5i Sound System

In addition to the nine dialects mentioned here, the AnhuT shdngzhi also contains a

more extensive treatment of a tenth one, Hdf6i. This language, it will be recalled, was

one of those used in our earlier pCJH reconstruction (Coblin 2000). our data for that

work were taken from Anonymous (1989). A third source of material for H6fdi is Chdn

and Li (1996-99:1815-37). Our designation ofthe northeast Jidngsfl dialects as an "east-

ern group" and the Anhut ones as a "westem group" is geographical rather than taxo-

nomic, for no formal sub-grouping has yet been proposed for these languages' The

problem of sub-grouping will be taken up in Section IV below'

The PCJH system was specifically devised to account for the sound systems of the

five central dialects mentioned above. In general it satisfactorily predicts forms found in

the two easteffr and nine western dialects as well. However, there are points where this

is not so. Our intent here is to discuss cases of this sort and on the basis of them to move

from the PCJH system up to a Common Jiang-Hu6i (CJH) one'

To the southeast of the common Jidng-Hu5i dialect complex as defined here is a

Mandarin family now often called Tdiru 6trll or T6ngtdi ffizF. And to the west is yet

another group called Chnlu €iE or Hu6ngxido ffif. These dialect families, while

perhaps connected with the common Jiang-Hu6i group in some way, are clearly less

clorety related to that group than its immediate members are to each other' We therefore

exclude them from our common Ji6ng-Hu6i complex. What their relationship with

Common Ji6ng-Hu5i is remains to be determined'

2. Syllable initials

2.1

Common Jiang-Hu6i *n- and *l-. PCJH was reconstn-lcted with a single lateral ini-

tial, *l-, corresponding to the separate nasal and lateral types of many modern dialect

families. This reconstruction must now be emended, for Parker (1882:14) indicates that

n- and l- were still distinct in Y6ngzh6u during the middle part of the nineteenth cen-

tury.r Two Ji6ng-Hu6i dialects of the westem group, Hu6inSn and Hu5iyudn, confirm

that this distinction must have existed at the Common Jidng-Hu6i stage' This is illus-

trated in the following examPles'

ndo ,BS QYS ndu:

HN nc2a" HY nc2a t

PCJH *nau 1; CJH *nau i

I On the linguistic contributions of Edward H. Parker (1849-1926) see Branner (1999).

747

W. South Coblin

16o Z, QYS lAu:

HN lc2at HY 1c241

PCJH *lau t; CJH *lau t

ni6ng {R QYS rjangHN nida5tr+ HY nid5str+

PCJH xnia4 BT; CJH *riutl E+

li6ng F QYS ljang

HN lid45rrE+ HY lid55E;+

PCJH *liag tr+; CJH *lia{ Er

In these examples, Qieynn -Llffft System (QYS) forms are given for ease of refer-

ence to the traditional phonological framework. The orlhography is that of Karlgren, as

emended by F. K. Li. Below the dialect data, reconstructions are appended for the PCJH

system (Coblin 2000) and then for Common Jiang-Hu6i.

))

Common Jidng-Hu6i *rl-. In PCJH a zero initial is reconstructed before all vowel

types. Initial 4- does not occur at all in the reported central Jiang-Hu6i dialects. Among

the western dialects, on the other hand, initial 4- appears before various mid and low

vowels in Anqing, Guichi, Ch5oxidn and T6ngchdng, while zero is totally absent in

these environments. In Hu6iniln and Hu6iyudn one finds not 4- but y- in such instances.

In no case does 4- or y- contrast with initial zero in these dialects. For this reason, the

PCJH system adequately predicts the appearance of 4- and y- in the western group; and

the reconstruction of the initial as zero could accordingly be retained as such for Com-

mon Jiang-Hu6i. However, one cannot but wonder about the phonetic reality of this

initial class before mid and low vowels in earlier stages of Jidng-Hu5i history. This

question can be pursued in pre-modern accounts of Nankingese and of alphabetically

recorded Gudnhud (GH) H;fr, the Jiang-Hudi-based koine of the Ming 9E and QTng iHperiods.

Only zero is attested before Nankingese mid and low vowels in accounts from the

late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Kiihnert 1894, 1898; Hemeling 1907;

Chao 1929). But for the mid-nineteenth century, Edkins (1864:35) reports thatbothA-and 4- were current in the city in his time. For standard GH of the seventeenth and

eighteenth centuries, European missionary transcriptions point to the presence of initial

[q], written g- or ng- (e.g., Varo 1703 [see Coblin and Levi 2000], and Prdmare 1730).

Toward a Common Jiang-Hu6i Sound System

Honever, Trigault (1626, v.l:96b-97a) indicates that, while standard speech requiredthe use of 4-, vulgar or regional pronunciation (tfyin fR) often had phonetic zero in-stead. Moving now to the earliest alphabetically recorded stages of GH, we come to the

account of the great Korean linguist Sin Sukchu ++Itr (1417-1475), who transcribedthe standard GH pronunciation of his time using an adapted form of the Han'g0l alpha-bet. In the general illustrations of his sas1ng t'onggo ZqHE€ (completed ca. 1450),

he made the following remarks (text after Yu 1973:xxii):

AEHEtffiE i&?rst!*tr" +rt6?TftrEffiffiFrjr1#Otr , EEFUXE +ED}E\Z-.

"In the present rime(-book), characters having the QYS initials yi and ),u (i.e.,

QYS ng- and A- respectively) are for the most part mixed together. Now, in or-der to distinguish them, below each character I follow the ancient rime(-books)and write for yir the Hangul letter A-, while for yi I write the Han-girl letter ng-."

The "present rime book" alluded to here is the Hdngwti zhdngyirn i*EtEffi (com-pleted 1375). This was the major dictionary of early Ming times and was the primarytextual basis for Sin's work on standard GH phonology. The "ancient rime books" are

texts of the Qidyiln tradition. What this passage tells us is that Sin was unable to find a

consistent distinction between the zero and 4- initials in the H1ngwil zhdngyiin. Nor,presumably, were the Chinese informants with whom he worked able to clarify the mat-ter for him. In the end he distinguished two initial types on the basis of the earlier QYSlexica. But from the standpoint of the standard GH sound system of his own time, nosuch distinction actually existed.

This historical survey suggests that our PCJH initial *A- before mid and low vow-els has been a single, undifferentiated phoneme for a very long time, though it couldmanifest itself in different phonetic forms in particular dialects. This is essentially the

same situation observable in the modern Jidng-Hurii dialects. Our conclusion must bethat we are unquestionably dealing with a single phoneme whose phonetic value isindeterminate. we could equally well suppose that it was xa- or *g-. our choice will infact be the latter option, for reasons which we must now consider.

****r.rr

where PCJH has initial *a- before the vowel i-, syllables of the following typesometimes have initial l- or n- in three of the western Ji6ng-Hurii dialects:

W. South Coblin

yen Ef QYS ngiemPCJH *ien tr+

wH i35rE+ AQ lien3str+ GC ni63str+

ydn ,ffi QYS ngjiim-3PCJH *ien *wH lis5r Aq lient" GC ---

yd X QYS ngfepPCJH *ia?7'

WH lie?5 ^ Ae ie?5s ^ GC nie55 ^ 1

In these cases, wfhf and Anqing forms having l- in chdn and Li (1996-99) showinitial n- in the Anhut shdngzhi tables. Note also that in the first example Wrihri has ini-tialzero, while in the third it is Anqing which has the zero form. Two more exampleswhere both wrihri and Anqing have initial l- are the syllables y6nWI and ydn EE. in An-qing alone we find the following fui1her cases with this initial: yirn H, yirn tffi, yirn{8.No data from Guichi are available for these five syllables. The QYS always shows thetraditional yi E€ (ng-) initial in such words.

Ming/Qing GH forms for our example syllables are significant in this connection.In the following data sets, forms are given not only from the sources mentioned abovebut also from essays of Matteo Ricci (ca. 1610, cited from wdnzi gdigd 1957) and thebasic text and dialogue texts of the Portuguese-Chinese Dictionary manuscript (ca. 1580)attributed to Ricci andlor Michele Ruggieri,2 and the mid-Qing syllabaries of Morrison(1815-22) and williams (184a). In certain cases, identified as,.voc.,,. varo forms arecited from the "Vocabulario de la Lengua Mandarina,, (Varo Mss.).

ydn ffi. QYS ngjemEarly Ming: Sin Sukchu jem (T)Late Ming

Standard: Ricci --- ; Trigault ni€n, i6n [nien - ien]Southem: Port-Chin Dict gnie'l+ienl ; Dialogues gnien [+ien]

Early Qing: Varo i6n, ni€n (Voc.) [ien - nien] ; prdmare ---Mid Qing: Morrison yen [ien] ; Williams yen2 1ien1

' This manuscript is held by the Archivum Romanum Societatis Jesu in Rome as ARSI Jap.-Sin.I, 198. See Paul Yang (1989).

'750

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Toward a Common Jiang_Hu6i Sound Svstem

ydn ,ffi eyS ngiam_3

Early Ming: Sin Sukchu rfem (*)Late Ming

Standard: Ricci __ ; Trigault nidn, idn fnisn _ ien]Southem: port_Chin Dict ___ ; Dialogues ___

Early Qing: Varo (Voc.) nidn [nien] ; p.emure nidn [nien]Mid Qing: Morrison n€en, yen fnien _ ien] ; William, y.r; ;iunl

yd X eyS ngjepEarly Ming: Sin Sukchu Uje (,\)Late Ming

Standard: Ricci nhid [+ie?] ; Trigault nid, id [nie? _ ie?]Southern: port_Chin Dict gnie,, iJ toluZ _ ie?i; Oialogues ___

Early Qing: Varo nid (Voc.) [nie?] ; pidmo.e ___

Mid Qing: Morrison ne6 [nie?] ; Williams nieh8 [nie?1

Here we see that the koine records of such writers as Trigault and varo sometimesshow variant readings in n- and zero, while in other instances they give only one or theother type' other koine varieties, such as those of the Ricci essays and the portuguese-chinese Dictionary, have not n- but a phonemically distinct paratar initial [+], tran_scribed as nh or grr.'sin Sukchu's earlyGH type may have either 4_ or initial zero insuch words.

In pondering the situation in common Jiang-Hu6i, the question we actually face iswhether or not to reconstruct a resonant, and probably ,urul, iniriur in syilabres of thetype cited here' Three interpretations of the facts suggest themselves.

1' It is possible that our resonant initial forms in Anqing, Guichi, and wfhri are loanwords. These three places, all situated along and adjacent to the yangt ze) areknown tohave been influenced in.earlier periods b"y migration from Gdn ffi or Huring_Xidospeaking parts of Jiangri irE and Hribdi if,gjL respectiu"rv rce "t ar. 1997, vor.5:6r_2,vol'6:460-62)' Both of these dialect types regularryhave initial nasals, n- or&_, in thesyllables in question' Militating aguirJ this interpretation is the fact that our examplesare limited to syllables having onry two final types, i.e. pcJH *_ien and *_ie?. In thecase of true loans' we would not expect the borrowed nasal-initial forms to consistentlycluster in these limited enr ironments.

2' common Jidng-Hudi may simply have had competing variant forms in *n- and, *a_,

3 For a fuli study of the status of this initial in the koine varieties in question, see coblin Qo02b).

7s1

W. South Coblin

such as those seen in the koine varieties of Trigault and Varo. Against this we may note

the fact that no such doublets have so far been found in the Jiang-Hu6i dialects we have

examined. This scenario might be more convincing if here and there such a doublet had

survived in one of these dialects.

3. Common Jidng-Hurii may have had a distinct phoneme here, perhaps *rI-, which

merged with n- or l- in these parlicularYangtze dialects but was lost elsewhere. Against

this two objections can be raised. First of all, the development of this supposed *t}-

would not have been consistent. As seen in the examples above, it would have survived

(as l- or n-) in some words but not in others, for no apparent reason. Secondly, if we

posit *r1- here, this will yield a single, phonemically distinct palatal sound in a system

that is not otherwise reconstructed with a palatal series of initials.

Among these three possibilities, the third seems to be the most promising. Nank-

ingese was a prestige language in the Yangtze watershed in mid to late Qrng times, and

all modern and pre-modern records of this language show the zero initial in syllables ofthe type under consideration. The same is of course true for the modem koine, Pit6nghudgffi;fr. We may hypothesize that in some earlier period Anqing, Guichi, and Wirhri all

preserved an initial nasal in these instances, but that this unanimity has subsequently

been eroded by the adoption of loan forms from Nankingese andlor Pftonghud.

As regards the second objection, i.e., our disinclination to posit a systemically iso-

lated palatal nasal, it is interesting to note that just such an entity seems to have existed

in the GH varieties of Ricci and the Porfuguese-Chinese Dictionary, which had a

distinct palatal initial +-. These languages had no full palatal series of initials as such.

However, it is significant that, like all recorded Ming/Qing GH varieties, they did have

initial 4- (spelled g-) before mid and low vowels. Thus it is possible to interpret theirpalatal nasal t}- initials as allophones of /r3l, occuring exclusively before the vowel /i/.Initial lqlwould then have had two allophones, [q] and [+].

The situation in Common Jidng-Hu6i may in fact have been similar to that found inthese types of GH. And il as we have proposed above, we posit an initial 4- before mid

and low vowels for Common Jiang-Hu6i, we can then extend this to account for ourproblematic cases in a similar manner, e.g.,

yitn ffi. QYS ngjemCJH *4ien'o [+i"n1 > PCJH *ien ts+

> AQ lien3s Eo GC niE35

E+

yd X QYS ngjepCJH *4ie?^

[+ie?1 > PCJH *ie?^

> wH lie?s ^ GC nie5s ^

:-

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752

Toward a Common JiSng-Hu6i Sound System

This, then, is the solution we propose here.

3. Syllable finals

3.1

PCJH x-ou in Common JiSng-Hu6i. In our earlier study, PCJH *-ou was recon-structed in a small number of lateral, guttural, and sibilant initial syllables. This finalcan now be re-examined in the broader Common Jidng-Hu5i context.

In the earlier reconstruction PCJH *-ou contrasted with x-u in cases of the follow-ing type:a

nn f* QYS nuo-

NKluaa* JR nu5s* yZ loss* Gy lu53* HF lu*PCJH *lou *cf. HN nu'3* Hy nr"* < cJH *n-

It 8.6 QYS luo-NKluaa* JR nus5* yZ lus5* Gy lu53*; HF lu*PCJH *lu *

cf. HN lu53* Hy lu'3* < cJH *l-

However, as noted in section 2.1, nineteenth century y6ngzhou as recorded byParker and given in Giles (1892) distinguished initial n- and l- in such cases. Therefore,the PCJH reconstruction must be modified to account for the older Yingzhou data. Thedifference in PCJH finals can then be attributed to the influence of the earlier initialdistinction, as illustrated in the following:

nn * QYS nuo-

CJH*nu* , PCJH*nu* > xnou* > *lou* , JR ,utt* yZ lott*> HNnu"* HYnrt'*

It E6 QYS luo-cJH *lu* > pcJH xlu* > JR nus5* ;yZ hfs*

> HN lu53* HY lu 53*

a HF forms are from Anonymous (1989). A11 other modern forms are from Anonymous (1960)and Anonymous (1997).

753

W. South Coblin

PCJH *-ou is reconstructed after gutturals in examples such as the following:

se fff QYS ka

NKko3lE+ JR ku3lw+ yz kx'u3itr+ Gy kruaaH+ HF ku H+ PCJH *koule+

k6 tr^ QYS khA:

NKk'o221 JR k'u213i yz k'xttazL GY k'nu2l" HF k'uf PCJH*k'out

The final in these cases contrasts with PCJH *-o in syllables of the following type:

kc fR QYS (k'ua)y11 p'o3lH+ JR k'u31*n yz k'o31tr+ 6y 1':ra4le+ HF k'utr+ PCJH*k',oH+

h6 inj QYS ya

NKxor3E+ JR xu2aw+ YZ xo3aw+ GY xu2l3E* HF ru*= PCrH*xotr+

No such distinction is found in the eastern and western groups. Nor is it known ei-

ther in contiguous dialect families or in the QYS. In the central Jiang-Hu5i group it issignaled in the pertinent cognate sets by the presence of the diphthong -Tu in Y6ngzh6u

and G6oy6u. Interestingly, in the neighboring Tdiru dialects the common final class

represented by PCJH *-ou and *-o in these cases is often realized as a diphthong such

as -ou, -t"u, or -eu. And finals of this sort are also found in certain of the neighboring

northern Wf dialects, including the traditionally prestigious one spoken in Slzhdu Hfii'[i[.

Our suggestion here is that the problematic Y6ngzhou and Gdoy6u readings are actually

loans from one of these neighboring dialects. If this is valid, then the distinction be-

tween PCJH *-ou and *-o in these cases is the result of contact rather than inheritance;

and PCJH *-ou should accordingly not be projected back to the Common Jidng-Hu6i

level in such cases.

Finally, PCJH *-ou appears in sibilant initial syllables of the following type:

chn lil QYS tstr-wo

NKts'u31H+ JR 1r:.r31HT yz ts'o318+ GY 1r:u44HT HF ts'uH+ PCrH *ts'ouH+

chri $H: QYS d{woNKts'ur3tr+ JR ts'u24tr+ yz ts'o34!E+ Gy ts'u213** HF ts'uE+ pcJH *ts'ouB+

These contrast with examples such as the following:

dil

T

a

dc

dC

E

(

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I

I

1

il

cu fH QYS tshuo

NKts'u3lE+ JR ts'u3lE+ YZ ts'u31tr+

The final distinction in question here is

group, e.9.,

Toward a Common Ji6ng-Hu6i Sound System

GY IS'U44H+ HF tS'UH+ PCIH *IS'UE+

also present in four dialects of the western

chn *)J QYS tqhjwo

cx ts'o21 E+ chx ts'o2l ET

chri ffiJ QYS dTjwo

cx ts'o35 h+ chx ts'o35trT

HN ts'uo''3 Ho HY ts'uo2l2 tr r

HN ts'uoas tr' HY ts'uo55

*-

c[ fH QYS tshuo

cX ts'u2l*o chx 1r:rr21H4 HNts'u2l3HT HY ts'u2128+

It is therefore clear that this distinction should be projected back to the Common Jidng-

Hu6i stage. The transcription we shall chose for the final in such words as chr.r 7)l arrd

chn ffil is x-uo, as suggested by the modern HuSin6n and HY forms. This graphic repre-

sentation can also replace *-ou in the PCJH system, as, for example in Common Jiang-

Hfii$J *ts'uo trT > PCJH *ts'uo ET > NK ts'u3l *o,YZ ts'o3l HT.

3.2

Common JiSng-Hudi *-y. After a wide range of initial types, final -y in the eastern

and western Jidng-Hu5i groups corresponds exactly to PCJH *-y. However, this is not

true for syllables of the following type:

zhn M QYS tjwoNK tpu31B+ JR tsu3lw+ YZ tsu3lHT GY tsuaaH+ HF tpu** PCJH*I$uH+

wHtgy3rtr+ GC teyoo*o XCtgy3tE+ 16t$q"**

shu E QYS Sjwo

NK pu31H+ JR su31wn YZ su31E+ GY suaaB+ HF puH* PCrH *$r*o

wH qy31H+ GC eyoo** xc gy31tr+ TC Fq" **

As indicated by the PCJH reconskuctions and their supporting modem forms, the

755

W. South Coblin

central dialects uniformly show final -u in such instances; and this is also the case in the I1

eastern dialects and a number of the western ones. However, in Wfhf, Guichi and \Xuanchdng, the final is -y, with palatal initials. T6ngch6ng, on the other hand, has ini- *;

tial retroflexes with finals in -q. We can reconcile these data by positing final *-y after

retroflex initials for the Common Jiang-Hu6i stage. The assumption would then be that

in Wrihri, Guichi, and Xudnch6ng the final was retained unchanged bfi palatalized the ie

initials. In T6ngchdng the initials remained unchanged, while original final *-y became

-q. In the remaining dialects, including all those belonging to the central and eastern \l

groups, *-y was simply retracted to -u, thus,d

zhn 6# QYS tjwo -'1

cJH *t$y trr > PCJH *t$u tr* H

> wH tgy" u** GC tgyaatr+ XC tgy3lBr, TC t$qr, ** cl

-.1

sh[ B QYS Sjwo H

CJH *$y h+ > PCJH *p, rir

> wH Gy" ** GC Gyoo** xc gy'''*n cr

, TC ser, **

_"!

3.3 r

Common Jidng-Hudi *-yon. Similar to the case of Common JiSng-Hu6i *-y in cer-

tain ways is that of Common JiSng-Hurii *-yon. In dealing with it we must begin by

examining PCJH *-uon. This final is reconstructed after initials of many different types.

It is, however, its occurrence after retroflexes that is of special interest to us here. The

following cases illustrate this collocation:

zhuan fr$ QYS tSjwiin

NK tpud3lH+ JR tsue3rert ,tsu3'HrE yZ ts631tr+ Gy ts0aaH+ HF t$oh+ PCJH*t$uon H+

chu6n 'f$ QYS djwanNKtp'ud13*o JR ts'ud24t&Tt- ,1r'u24tera yz B'63a

** Gy ts'6213tr* HF t$'0 **PCJH *t$'uon E+

chu6n ffi QYS dZjwan

NKtp'udr3B* JR t{u124*nt ,ts'u'ow+fi yz ts'634w+ Gy ts'6213*u HF t$'6 *o

PCJH *t$'uon ET

756

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Toward a Common Jiang-Hu6i Sound System

rudn $f, QYS frZjwiin:NK 4ud22' JR d"'u' ,rs,""a yZ 1642" Gy 16,,t HF 4tLq,4entE pCJH*4uon t

Let us now examine comparable data from the western and eastem Jidng-Hu6i dia-lects:

Western Group

zhudn [S QYS tSjwanAQ tpuon3ltr+ wH ts6-3_ti-T GC tgyanaaw+ xc ts63rH+ cX tpurfr2r**chx t1rrr*uFrN tsu62l3le* TC tpon" ** H1. tsu52l2 E+

chu6n i$ QYS djwanAQ tp'uon35 E* wH ts'635

B+ GC ty'yarfaw* xC ts,6" *+ Cx tp,urfrr, * Chx tyrrt*HN ts'uda5 w+ TC tg' on24w+ Hy ts,uess tr+

chudn ff$ QYS dZjwanAQ-tp'uon35 E+ WH ts'635 B+ GC tg'yanzaw+ XC ts,d3s B+ CX tp,u1fr3s w+ Chxtg's3sw+ rrN ts'u6a5 w+ TC ts'on24w+ Hy ts,u55s E+

ruin $ft QYS rizjwan:AQ auol]t]i wn ao-'z.f

t GC y62r3

r XC q632a L CX 4tE213

L (final sicl) ChX zgtl L

HN zuE2aa TC qon2r3 L Hy zu62a

L

Eastern Group

zhudn ffi QyS tSjwanLYG tp62raE+ YC ts63rtr+

chuin ,[$ QYS fiwanLYG tp'63str+ YC ts'd2t3w+

churln fi/p\ QYS dZjwanLYG tp'535 E+ YC ts'6213 PE+

ruin ffi QYS fiZjwan:LYG 4641t yc 16t3.

W. South Coblin

These examples provide suppofi for the reconstruction of a rounded main vowel at

the Common Jidng-Hu6i stage. But the Guichi forms take us a step further than that, forthe first element in the diphthongs found in this dialect is not -u- but -y-. This suggests

that PCJH *-uon in such syllables should be restored as *-yon for Common Ji6ng-Hu5i,

thus 6S *tpyon H+, etc. This x-yon, which would so far be posited only after retroflexes,now invites comparison with PCJH *-yen, with which we find it to be in complemen-

tary distribution. The following are examples from the central dialects:

qudn .ft QYS dzjwiinNKtg'y6138+ JR ts'5ii'own YZ te'fr'o*n GYtq'fizt3w* HF tg'yiE+ PCIH*ts'yentrT

qudn 7\ QYS khiwen:NKtg'y622t' JR ts'1ti2r3r YZ ta'fra2L GY tq'fizl' HF tg'irii PCIH *k'yent

yudn @ QYS jwiinNKy6r3E+ JR vir2aw+ yz yrz+ra+ Gy 1;i"'tr* HF yiw+ rcm xyenE+

Let us now examine the same syllables in the western and eastern dialects:

Westem Dialectss

qu6n fr QYS dzjwanAQ tg'yen3sEn wH tg'i3str+GC te'ien2aw+ xc tg'yE3sw+ cx tg'ye35w+ cltxte'ya"unHN tg'yda5 B+ TC tp'qen2a E* HY te'yEtt*o

qudn f QYS khiwen:AQ tg'yen3l3t wH tg'yi"'" GC tq'yanzr3L xctq'y132at cxtq'y12r3L chx tg'yol1tHN tg'y62r3" TC tp'qen"t ltone contour sic!) HY tq'yEzaw+

riL

vL

llIU

IaItta

yurln ffi QYS jwAn

Ae yen35tr+ wH yi3sE+ GC y{+ra+ xc yE3sw+ cXy63sw+ chXyo35w+y&ot*n TC 4qen2aw+ Hy yE55E+

Eastern Dialects

qu6n ft QYS dzjwanLYG tg'y63s tr+ YC tg'y6ar i

s Aq forms in the second example is cited from Anomymous (1997).

758

HN

qE

t

E

t

qE

t

E

II

vE

L

Toward a Common Jiang-Hu6i Sound System

quan Jt QYS khiwen:

LYG tp'y6a1f YC tgy60"

yu6n H QYS jwan

LYG yd3s Er YC y63s

tr+

From these examples we see that the final in question has rounded main vowels in

the eastem group, while in the central and westem dialects its vowels are generally un-

rounded. An exception to this is Chrixiin, a westem dialect with -o- as its main vowel.

If we assume that *o was original at the Common Ji6ng-Hu6i level, then this final can

be combined with our Common Ji6ng-Hu6i *-yon as a single entity. This would mean

that in syllables such as those considered here, the vowel xo in original *-yon became

unrounded and fronted to *e in a broad range of Jiang-Hurii dialects, extending across

the westem and central areas but stopping before it affected the eastern group. It is in-

teresting to note that lack of rounding in such cases was probably a prestige feature in

earlier centuries. Let us compare GH orthographic forms for our example syllables:

quan ft QYS dzjwiin

Early Ming: Sin Sukchu dzyen (z[)Late Ming

General: Ricci --- ; Trigault 'giu€n [ts'yen]Southern: Port-Chin Dict yu6 (> giud ?) [ts'ycn] ; Dialogues ---

Early Qing: Varo giudn'(Voc.) [ts'yen] ; Pr6mare t'su6n [ts'yen]Mid Qing: Morrison tseuEn fts'yen] ; Williams ts'iuen2 [ts'yen]

qudn f, QYS khiwen:

Early Ming: Sin Sukchu k'yen (t)Late Ming

General: Ricci --- ; Trigault k'iudn [k'yen]Southern: Port-Chin Dict chiuon [k'ycn] ; Dialogues ---

Early Qing: Varo k'iudn [k'yen] ; Pr6mare k'udn [k'yen]Mid Qing: Morrison k'euen [k'yen] ; Williams kiuen3 [k'yen]

yurin H QYS jwan

Early Ming: Sin Sukchu yen (+)Late Ming

General: Ricci yu6n [yen] ; Trigault iu6n [yen]Southern: Porl-Chin Dict luon [ycn] ; Dialogues ---

759

W. South Coblin

Early Qing: Varo iu6n (Voc.) [yen] ; Prdmare iu6n [yen]Mid Qing: Morrison yuen [yen] ; Williams yuen2 [yen]

In these examples only the southern GH material shows rounded vowels. All other

varieties, from the earliest one recorded by Sin Sukchu down to the nineteenth century

ones of Morrison and Williams, have unrounded main vowels in these cases. We may

hypothesize that loss of rounding across the Jidng-Hud'i area was due to the spread of a

prestige feature, perhaps originating from more northerly speech types.

3.4

T6ngch6ng -1. A11 known Jidng-Hu6i dialects have a single rush6ng AH tone

class, and in most of them this tone is characterizedby a final glottal stop. Exceptions

are found in the western group, where Anqing, Guichi, Huiindn, and T6ngchdng lack

glottal closure. However, in four of its ru tone finals T6ngch6ng has a final velarized

lateral -1, the origins of which have been the subject of a special study by YdngZixiilng(1989). Yang's work attempts to account for the appearance of T6ngch6ng -t in terms of

the QYS, which he specifically defines as the set of sound classes inherent inthe Gudn-

Syiln ffiffi dictionary (1989:368, n.6). This proves to be a complex and difficult under-

taking which, as the author himself admits, is not entirely successful. Our concern here,

however, is not with the QYS and its relationship with the T6ngchdng sound system.

We are on the contrary interested in whether or not the T6ngch6ng data require us to

emend in some way our Common Jidng-Hu6i system of finals.

In considering this problem we may begin by listing the four pertinent T6ngchdng

finals, i.e., -1"1, -i1'1, -uxl, and -qrt. From this list we see immediately that T6ngchdng -toccurs exclusively after the vowel y. This information enables us to formulate an hy-

pothesis regarding the origins of -1. To wit, some earlier stage of T6ngch6ng presuma-

bly had final *-? in all ru tone syllables. In words ending in "pre-T6ngchdng" *-n?, fi-

nal *-? changed to -1. Subsequently, surviving final *-? was lost everywhere, leaving -tin the four pertinent finals. Historically, then, the problem is no longer how -1 arose but

rather how and where the Common Jidng-Hurii system yielded the T6ngchdng vowel rin Common Ji6ng-Hu6i rusheng syllables. As the following examples illustrate, this

occasions no particular difficulty:6

6 Examples are taken from Anonymous (1997) and Y6ng Z\xi6ng(1989).

760

$t

C

dC

nC

hC

fr

P

ti

C

b

C

li(

!P

Toward a Common Ji6ng-Hurii Sound System

TC -trt < pre-Tc *-r? < CJH *_e?, *_u?, *_ot

shi + QYS Zjep

CJH *pe?^> TC pxt3r^

zhi H QYS fiekCJH *tpe?^ > TC tprt3r^

ru j\ QYS frZjep

CJH *4e?^ > TC zg,ft x

bn 4 QYS pjeu, pjeu:, pjeu-, pjuetCJH*pu?^ > TCpx{31^

fri EE QYS bjukPCJH *fo?^ > TC f1ri3r ^

TC -i^rl < pre-TC x-it? < CJH *-i?, *-y?

ti )t QYS ljekCJH *li?^ > TC nirt3l^

b\ ,Y' QYS pjiet4

"rn *pi?^ > TC pirt3r^

li ffi eyS ljwetcJH *ly?^ > TC nirt'r^

yi |p. QYS jiwakPCJH *y?^ > TC iT+31^

TC -urrt < pre-TC *-ur? < CJH *-u?

WU ,E QYS ?UK

PCJHxu?^ > TCunt3r^

gn E QYS kuetCJH*ku?^ > TC kurt3r^

761

W. South Coblin

TC -qrl < pre-Tc *-qn? . CJH *-o?, *-u?

zhn tt QYS tjukCJH *t$o?^ > TC tpqrt3l^

chu rH QYS tShjwet

PCJH *tp'u?o > TC tp'qrt3l^

The vowel y evolves quite regularly in these T6ngch6ng syllables. Note that the

same Common JiSng-Hu6i final may develop differently depending on the initial classes

after which it occurs. Though we lack full data for T6ngch6ng, the materials published

so far do not yield problematic or anomalous cases. It would thus seem that, as currently

reconstructed, our Common Jidng-Hu5i system can adequately account for the T6ng-

chdng data.

From this exercise a lesson can be drawn. The history of modern dialects is best

studied in terms of common systems derived from the immediate families to which

these dialects belong. If comparisons must be drawn with the QYS, then this is best

done between the QYS and the pertinent common systems. But to move directly from

the QYS to a particular dialect can be a complex and in many cases pointless exercise.

4. Thoughts on sub-grouping among the Jiflng-Huii dialects

Having now arrived at a common reconstructed sound system for the Ji6ng-Hu6i

dialects, this phonological framework can in furn be used to address the problem of sub-

grouping within the family. Sub-grouping is effected by identifying sets of dialects

which share innovations with respect to the common system. We shall base our discus-

sion on four sound changes already mentioned above, i.e., 1) unrounding of Common

Jiang-Hu6i *-yon after non-retroflex initials: *-yon , *-y"n; 2) palatalization of Com-

mon Jiang-Hu6i *p- before final *-y: Common Jiang-Hurii *S- , 9-; 3) complete loss ofCommon Jidng-Hu5i *4-: Common Jidng-Hu5i *tl- > O-, and 4) denasahzation and fri-cation of *4-: Common Jidng-Hu6i *rl- > y-.

The first of these innovations, *-yon > x-yen, occurred in all dialects except

Li5nyringdng, YSnchdng, and Chirxidn. The second, *$- ) Q-, took place only in Wrihf,

Guichi, and Xuanchdng. The third, *4- ) O-, occurred in Nankingese, Jirr6ng, Ydng-

zh6u, G5oy6u, Hdfdi, Lirinyringdng, Y6nchdng, Chfxidn, and Wfhir. The shift of x1- to

y- was limited to Hu5in6n and Hudiludn. Three dialects, Wfhir, Guichi, and Xuanch6ng,

underwent both unrounding of *-yon and palatalization of *p-. Typologically, these can

be distinguished as a Southern Set. Another group, comprising Nankingese, Jir6ng,

!;stF.I

*

T

I

s

5

(

T

\

rIlc

1

ll

I

l,i

Ir

Toward a Common Ji6ng-Hu6i Sound System

Y ngzhoq Gaoy6u, and H6f6i, were affected by the *-yon > *-yen and *q- , A-changes but not by the palatalization of *p-. These languages, which were in fact theones used to reconstruct PCJH, can be called the Central Set. Li6nyungdng, Yiinchdng,and Chrixidn were affected only by *rl- > o-. These can be called the Eastern Set.

Hu6in6n, Hu6iyudn, ChSoxidn, T6ngch6ng, and Anqing experienced only *-yon t *-y".r.

They form a Westem Set. But among them a further delineation can be seen. Though*4- was not lost anyvhere here, in Huriin5n and Hu6iyuXn it was modified to y-. Thesetwo dialects can therefore be separated out as a Northwestern Sub-set, while those

which did not undergo this change can be called the Southwestem Sub-set. We can

summarize these observations as follows:

Southern Set: WH, GC, XC: *-yon t *-y".r; *$- t g-

Central Set: NK, JR,YZ, GY, HF: *-yor, > *-yen;*q-> A-

Eastem Set: LYG, YC, ChX: *q-, A-

Western Set

Northwestern Sub-set: HN, HY: *-yon, *-y"r; *rl- > y-

Southwestern Sub-set: WH, GC, XC: *-yon t *-yen

It must be emphasized that what we have produced here is a typological listingrather than a strict taxonomic sub-grouping, because we have not succeeded in estab-lishing a formal hierarchical tree of relationships. In fact, our material does not seem tolend itself to that sort of interpretation. Instead, it is more amenable to an intersectingcircle analysis of the type often used to illustrate the classic wave model for overlappinginnovations, as illustrated in the following figure:

W. South Cohlin

Figure: Intersecting Phonological Innovations among the Jiang-Hu5i Dialects

A diagram of this type adequately represents the overlapping nature of the perli-nent sound changes, but it gives no hint of the relative chronology or time depth ofthese developments. Can any'thing be said in this respect on the basis of non-linguisticevidence?

At the outset, we should note that the Jiang-Hubi family of dialects appears to have

arisen as the result of migrations from north China into the Jidng-Hu6i region during the

century or so following the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty in 1126 (Coblin 2002a).

We may therefore suppose that the subsequent breakup of the putative original unitypostdates this period.

Beginning with the Southern Set, the particular feature which characterizes thisgroup of dialects is the palatalization of Common Jiang-Hu6i xp-. We have suggested ina recent paper (Ms.) that this occured as the result of a large-scale, fan-shaped migra-tion of Gdn dialect speakers from northern Jiangxl i[ffi into various parts of Hfn6n,Htbdi, and Anhur in the early Ming period (i.e. late fourteenth to early fifteenth centu-

ries). Several dialect families were influenced by this demographic movement. OurSouthern Group represents the Jiang-Hu6i contingent of the affected dialects.

The Northwestern Sub-set is centered in the valley of the Hu6i ;,ff River. This was

an area which experienced a heavy influx of northemers and others in early Ming times,

164

{j,!

iIi

I

tHH JH YI EY HF

Tou,ard a Common Jiang-Huii Sound System

due to govemment resettlement and intemment policies (Gd et al. 1997, v.5:43-60). In

Anhur north of the Hu6i, all modern Central Plains Mandarin dialects for which

Anonymous (1997) gives data have y- in the same positions where this initial is found

in Huiiin6n and Hu6iyudn. Edkins (186a:35) states that in the Mandarin dialects of his

time, "sometimes a guttural g- takes the place of ng," and that such a sound was present

in Kai{Engfli ffii{re, somewhat northwest of the Hu6i valley. It is possible that this

"guttural g" was in facty-. Our suggestion is thatthis realizatton of the initial in ques-

tion arose in the Northwestem JiSng-Hu6i area as a result of early Ming population

movements.

The unrounding of Common Jiang-Hu6i *-yon is difficult to date. It appears to

have moved broadly across the Jiang-Hurii area, affecting all but the Eastem Set. The

southem GH variety attested in the ca. 1580 Portuguese-Chinese Dictionary and Dia-

logues of Ricci/Ruggieri seems to be rooted in such a not yet unrounded speech type

(Yang 1989), but the exact dialectal basis of this koine system remains uncertain. Nank-

ingese and Y6ngzhou had both experienced unrounding by the time of Edkins and

Parker respectively. All known "Jiang-Hu6i-like" Ming/Qing GH varieties other than

that of the Dictionary/Dialogue texts reflect the change. But when and where it began is

indeterminate.

The complete loss of Common Jidng-Hu6i *q-, which affected the Eastern and

Central dialects, together with Wirhir in the Southem Set, seems to have still been in

progress at Nanking in Edkins' time, since he reports competing readings in q- and A-

there. By the late 1800's Kiihnert finds only O- in Nankingese. Parker indicates com-

plete loss of xq- in Yringzh6u by ca. 1880. This change may have begun in the east and

then progressed westward, reaching its present geographical extent fairly late.

Among the sets delineated above, the Northwestem Sub-set and the Southem Set

show shared innovations which are completely unknown in any other set. Cannot these

changes, at least, serve as grounds for formal sub-grouping? The answer would seem to

be no. For, if our historical observations are correct, then these developments in fact

represent areal features which have entered the Jidng-Huai area from outside rather than

intemally generated changes of the sort that mark taxonomic distinctions. They are what

have recently been called "parallel innovations" rather than shared ones (Fox 1995:221;

Dixon 1997 50). And, as has been suggested in section 3.3 above, the unrounding of*-yon may ultimately also have been a change of this sort.

In the end, then, we have failed to arive at a r alid taxonomic sub-grouping for the

Jiang-Hu6i family; and the reasons for this are u'orth considering. Dixon (1997:30,67-

85) has suggested that the lamily tree model, u'hich underiies the received approach to

sub-grouping u,ithin langua-ue families. is in fact most applicable for periods of what he

cal1s "punctuation", i.e.. u'here there has been expansion and multiple fragmentation of

W. South Coblin

language families, due to migration or other types of dispersal. On the other hand, peri-ods of "equilibrium", where languages exist for extended periods in relatively undis-

turbed contact, are most conducive to convergence through diffusion of linguistic fea-

tures. This sort of evolution is poorly conceptualized by the family tree model. The ini-tial implantation of the Common JiSng-Hu6i ancestral speech form in the area where itsdescendants are now found may indeed have occurred during a punctuation phase in the

twelfth century. But subsequent history there seems to have been more typical ofDixon's equilibrium model. This, we suspect, may account for our difficulty in arrivingat a hierarchical taxonomy for the JiSng-Hu5i dialects.

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