The entering tone as a questionable criterion for classifying Chinese : a case study of Leshan dialect

Abstract

Classifying Chinese dialects is a complex and challenging task, given the intricate interplay of various factors and the rich historical development of each dialect. To achieve accurate classifications, a thorough examination and comprehensive understanding of the unique characteristics that differentiate these dialects are essential. Among the phonological criteria utilized for this purpose, the entering tone has been considered particularly significant. This study focuses on the Leshan dialect, an idiosyncratic dialect locality within Mandarin, known for maintaining the entering tone. Through an investigation of its entering tone codas and entering tone category, the aim is to precisely delineate the entering tone in Mandarin from a perspective of acoustic phonetics. Key findings from this study include: 1. The Leshan dialect has undergone a loss of all plosive codas that are closely associated with the entering tone, including -p, -t, -k, and -ʔ. 2. In contrast to other tone categories, the entering tone syllables in the Leshan dialect do not exhibit a significantly shorter duration. 3. Based on the transcription of Chao’s tonal system, the Leshan dialect should still be recognized as maintaining an independent entering tone category. Combined with the findings, the comparative analysis of this study reveals that the Leshan dialect, as part of Southwestern Mandarin, and some clusters of both Jiang-Huai Mandarin and Jin dialects share similar entering tone characteristics. Jin dialects have been classified independently from Mandarin, whereas Southwestern Mandarin, and Jiang-Huai Mandarin remain within Mandarin. This inconsistency strongly suggests that using the entering tone as the classification criterion for dialect grouping and subgrouping is inadequate.