Abstract:
For nearly recent 80 years after Mr. Bai Jizhou’s investigation of Guanzhong dialect, violent changes have taken place to the classification and mixture of 精-vowelised characters in the 端-精-见-consonantised phonological group and its geographic distribution. The Report of Investigation of Distinct Phonemes in Guanzhong Dialect shows the classification and mixture of the three groups of characters fell into five groups, but they have grown into six groups up till now. In Guanzhong dialect, the mixture of the 端 and 精 consonants and that of the 精 and 见 consonants are the major forms and lines of variation, but of the two forms get mixed, the 端, 精 and 见 get further mixed accordingly. At the time when the Report appeared, there was only one case showing the great mixture of the three groups, but there have occurred as many as ten cases. Moreover beyond the Guanzhong Plains, the Chinese variety of the Hui nationality, which originated from Guanzhong dialect, has experienced parallel changes, realizing the greal mixture of the three groups of characters.
