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Probing Into the Historical and Geographical Variants of Mandarin: a Computational Approach University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses Dissertations and Theses June 2018 Probing into the Historical and Geographical Variants of Mandarin: A Computational Approach Annie Chen University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2 Part of the Chinese Studies Commons Recommended Citation Chen, Annie, "Probing into the Historical and Geographical Variants of Mandarin: A Computational Approach" (2018). Masters Theses. 624. https://doi.org/10.7275/12111632 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/624 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Probing into the Historical and Geographical Variants of Mandarin: A Computational Approach A Thesis Presented by ANNIE HONGJIE CHEN Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts May 2018 Chinese ©Copyright by Annie Hongjie Chen 2018 All Rights Reserved Probing into the Historical and Geographical Variants of Mandarin: A Computational Approach A Thesis Presented by ANNIE HONGJIE CHEN Approved as to style and content by: Zhongwei Shen, Chair Amanda C. Seaman, Member David K. Schneider, Member David K. Schneider, Director East Asian Languages and Cultures William Moebius, Chair Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For the past two years studying in the Chinese program housed in the East Asian Languages and Cultures department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, I owe a debt of gratitude to the faculty members and staff for a memorable graduate experience. The professional and supportive environment facilitates Master's studies and encourages academic pursuits. The Chinese program has a well-rounded curriculum and a group of well-established scholars with versatile specialties to offer a solid fundamental training in Sinology. Although my research project was on Chinese linguistics, I personally enjoyed courses on modern Chinese literature, classical Chinese literature, and ancient Chinese philosophy to deepen my appreciation of the literary body of Chinese on a full-spectrum. The classes I took with Professor Elena Suet-Ying Chiu, Professor David K. Schneider, and Professor Enhua Zhang were full of valuable insights of the Chinese culture and civilization. I also gained a good understanding of second-language acquisition and Chinese grammars thank to Professor Zhijun Wang. On my master thesis project probing into the development of the Chinese language, I cannot have enough good words to express my respect to Professor Zhongwei Shen for his bottomless knowledge and tremendous patience in guiding me all the way through the finish line. As the Graduate Director who responded to all graduate students' needs and questions diligently, Professor Shen still made the effort and managed to advise me on this project closely and energetically on top of his own research writing contract and the class teaching obligation. With their warm-hearted encouragements and brilliant suggestions, Professor Shen and my other two committee members, Professor David K. Schneider and Professor Amanda C. Seaman, constituted the best work triangle of committee that I could ever ask for. Their support functioned as the cornerstone for me to carry on, especially, during the time when I was preparing for the defense while my father just passed away. The Chinese program at UMass Amherst will always be the home to my journey of Sinology. My experience here will keep nourishing and inspiring me on the road of academic exploration for the rest of my life. On my faith in academics, I will always remember where it all begins ---- the molded quality of discipline and high-achieving back in the years of honors college, and the genuine love for and endless curiosity of my own heritage flourished over the past two years of the Master in Chinese. I would like to end my acknowledgments with the following quote from Qian Mu's preclude, being my long-time inspiration, to his milestone work outlining the history of China. “凡读本书请先具下列诸信念：一、当信任何一国之国民，尤其是自称知识水平线以上之国民，对 其本国以往历史，应该略有所知。二、所谓对其本国以往历史略有所知者，尤必附随有一种对其本 国以往历史之温情与敬意。三、所谓对其本国以往历史有一种温情与敬意者，至少不会对其本国以 往历史抱有一种偏激的虚无主义，二将我们当身种种罪恶与弱点，一切诿卸与古人。四、当信每一 国家必待其国民具备以上诸条件者比较渐多，其国家乃再有向前发展之希望。” ---- 钱穆《国史大纲》 iv ABSTRACT PROBING INTO THE HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL VARIANTS OF MANDARIN: A COMPUTATIONAL APPROACH MAY 2018 ANNIE HONGJIE CHEN, B.A., BOSTON COLLEGE M.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Zhongwei Shen This computational study reveals the primacy of language contact in the variation of language (Sarah Grey Thomason 2003). The visualization and further analysis confirm the reconceptualization of Chinese linguistic history with the theory of Horizontal Transmission (Shen 2016). Horizontal Transmission situates the development of Mandarin and other Chinese dialects in a sociopolitical landscape as a cultural complex and introduces imperfect learning to the time-capsulated process of Language Shift as an inevitable social phenomenon. The nature of language largely determines how it can change(Janda and Joseph 2003). We have to ruminate on the fact that the grammar of language is a symbolic system of representation while living language is a complex adaptive system generated and regenerated by individuals (Shen 2015). v The descriptive capacity of Shen’s theory is compatible with the nature of language being dynamic idiolects alongside a real linguistic history embodied by individual speakers in time and space. The descriptive capacity of Shen’s theory is compatible with the nature of language being dynamic idiolects alongside a real linguistic history embodied by individual speakers in time and space. Only by understanding the change mechanism of Chinese from the perspective of language contact and through the lens of language shift, the variation of Mandarin and emergence of Chinese dialects find their explanations in a salient chain of logic to create a holistic account of Chinese evolution where the intertwined influence of languages finds its manifestation. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................. v LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Overview: Content and Purpose.............................................................. 1 1.2 Existing Problems.................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 Object of Study.......................................................................... 3 1.2.2 Mechanism of Language Change.............................................. 6 1.2.3 Formation of Chinese Dialects.................................................. 11 1.3 Theoretical Framework: Language Shift and Horizontal Transmission.. 13 1.4 The Origin of Mandarin........................................................................... 18 II. RESEARCH DESIGN........................................................................................... 24 2.1 Source Materials and Research Method................................................... 24 2.2 Twenty Phonological Features................................................................. 30 III. NEIGHBOR-NET AND TABLE OF COHESIVENESS.................................... 39 3.1 The Network of Mandarin Closeness....................................................... 39 3.2 Cohesiveness of Chinese Variants............................................................ 42 IV. CONCLUSION.................................................................................................... 50 4.1 Research Findings.................................................................................... 50 4.2 Horizontal Transmission.......................................................................... 51 4.2.1 The Primacy of Language Contact............................................ 51 4.2.2 A Mesohistory of Chinese......................................................... 54 APPENDICES I. TWO BASIC CHINESE DIALECTAL MAPS.................................................... 58 II. MATRIX OF INTERESTING ISOGLOSSES.................................................... 60 III. NEIGHBOR-NET OF TWENTY-EIGHT CHINESE DIALECTAL VARIETIES.................................................................... 61 IV. NUMBER OF COHESIVENESS...................................................................... 62 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................... 65 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 2.1: Cohesiveness of Original Mandarin and Its Varieties................................... 44 2.2: Mandarin Sub-dialect Chengdu and Other Chinese Dialectal Varieties....... 47 2.3: Original Mandarin Variety
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