Dialect is a common phenomenon all over the world. For thousands of years, pronunciation and differences in some words have been used to distinguish the living environment of speakers. This phenomenon has some obvious disadvantages, among which the most criticized is that some dialects have been alienated to the point where they can't communicate with other dialects, so most languages have adopted the method of stipulating standard pronunciation, but this practice has not affected the continued existence of dialects in our lives.

Let's look at how dialects are produced. When languages first came into being, there was no dialect problem between the same languages. With the migration of people, people who speak the same language are divided into tribes and there is a lack of communication between tribes. We know that language is constantly innovating. As time goes on, the languages of tribes that gradually lack communication begin to differ. After thousands of years of evolution, even the pronunciation is very different.

However, with the development of communication, people from different regions have more and more opportunities to contact each other. Especially today, the convenience of communication is unparalleled, and people who speak different dialects have more and more opportunities to communicate with each other. But strangely, dialects are still burning their unyielding flames. The promotion of Putonghua by the state only allows people of all countries to have a common pronunciation when communicating with each other, which has actually existed since ancient times.

Imagine such a scene. You join a tour group, and one stop on the itinerary is Guangzhou. When you arrive in Guangzhou, you will definitely have the desire to shop in this city with developed commerce, especially import and export, so you go into the shopping mall, take a fancy to a T-shirt, and after some bargaining, you buy it.

You should get used to it when you get home. You put on this T-shirt you bought in Guangzhou and won the praise of your friends. But when you took it off for a few days and put it in the washing machine, an accident happened-the color of this T-shirt faded, so you got angry and scolded. After a few days, the incident gradually faded in your mind until it faded.

At the same time, at the same place, a Guangzhou native who bought a similar T-shirt with you did not find any problems with the products he bought, and happily wore them all summer.

When we buy things in our hometown, we often speak dialect with vendors. Are we doing this out of kindness? Obviously not. We did this because we wanted to send a signal to the vendors intentionally or unintentionally-I am a local, so don't play tricks.

Yes, it is signal transmission, which is an important concept of game theory in economics. When the information is asymmetric, the transaction will be inefficient, and it is a good solution to send signals from one side of the transaction to the other. Obviously, dialect is an ideal signal method.

But strangely, dialects play a role in trading, but they are different from the traditional game theory model. In the traditional game theory, the transaction inefficiency caused by information asymmetry is divided into two situations, one is hidden action and the other is hidden information, which have two well-known names: moral hazard and adverse selection.

Dialect is the solution to adverse selection. Typical adverse selection is because of incomplete information, which leads to defective products expelling good goods. In the end, either the defective products are left on the market or the market disappears. A typical example is the used car market. When customers want to buy second-hand cars, because of the disadvantage of information, they can't judge which car is in good condition and which car is in poor condition, so they tend to think that all cars are in bad condition. Then the price he gave can only be accepted by the owner with the worst car condition, but the owner with better car condition can't accept it. In the end, all the cars in good condition withdrew from the market, and the rest were used cars with the worst condition.

The solution to adverse selection is to send a signal. For example, as we can see now, some car owners provide a warranty for the second-hand cars they sell, and buyers can judge the car condition from the duration and scope of the warranty, so that the second-hand cars with better car condition can also reflect their value and find buyers.

The role of dialect is similar to that of car owners providing warranty for their cars. People who can speak the local dialect generally know the market better, and products with quality problems are easy to get back, while foreigners can't speak the local dialect, so the evaluation of products is not accurate, and it is not easy to safeguard their rights and interests. Therefore, vendors can distinguish customers according to whether they can speak dialects, sell good products to local people, and sell bad products at high prices. ......

Why are there so many dialects in China?

Dialect is a variant of language. Dialects can be divided into regional dialects and social dialects according to their nature. Regional dialect is a variant of language due to regional differences, a branch of national language in different regions, and a reflection of the unbalanced development of language in different regions. Social dialects are different social variants formed by social members in the same area due to social differences in occupation, class, age, gender and cultural upbringing.

The similarities and differences between regional dialects and social dialects can be investigated from the following aspects.

The similarities between the two are as follows: first, they are both the result of language differentiation and the embodiment of unbalanced language development; Second, there is no national characteristics. Social dialects are popular in a certain class and regional dialects are popular in a certain area. Of course, as far as the region is concerned, regional dialects have a certain nationality within a certain range. Third, they should be made of materials in the national language.

Among several dialects of modern Chinese in China, the northern dialect can be regarded as the development of ancient Chinese in the vast northern region after thousands of years, and the rest dialects are gradually formed by the continuous southward migration of northern residents in history. The early Jiangnan area, mainly inhabited by the Guyue nationality, used Guyue language, which was far from ancient Chinese and could not speak. Later, * * in the north went south several times on a large scale, which brought ancient northern Chinese in different periods and spread to various regions in the south of the Yangtze River, thus gradually forming six dialects that are obviously different from each other now. There are three reasons for the differences in dialects: first, before the contact between northern Chinese and southern ancient Vietnamese, there were their own regional dialects; Second, the time for northern Chinese to go south is different, and the natural Chinese themselves are different; Third, the southern dialect developed in a certain unique environment.

In the development of Han society, there have been different degrees of differentiation and unification, which gradually led to the emergence of Chinese dialects.

There are various dialects in modern Chinese, which are widely distributed. The differences between modern Chinese dialects are manifested in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar, especially in pronunciation. But these dialects and homophones are not independent languages, because they have certain corresponding rules in pronunciation and have many similarities in vocabulary and grammar.

Why are there so many dialects in China?

According to different local customs, diets, geographical environment and openness, local languages in different regions will naturally differ. Generally speaking, there are relatively small differences in dialects in areas not far apart, but there are great differences in dialects between the north and the south. Today, there are still many dialects among different regions in China, which is the accumulation of long-term folk culture and a convenient tool for communication. Speaking Mandarin is to better promote the correct communication between people in different regions. Nowadays, the process of integration is accelerating, and it is also an inevitable requirement of market economy to communicate with people correctly and quickly. Speaking Mandarin well and being civilized is not only the need of communication, but also the embodiment of good quality.

Why do dialects appear?

Regional differences have formed different languages, and then with the reunification of the motherland, languages have also been unified.

Due to the migration of population, different languages merge with each other. ..

Then form a dialect.

Why are there dialects?

This is the result of a long history. In ancient times, human social interaction only took place in a small range. Each place naturally formed its own unique language style. It's just that with the development of society, human social interaction is becoming more and more frequent and the spatial scope is getting bigger and bigger. Gradually formed a language characterized by the style of a political, economic and cultural center, and then formed Putonghua. Modern local languages with their own characteristics in other places are called dialects.

Why do different regions have different dialects?

Chinese Dialect and China Culture

August 2, 2004109: 09

Wang Luxiang: Why is the canal so clear? Because there is running water at the source. This is the "Dahongying Century Lecture Hall". I'm Wang Luxiang. Hello, everyone.

Speaking of China, everyone will describe it with a large population, a long history and a vast territory. In fact, China has another feature: rich language and numerous dialects. Speaking of dialects, we all have such experiences. We are all from Zhejiang, but Wenzhou people can't understand what Hangzhou people say, Hunan people can't understand what I am from Lianyuan, and Changsha people can't understand. The so-called "different customs in a hundred miles, different sounds in ten miles" has even formed dialect islands in some places. Why do Chinese produce so many dialects? How are dialects formed? What is the relationship between dialect and a nation's language? What is the relationship between dialect and culture? How did China culture spread with the evolution of dialects? Today, we invited Professor Zhang Hongming from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who is also a visiting professor at Nankai University, to give us a lecture on these issues. His topic is "Chinese Dialect and China Culture".

Zhang Hongming's resume

Zhang Hongming, 1984, holds a master's degree in China history from Fudan University. After graduation, he stayed in school to teach, 1987 went to study in the United States. From 1990 to 1992, Zhang Hongming received a master's degree and a doctor's degree in general linguistics from the University of California. 1994, Zhang Hongming was employed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was awarded a tenured professorship in 1998.

In addition, Professor Zhang has also served as the editor-in-chief or executive editor-in-chief of various "China Linguistics Research Series", a reviewer of papers in various international academic journals and conferences, and made keynote speeches and invited speeches at various international and regional academic conferences for many times. 1999 has been the permanent secretary-general of the China International Linguistics Society, responsible for the actual operation of the whole society.

His main research fields are phonology theory, the interface between phonetics and grammar, historical linguistics, dialectology, poetry rhythm and so on.

Wang Luxiang: Speaking of dialects, in fact, each of us can speak dialects after birth. No one said that he would speak Mandarin after he was born. Even a Beijinger speaks Beijing dialect. Tianjin is very close to Beijing, and now it is Tianjin dialect. I think it's strange that we are all Han people, both called * * *, and both speak Chinese, but why are there so many people from China? What's going on here? What is this?

Zhang Hongming: Chinese is a big concept. It is easy for us to equate Chinese with Mandarin and Beijing dialect. In fact, from the perspective of language classification, the languages in our world can be divided into many language families. At the highest level, we can be divided into Sino-Tibetan language family and Indo-European language family, both of which are different language families. Chinese belongs to Sino-Tibetan language family, and then it is the Chinese branch of Sino-Tibetan language family. There are many subordinate branches of Chinese in the Chinese branch, that is, its dialect. The secondary classification of dialects is sub-dialects, dialects and specific words.

Wang Luxiang: Just like a tree, it has many small branches, and the words on the smallest branch are basically unreadable by others.

Zhang Hongming: Then implement it in Tianjin dialect.

Wang Luxiang: Speaking of this dialect, there are actually many interesting things, which are often separated by the language itself. In fact, language is originally for communication, and the essence and vocation of language seems to be born for communication. It just happens that many people can't communicate, and such obstacles, including misunderstandings, all occur in language.

Zhang Hongming: Yes.

Wang Luxiang: How do you understand this phenomenon? In fact, I always feel that language itself seems to be a natural phenomenon, which has something to do with water and soil and the environment of this place. For example, when people talk in the mountains, their voices smell like mountains; When people talk in the plain, they smell like rivers; When people talk by the river, they smell like a river. Language, like trees and grass, feels natural, but at the same time it feels artificial. For example, many languages are actually very artificial and are a recognition system.

Zhang Hongming: People are curious about the whole world. People's thirst for knowledge is part of the driving force of curiosity. Today's human beings can understand our external world. ......

Why do dialects appear in the same language family?

Differentiation and unification of language

First, language is divided with the division of society.

1. What is the product of language differentiation? Language divides with the division of society. When a social group is divided into several social groups for some reason, language will also be divided. At the same time, the degree of social differentiation also directly determines the degree of language differentiation.

The differentiation of (1) language is first manifested in regional dialects, that is, the emergence of various local varieties of the same language. Regional dialects are adapted to the semi-differentiated state of society. A unified society is sometimes divided into several semi-independent social units due to feudal separatism, traffic barriers and other reasons. There is not much contact between them, the relationship is alienated and communication is reduced, but the whole society has not completely disintegrated. This social differentiation leads to the change of social function of language, which leads to the expansion of language system differences and the differentiation of a language into different dialects. For example, in the long historical development process, Chinese has successively formed seven dialects, including Northern Dialect, Wu Dialect, Xiang Dialect, Gan Dialect, Hakka Dialect, Min Dialect and Guangdong Dialect.

(2) Secondly, language differentiation is manifested in the languages of relatives with the same historical origin. Due to the disintegration and division of the country, a unified society sometimes splits into several independent social units. On the basis of different dialects, languages are constantly divided into several independent kinship languages. For example, after the collapse of the Mongolian Empire, the original Mongolian language was divided into many independent languages: Mongolian, Dongxiang, Yu Tu, Dahan, Baoan and Soviet Greek.

(3) The same language will also show various characteristics due to social differentiation, which is the social dialect.

2. Language can be divided into two types with society:

(1) regional dialects and kinship dialects.

(2) Social dialects.

3. Regional dialects and kinship dialects:

(1) concept: regional branches or variants of the same language in different regions due to differences in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar are called regional dialects. Every language differentiated from the same language is called kinship dialect.

(2) Dialect is the result of incomplete social differentiation and language development and evolution.

(3) Dialects can be divided into power dialects and dialects.

(4) The differences between dialects are mainly manifested in phonetics, and there are also some differences in vocabulary, semantics and grammar.

(5) There are always some similarities between dialects. For example, phonetic correspondence involves a batch of words, which proves that dialects have the same historical origin.

(6) The historical homology between kinship languages is called kinship, and its important symbol is phonetic correspondence.

4. Why speaking dialects is the result of incomplete social differentiation and language development and evolution, that is, how did regional dialects come into being? Regional dialects are formed with social differentiation and language development and evolution.

(1) The places of residence and activities are scattered, and the frequency of verbal communication between people in different regions is very low. The similarity of the original language they use will decrease and the differences will increase. Over time, different dialects will be formed.

(2) The feudal society with a vast territory is in an incomplete state of differentiation due to underdeveloped production and trade, inconvenient transportation and communication, and it is difficult to maintain a completely unified situation, which will also promote the emergence of dialects.

(3) Large-scale collective migration will also lead to incomplete social differentiation, resulting in dialect differences within a language.

5. The genealogical classification of language can be divided into four levels: language family, language family, language branch and language group.

6. The languages in the world can be divided into nine major language families according to their kinship, and Sino-Tibetan and Indo-European are the two major language families with a large number of users.

7. Social dialects:

(1) Concept: The varieties and features associated with certain social features and communities within a language or dialect are called social dialects.

(2) Social dialects and regional dialects are different in structural system. Regional dialects have their own independent language system, and the differences between them can be so great that they can't understand each other, while social dialects have no independent language system and will not hinder communication.

(3) Reasons for language differences:

(1) The difference between classes.

(2) Occupational differences.

③ Age difference.

④ Gender differences.

⑤ Differences in educational level.

6. Differences in religious beliefs.

(4) Fundamentally speaking, social group differentiation is the root of social dialect differences in language.

two ......

What will it be? What will it be?

The original text of this sentence is like this: "There will be milk, bread and everything ..."

It is a sentence that Vahili said to his wife at 19 18 in the early Soviet film Lenin.

Why are dialects different in every place?

Why do different places use different words?

-About the formation of dialects

People who work in other places sometimes miss their hometown and talk to each other about the local customs and the scenery of the motherland. Then, we often talk about local dialects and laugh at each other for some special dialect words and their strange pronunciations. After the laughter, someone may suddenly ask: Why are there such different dialects in different places? How are the differences in dialects caused?

It is said that there is an absurd explanation in religious stories that all languages in the world are the same. Later, human beings evolved and discussed with each other how to use burnt bricks as stones and paint as dust to build a city and a tower, the top of which reached the sky. The Lord God was afraid and said, "Look, they have become one people, all speaking the same words. Since they are called to do this, nothing they do in the future will be unsuccessful. " As a result, he came down and confused people's accents, making each other's languages impassable and causing differences.

In Australia, there is also a myth about this issue, saying: In the East, there lived an evil old woman, Buruli. At night, she walked on the road with a thick stick, destroying the bonfire of the sleeping people around her. Later, when the evil old woman died, people were very happy and sent urgent messengers to all races to inform them of this gratifying thing. Therefore, the festival to commemorate the death of the old woman began with swallowing the body. The Gerard people ate the meat of the fierce old woman first, and suddenly talked about things that people didn't understand. Later, several other races tasted the intestines of the old woman and began to speak new dialects that everyone could not understand. Later, the northern races who arrived ate the remains of the old woman's body and began to say incomprehensible things. It is said that this has led to language differences.

Of course, these two absurd stories can't solve such a serious academic problem, and everyone will laugh it off and judge it as nonsense. However, these two stories also reflect a problem, that is, in distant ancient times, people have been thinking about this language problem and have a strong interest in it.

So, how do languages cause differences and how do dialects come into being? Perhaps some people will find an explanation from the geographical environment, saying: there is a Yangtze River between southern Jiangsu and northern Jiangsu, which causes dialect differences. However, imagine: Why didn't the same Yangtze River divide Hubei dialect and Sichuan dialect into two different dialects? It can be seen that natural conditions are not the root cause of language differences. Therefore, the formation of dialects can only be found from the social and historical conditions. From this point of view, the reasons for the formation of many dialects in China are not single, but varied. It can be roughly said that: First, due to the long-term feudal rule in ancient China, the country was not very unified, so with the continuous expansion of territory, the continuous increase of population and the frequent feudal separatism in China, the communication between regions was restricted to a certain extent. In this way, languages in a state of constant development and change all evolve independently, and it is not easy to obtain the consistency of change. As a result, over time, the languages in different regions are gradually different, which gradually reduces the factors of homosexuality and forms dialects with different characteristics in different regions. This is how dialects in northern China, including North China, Northeast China, Northwest China, Southwest China, Central China and East China, are formed. Secondly, in ancient China, due to social unrest and war, there were many large-scale population movements, which was also a reason for the formation of dialects. For example, from the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, from the Tang and Song Dynasties to the Song Dynasty, and from the end of the Song Dynasty to the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the residents of the Central Plains of China moved south three times, resulting in Hakka dialect now distributed in Guangdong and Jiangxi. "Because the ancestors of Hakkas moved south and settled in isolated mountainous areas, on the one hand, they stored their inherent traditions; on the other hand, due to the limitations of natural conditions, they were not easily infiltrated by external influences, and their strong clan concept and conservative thoughts also enhanced their ability to resist external influences; Hakka settlements not only formed their own special social life areas, but also stored their own inherent cultural customs and formed an independent system in language. " Thirdly, in the case of population migration, if people move into foreign residential areas, ethnic integration, language interaction and even assimilation will inevitably occur, which is also an important historical reason for the characteristics of dialects. For example, Guangdong and Guangxi are places where many ethnic minorities live together, but since the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, a large number of Han people have moved from the north to the south. ......

Why are there differences in dialects?

The so-called one side of the soil and water to support one side of the people, that is to say, people live in different environments, and their growth and development will be different. Physiology is like this, thinking is like this, and so are all kinds of behavior habits. Groups in different natural regions or administrative regions have little contact with each other, but what they see, hear, eat, drink, touch, think and like every day is different. Of course, what they said must be different. * * * The same word, different accents eventually develop into different dialects; If the words are different, different accents will eventually develop into different languages. We in China have a wide range of primitive and diverse dialects, but we can get together for thousands of years because our great square Chinese characters are rich in content and it is difficult to create hieroglyphics. On the contrary, in the west, such as European countries, their dozens of countries are not as big as China, and their cultures are similar. It turns out that the Roman Empire was once a unified and huge gang. Why did it fall apart later? It is because they use alphabetic characters, which can be put together with more than 20 letters, and different characters can be produced with a little change. Therefore, the regional languages in Europe and America have become independent, and their distinctive accents have finally evolved into different languages. This is the origin of dialects. Of course, in today's society, with the increase of people's communication, many dialects are constantly being assimilated. On the one hand, it brings a lot of convenience to people's communication and life, on the other hand, it makes our cultural heritage disappear. This is a pair of contradictions. It is also a kind of helplessness. And ~ 1, China has a vast territory, resulting in regional differentiation of languages; 2. The ethnic diversity in our country has caused the long-term disunity of language; 3. The language itself is constantly developing, but the development procedures of various language branches and regions are not uniform, resulting in the diversification of languages; 4. The long-term failure of promoting Putonghua in China is also one of the reasons for language diversity; 5. The long-term underdeveloped traffic in China, especially the traffic barrier between north and south, is also one of the reasons for the diversity of languages.