Guangzhou Dialect Dictionary: Modern Chinese Dialect Dictionary · Volume

Author: Bai Wanru
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-03-01
Features: The dialect survey records the current state of the language, while the dialect comparison reflects the historical evolution of the language. The dialect dictionary presents the preliminary research findings in a list format, allowing readers to look up the meanings of dialect words. Linguists can use it for specialized research, and scholars in literature and history can also utilize the linguistic materials. In recent years, research on Chinese dialects has made progress. Under this background, we plan to compile a comprehensive modern Chinese dialect dictionary based on field surveys. This plan consists of two steps. Step one is to investigate forty dialects and compile forty local dialect dictionaries. Step two is to supplement additional dialect materials based on the forty local dialect dictionaries and compile a comprehensive Chinese dialect dictionary. Both the local dialect dictionaries and the comprehensive Chinese dialect dictionary will be published by Jiangsu Education Press. The dialect dictionaries are based on dialect surveys. The survey first involves selecting pronunciation collaborators. The selection of collaborators includes the elderly and middle-aged, but does not exclude the young. Based on the former, the phonetic system is determined, and the linguistic materials are recorded. The latter is used to supplement vocabulary and explain the differences between the phonetic systems. The survey forms include character tables and word tables. The former adopts the publicly published "Dialect Survey Character Table," while the latter is newly compiled for this project, "Dialect Survey Word Table." The single characters and words listed in these tables are as far as possible clarified for those that can be spoken in the local dialect. Only in this way can the linguistic materials from different regions be compared for similarities and differences. These materials are merely the maximum common denominator for the local dialect dictionaries. The local compilers have ample space to extensively collect the phonetic forms and vocabulary of their respective dialects. The requirements for the local dialect dictionaries are two: one is to prepare for the comprehensive dialect dictionary, and the other is to reflect the characteristics of the dialect. The content of the local dialect dictionaries is divided into three parts: The main body is the dictionary proper, preceded by an introduction and followed by a category index and a index of entries.