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| Xiang | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunanese | |||||||||||
| 湘語/湘语 | |||||||||||
 "Xiang Language" written in Chinese characters | |||||||||||
| Native to | China | ||||||||||
| Region | Central and southwestern Hunan, northern Guangxi, parts of Guizhou, Guangdong, Sichuan, Jiangxi and Hubei provinces | ||||||||||
| Ethnicity | Hunanese | ||||||||||
Native speakers | 38 million (2021)[1] | ||||||||||
| Varieties |
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| Chinese characters | |||||||||||
| Language codes | |||||||||||
| ISO 639-3 | hsn | ||||||||||
| Glottolog | xian1251 | ||||||||||
| Linguasphere | 79-AAA-e | ||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 湘語 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 湘语 | ||||||||||
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| Hunanese | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 湖南話 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 湖南话 | ||||||||||
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Xiang or Hsiang (Chinese: 湘; Changsha Xiang: [sian˧ y˦˩],[2] Mandarin: [ɕi̯aŋ˥ y˨˩˦]), also known as Hunanese, is a group of linguistically similar and historically related Sinitic languages, spoken mainly in Hunan province but also in northern Guangxi and parts of neighboring Guizhou, Guangdong, Sichuan, Jiangxi and Hubei provinces. Scholars divided Xiang into five subgroups, Chang-Yi, Lou-Shao, Hengzhou, Chen-Xu and Yong-Quan.[3] Among those, Lou-shao, also known as Old Xiang, still exhibits the three-way distinction of Middle Chinese obstruents, preserving the voiced stops, fricatives, and affricates. Xiang has also been heavily influenced by Mandarin, which adjoins three of the four sides of the Xiang-speaking territory, and Gan in Jiangxi Province, from where a large population immigrated to Hunan during the Ming dynasty.[4]
Xiang-speaking Hunanese people have played an important role in Modern Chinese history, especially in those reformatory and revolutionary movements such as the Self-Strengthening Movement, Hundred Days' Reform, Xinhai Revolution[5] and Chinese Communist Revolution.[6] Some examples of Xiang speakers are Mao Zedong, Zuo Zongtang, Huang Xing and Ma Ying-jeou.[7]
Historical linguists such as W. South Coblin have been in doubt of a taxonomic grouping of Xiang.[8] However, counterargument suggests that shared innovations can be identified for Xiang.[9][10]
- ^ Xiang at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
- ^ a b 鲍厚星; 崔振华; 沈若云; 伍云姬 (1999). 长沙方言研究. 江苏教育出版社. pp. 64, 84.
- ^ 鲍, 鲍; 陈晖 (24 August 2005). 湘语的分区（稿）. 方言 (2005年第3期): 261.
- ^ 徐, 明. 60%湖南人是从江西迁去的 专家：自古江西填湖广. 人民网. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ Qi, Feng (October 2010). 辛亥革命，多亏了不怕死的湖南人. 文史博览 (2011年第10期). Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ Ma, Na. 揭秘：建党时为啥湖南人特别多 都有哪些人？. 中国共产党新闻网. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ Liu, Shuangshuang (20 July 2005). 湖南表兄称马英九祖籍湖南湘潭 祖坟保存完好. Xinhua Net. Archived from the original on 22 July 2005. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ Coblin, W.S. (2011). Comparative Phonology of the Central Xiāng Dialects. Language and linguistics monograph series. Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica. ISBN 978-986-02-9803-1. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
- ^ "A Diachronic Comparative Analysis for the Phonology of Xiāng Dialects". ProQuest. ProQuest 2847587876. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
- ^ Hongjiang Huang (2022). A Diachronic Comparative Analysis for the Phonology of Xiāng Dialects (Thesis). doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.36667.18720. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
