Social status, contact history and the implosives in the Chinese dialects of Hainan

Abstract

The Mandarin dialects spoken in former garrison towns and the surrounding Southern Min and Cantonese dialects in the island of Hainan are affected by the voiced implosive initials of the local indigenous Kra-Dai languages in different ways. The garrison dialects with low social status developed the implosives, like the Southern Min and Cantonese dialects that pre-dated the establishment of the garrison towns. The garrison dialects with high social status did not develop the implosives, blocking the Chinese dialects that arrived later from getting them. The prestigious garrison dialects also serve as the source of loanwords for the regional Southern Min and Cantonese dialects.