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History, Culture and Art of the Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties of China

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    Language in Early China (7 posts)
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    Jin
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    Author: * Genji Shang - 7 Posts on this thread out of 50 Posts sitewide.
    Date: Dec 3, 2004 - 09:46

    Jin (simplified: 晋语; traditional: 晉語; pinyin: jėnyǔ), or Jin-yu, is a subdivision of spoken Chinese.

    Its exact status is disputed among linguists; some prefer to classify it under Mandarin, while others set it apart as an independent branch.

    Jin is spoken over most of Shanxi province, except for the lower Fen River valley; much of central Inner Mongolia; as well as adjourning areas in Hebei, Henan, and Shaanxi provinces.

    Cities covered within this area include Taiyuan, Zhangjiakou, Hohhot, Jiaozuo, and Yulin. In total Jin is spoken by roughly 45 million people.

    The speech of Shanxi province is, alone among the various dialects of North China, unique enough to warrant the label of "language" from some linguists.

    This may well be due to the geographic isolation of Shanxi.

    The entire province is a plateau surrounded by mountains on all sides.

    This may well have contributed to the differences between Jin and all the Mandarin dialects that surround it.

    http://en.wikipedia.org


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