Altaic influences on Beijing dialect: the Manchu case.: An article from: The Journal of the American Oriental Society

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From the author: Chinese has traditionally been considered a language relatively immune to outside influences. It is true that lexical items of foreign origin have been difficult to find. On the other hand, as Hashimoto (1976a; 1986) has pointed out, when one examines the Chinese dialects, the northern dialects have many features in common with Altaic languages which border them on the north and the southern dialects have many features in common with the Austroasiatic languages which border them on the south. Hashimoto hypothesized heavy Altaic influence on northern Chinese dialects and even went so far as to call Beijing dialect a descendent of a Manchu-Chinese pidgin. Though few would follow him to that extreme, Thomason's and Kaufman's (1988) theories on language contact lend new weight to the supposition that northern Chinese dialects carry an Altaic substrate. As to Manchu influences, Norman (1982) has produced one example of morphological borrowing. More studies need to be done in light of new theory.

From the supplier: Several recent studies have challenged the long-held perception that the Chinese language is relatively immune to outside influences. These studies point to the fact that several northern Chinese dialects possess many common features with Altaic languages. One researcher, Mantaro Hashimoto, went so far as to hypothesize that the Beijing dialect may be a descendant of a Manchu-Chinese pidgin.

Citation Details
Title: Altaic influences on Beijing dialect: the Manchu case.
Author: Stephen A. Wadley
Publication:The Journal of the American Oriental Society (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 1996
Publisher: American Oriental Society
Volume: v116 Issue: n1 Page: p99(6)

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