The Present Dunhuang Dialect and Northwestern Dialect in Tang and Five Dynasty

The paper gives a sketch of the dialect phonology in Tang and Five Dynasty and the presentdunhuang dialect.It argues that the present dunhuang dialect originated from Gansu dialects brought along by the emigrants of 56 states of Gansu in middle Qing Dynasty.It is generally in accordance with other northwestern dialects,and thus considered as a whole and a base dialect in dunhuang documents.Based on the above,the correspondence is also studied between the present Gansu and the erstwhile Northwestern dialects.The paper includes five sections,1) sketch;2) geographical,demographical and historical backgrounds of Dunhuang;3) phonology and its features of Dunhuang dialect;4) correspondence of the present Dunhuang dialect and its counterparts in Tang and Five Dynasty;and 5) the conclusion and beyond.