The Evolution of Ru-Tone in the Gan and Ke Groups of Chinese Dialects

This paper investigates the evolution of Ru-tone in the Gan and Ke groups of Chinese dialects, which are spoken in the north and central west areas of Jiangxi province, as well as in the east of Hunan province. Our investigation leads to the following conclusions: (1) the evolution of the Ru-tone is conditioned by syllable onsets. In particular, the Ru-tone syllable with a voiced onset merges with the Qu-tone category, while the Ru-tone with a voiceless onset merges with the Yinping or Yinqu categories. (2) In the Ke dialects of southern Jiangxi, the Ru-tone evolution is influenced by two factors. The first factor is the voicing of the onset, and the second is the category of rhymes. (3) The evolution of the Ru-tone is a consequence of the loss of obstruent coda in the Ru-tone syllables. (4) The results of the Ru-tone evolution are either to merge with the category that has the closest tonal value or to remain in the Ru-tone category.