A Geolinguistic Approach to nDrapa Dialectology

Abstract

This study investigates dialectal divisions in nDrapa and their historical development using geolinguistic methods. We examine data from the Swadesh 100 wordlist at 13 points in nDrapa dialects. The geographical distribution of word forms presents a dialect continuum across three dialect groups: southern, central, and northern. By contrast with previous studies, we find that dialect boundaries do not coincide with the administrative boundary between Yajiang and Daofu. Based on geolinguistic analysis, dialect boundaries vary across items but can be classified into several patterns. There are two significant isoglosses within the Yajiang and Daofu counties, which divide three dialect groups. In some cases, there are no clear dialectal boundaries between Central and Northern or between Central and Southern regions. However, the Central dialect group is mainly characterized by a mixture of basic words that are common to either Northern or Southern dialects. In addition, some vocabulary has developed exclusively in the Central dialects.