This book presents a comparative reconstruction of the common phonology of the Chinese dialects using representative data from living dialects. The resulting phonology includes all categories and phonological distinctions that are represented in the dialect data. It departs from the tradition of using philological sources and non-Chinese borrowings as the basis for a reconstructed system. Based on a strict comparative methodology, the phonology presented encapsulates the shared phonology of the dialects and reflects the real-world distinctions and categories found in the living dialects. For example, the initials preserve the tripartite division that includes voiced obstruents seen in Wú dialects; the finals are comparatively drawn based on the collective dialect data; and the syllable codas preserve the three-way contrasts of consonant stop endings seen in the Cantonese dialects. The data presented allows readers to observe the basis for all of the distinction and categories included in the common phonology and the relationship of that phonology to all of the dialects, and as a result to identify the dialects’ disparate developments and evolution. The English translation also includes innovative elements that render it even more useful for researchers than the Chinese original. The book is primarily intended for scholars and researchers investigating the Chinese dialects and their relationships, and the history of Chinese. It is also useful for scholars of Chinese history and literature who need a handy resource providing essential information on the historical phonology of Chinese.

A one-stop, comprehensive account of the key developments in the phonological history of Chinese.

本书为2019年度教育部哲学社会科学研究后期资助项目（项目编号19JHQ003）。本书选用活的、具有代表性的方言材料，根据方言音系，采用从分不从合的原则，通过比较研究归纳出一个“最小公倍数”，作为现代汉语方言的共同音系，以反映现今方言的音类分合。列出3000字在16个方言点的实际读音，以及与共同音系对应的音类，包含汉语方言的共有特征在音类上的区别。

"DeFrancis's book is first rate. It entertains. It teaches. It demystifies. It counteracts popular ignorance as well as sophisticated (cocktail party) ignorance. Who could ask for anything more? There is no other book like it. ... It is one of a kind, a first, and I would not only buy it but I would recommend it to friends and colleagues, many of whom are visiting China now and are adding 'two-week-expert' ignorance to the two kinds that existed before. This is a book for everyone." --Joshua A. Fishman, research professor of social sciences, Yeshiva University, New York "Professor De Francis has produced a work of great effectiveness that should appeal to a wide-ranging audience. It is at once instructive and entertaining. While being delighted by the flair of his novel approach, the reader will also be led to ponder on some of the most fundamental problems concerning the relations between written languages and spoken languages. Specifically, he will be served a variety of information on the languages of East Asia, not as dry pedantic facts, but as appealing tidbits that whet the intellectual appetite. The expert will find much to reflect on in this book, for Professor DeFrancis takes nothing for granted." --William S.Y. Wang, professor of linguistics, University of California at Berkeley

The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Linguistics offers a broad and comprehensive coverage of the entire field from a multi-disciplinary perspective. All chapters are contributed by leading scholars in their respective areas. This Handbook contains eight sections: history, languages and dialects, language contact, morphology, syntax, phonetics and phonology, socio-cultural aspects and neuro-psychological aspects. It provides not only a diachronic view of how languages evolve, but also a synchronic view of how languages in contact enrich each other by borrowing new words, calquing loan translation and even developing new syntactic structures. It also accompanies traditional linguistic studies of grammar and phonology with empirical evidence from psychology and neurocognitive sciences. In addition to research on the Chinese language and its major dialect groups, this handbook covers studies on sign languages and non-Chinese languages, such as the Austronesian languages spoken in Taiwan.

This comprehensive study of Chinese phonology covers both factual description and theoretical analyses. In addition, efforts have been made to avoid unecessary jargon and to introduce relevant theories in a non-technical way.