Name:
赣 Gan
Population:
20,580,000
Region:
Jiangxi province (江西) and Southeast Hubei (湖北). Also spoken in parts of Anhui (安徽), Hunan (湖南) and Fujian (福建).
Information:
The dialect spoken in the Gan region is somewhat intelligible with Mandarin, yet still a distinct dialect (as opposed to an accent). The region is defined by the Gan river, 赣江 gan4jiang1, and the dialect was clearly spoken by people who once used the river as a major trade route. This dialect marks the transition between the Mandarin speaking North and the “Dialect” speaking South.
Characteristics:
- All initial stops are aspirated (like Pinyin p, t, and k in Putonghua).
- Final stops, such as -p, -t, -k. Different stops are present in different Gan dialects. The farther South, the more distinctions between final stops (providing evidence for the claim that Gan dialects are a transition between North and South)