深入探討及了解羌語方言

Towards a More Comprehensive Understanding of Qiang Dialectology

目前羌語的方言分配研究尚處於初步階段。過去的研究按照方言類型和特徵簡略地把所有的羌語方言分為南北兩大方言。本文針對過去的方言分配法進行評論及說明一些不足之處。研究指出，過去的分配法未考慮到羌語方言的多樣性而不能用於概括解釋一些目前還未研究過的方言，例如永和方言。為了明確地說明方言的分配法，本文更深入地發展出一套以共同創新為基礎的分配方法論以供將來研究之需。

Dialectology in the Qiang languages is still an underdeveloped field of study. Previous accounts of Qiang varieties have over simplistically described all varieties as belonging to one of two groups, Northern Qiang and Southern Qiang, based on broad typological features. This article demonstrates that previous subgroupings are inadequate and cannot account for the diversity of Qiang varieties, such as the previously undescribed Yonghe variety. The implication of this finding is that an entirely new approach to subgrouping of Qiang varieties is required. This paper not only deconstructs the previous subgroupings, but also puts forward a new scheme for subgrouping based on shared innovations and individual-identifying evidence in order to show which groupings have been established and to show where further work is needed.