Knowledge Bank

Ngzhau Cantonese (梧州白話) is a Yuehai (粵海片) dialect island in Guangxi, surrounded by Goulou (勾漏片) varieties. Although Ngzhau is lexically and grammatically highly similar to other Yuehai varieties, it has a distinct functional morpheme man1, used in the words dim2man1 (“why”,“how”) and gam2man1(“in this manner”). This man1 morpheme is absent in Yuehai and its origin is obscure. We conduct a cross-comparison of the forms and functions of man1 between Ngzhau Cantonese, Standard Cantonese, and nearby Goulou varieties in historical records and fieldwork data. We find that Goulou varieties show a more flexible use of man1, either alone or compounded. This flexibility supports our hypothesis that man1 in Ngzhau was borrowed from Goulou Yue. Our analysis suggests that Ngzhau initially adopted gam2man1 and dim2man1 from Goulou, later replacing dim2 joeng2 with these borrowed forms. This case study provides evidence of contact between Ngzhau Cantonese and Goulou Yue. There is a possibility of other potential influences between these varieties. The case study highlights the importance of examining individual morphemes to understand the dynamics of language contact within Yue varieties in Guangxi Area.