Knowledge Bank

Inspired by several dialect geography studies, the present study aimed to determine whether there is a connection between geographical features and dialect distributions, with a specific focus on whether the distribution of watersheds in certain Chinese localities corresponds with the regional distribution of dialects. Three criteria were used to search for the desired targets within China: (1)dialectal diversity, (2) geographical diversity, and (3) the availability of geographic and linguistic data. Shaanxi province and the Jiang-Huai region of China were selected for this purpose. Using a map-to-map comparison and a literature review, similar overlapping patterns were found between the watershed and dialect boundaries in the two areas. These preliminary findings indicate a correlation between watershed distribution and dialectal boundary formation in these localities.