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晉南指山西省西南部的運城、臨汾兩市所轄區域，共30個縣/市。山西省山脈眾多、交通不便，而晉南地處汾河下游，相對地勢低平、交通便捷，北部通往晉語核心區太原盆地，西部、南部分別與以中原官話為主的陝西、河南隔黃河相望，因此絕大部分地區已被官話覆蓋，而交界地帶則兼具官話和晉語特點。根據《中國語言地圖集》（1987）的劃分，最北部的永和、大寧、隰縣、蒲縣和汾西5縣屬晉語呂梁片，其餘25縣/市屬中原官話汾河片。

 

晉語至今仍是頗具爭議的漢語方言之一。李榮（1985）將晉語定義為「山西省及其毗連地區有入聲的方言」，明確了其獨立於官話的地位，隨後被《中國語言地圖集》採用。由此，（1）晉語是否應該獨立，即是平行於官話的大方言還是官話的次方言；（2）晉語的定義是什麼，或應依據甚麼劃定晉語，成為兩大爭論焦點。

 

本講座試圖從入聲這一晉語最重要的特徵入手，選取其中一個地區——山西蒲縣作為觀察樣本，以地理語言學的方法，觀察入聲特徵在這一範圍內的分布狀況，確定分界線的位置，進而追溯演變的歷程、晉語與官話的相互影響情況，最後亦將結合該地區方言其他特徵的分佈，重新思考晉語和官話的性質、定義以及漢語方言分區方案的合理性。

 

Southern Shānxī refers Yùnchéng and Línfén cities in southwestern Shānxī Province, encompassing thirty counties/cities. While mountainous terrain and poor transportation characterize much of Shānxī, the southern region along the Fénhé River features flatter terrain and better accessibility. To its north lies the Tàiyuán Basin, the heart of Jìn, while to its west and south, it faces the Guānhuà-speaking regions of Shǎanxī and Hénán across the Yellow River. As a result, most areas of Southern Shānxī are dominated by Guānhuà, with border zones exhibiting mixed features. According to Language Atlas of China (1987), the five northernmost counties of Línfén belong to the Lǚliáng subgroup of Jìn, while the remaining fall under the Fénhé subgroup of Zhōngyuán Guānhuà.

 

The Jìn dialect is distinctive in northern China and remains a subject of scholarly debate. Lǐ (1985) defined Jìn as "the dialects with rù tones spoken in Shānxī Province and its adjacent regions", asserting its independence from Guānhuà. This was subsequently adopted by the Language Atlas of China (1987/2012). Consequently, two key debates have emerged: (1) whether Jìn should be an independent dialect or a subdialect of Guānhuà; and (2) how to precisely delineate its boundaries.

 

Focusing on the rù tone—the hallmark of Jìn—the study examines Púxiàn County using a geolinguistic approach to map its distribution, identify isoglosses, and trace its evolution and interaction with Guānhuà. Incorporating other regional dialect features, the research re-evaluates the definitions of Jìn and Guānhuà and assesses the validity of current Chinese dialect classifications.