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Article In: Asian Languages and Linguistics: Online-First Articles

Distance-dependent linguistic diffusion from sociocultural centers in China

 | The Education University of Hong Kong
 | The Education University of Hong Kong
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Abstract
This study employs dialectometric methods to test wave theory’s predictions of linguistic diffusion, examining how geographical distance from major sociocultural centers shapes linguistic similarity in China. Analyzing 32 phonological, lexical, and morphosyntactic features across 243 locations, we calculate Jaccard similarity coefficients relative to the national center (Beijing), a major regional center (Guangzhou), and a non-center control (Baoxing). Results confirm a strong negative correlation between distance and similarity for both Beijing (r ≈ −0.72) and Guangzhou (r ≈ −0.78), but not Baoxing (r ≈ −0.25), validating distance-decay as a key mechanism. However, significant differences in the pattern and extent of influence emerge. Beijing exhibits a wider influence radius (~1195–1491 km) but with a shallower, noisier decay slope and strong directional anisotropy, reflecting its role as a sociocultural core whose reach is mediated by historical migration corridors. Guangzhou demonstrates a steeper, more geographically confined decay profile (~672–877 km radius), functioning as a regional center. However, as a national center, Beijing’s linguistic influence is not nationwide. We argue that the contemporary linguistic state results from the historically recent ascendancy of Beijing Mandarin superimposed upon older substrates, mainly the Nanjing Mandarin. The findings highlight the interplay of genealogical, contact-based, and spatially explicit models of the evolution and distribution of Sinitic languages.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Approaches applied to Sinitic subgrouping
    • 1.2Areal diffusion under the wave model
  • 2.Methodologies
    • 2.1Selected linguistic features and locations
    • 2.2Geographical distance data
    • 2.3Comparative sites
    • 2.4Statistical analysis
  • 3.Correlations between geographical distance and linguistic similarity
  • 4.Distance-decay and influence radii
  • 5.Decay rates
  • 6.Decay directions
  • 7.Beijing as the national center but with limited linguistic influence
  • 8.Conclusion
  • Author contribution
  • Supplementary material
  • Author queries
  • References
References (64)
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