4.6.1 Tone 6
The most salient tone value difference is in PKS tone category B. In most dialects, the yáng tone in this category Tone 6 is realised as either high level 55 or high rising 45 or 56. In Yang’an Sui and
neighbouring Western and some Central Sui lects, however, it is realised as a mid rising tone 24, lower in pitch than its accompanying
yīn tone Tone 5, realised as 35 in most dialects. Map 4.3 shows the distribution of the high and low versions of Tone 6.
Map 4.3. Distribution of high H v. low L Tone 6 in Sui area
Supplementary data from Zeng 2004, marked by stars, and Stanford 2011, marked by squares. Map 4.4 puts this variation in the context of other languages spoken in and around the region.
Somewhat oddly, the Sui dialects which have a low Tone 6 seem to be surrounded by a sea of languages and dialects which all have a high Tone 6 which, in turn, are surrounded by generally voiced-low and
low Tone 6 languages. This is indicative of diffusion of the low Tone 6 presumably originating somewhere in the Yang’an region through but not extending to the limits of a “high Tone 6 area”.
Map 4.4. Distribution of high versus low Tone B2 Tone 6 among minority languages in the Sui locale. White upward-pointing triangles indicate high Tone 6, black downward pointing
triangles indicate low Tone 6. See table 4.18 for key to language letter abbreviations
At this point it is useful to consider the migration history of the Sui peoples. Based on oral accounts of Sui history, scholars generally agree that the Sui originated in southern Guangxi near present-day
Nanning Lei 1985, Pan and Wei 2004, Liang 2008. Due to increased incursions of Han Chinese into the area, the Sui migrated northwards into Guizhou along the Longjiang
龙江 and Duliujiang
都柳江 rivers, arriving in the current Sui homeland around 1,000 years ago Lei 1985, Lei and Yang 1988.
The Sui in the Pandong region PD and JL in map 4.3 reportedly came from Yang’an people with surname “Meng” and Shuilong people with surname “Yao” 500 years ago Lei and Yang 1988,
presumably after the Great Tone Split had occurred. Our wordlist was recorded from people with surname “Meng”, who all have a high Tone 6. People from Dujiang DJ reportedly migrated from
Zhouqin south of Sandong SD, high Tone 6, Tingpai TP and Hengfeng both low Tone 6 around 250 years ago Lei 1988. People from Sanjiang SJ came from Sandong SD, high Tone 6, via Jiuqian JQ,
high Tone 6, around 300 years ago Han et al., 2005. The only clue we have about people from Yang’an Banliang BL is that they may have migrated from a Kam area in Xinhuang county,
southwestern Hunan province Pan and Wei 2004:391.
The fact that migrant communities tend to preserve their distinctive speech characteristics for longer than homeland communities Campbell 2004 leads us to conjecture that the original pitch value
of Tone 6 B2 in most Sui areas was high. The original pitch for Yang’an dialect speakers, whose tones split simultaneously with Kam dialects see section 4.2 above, was presumably low, since almost all Kam
dialects, including the one documented in Xinhuang, are voiced-low in all tone categories including Tone B.
Thus the difference in realisation of Tone 6 is probably due to diffusion of a low Tone 6 originating in the Yang’an area. The fact that the outlying Sui areas tend to retain the older higher-pitched Tone 6 is
unsurprising given that, as Sidwell 2011:153 points out, “sound changes do not always propagate fully over a given speech community, or through the entire lexicon that are eligible to reflect a given sound
change.”
4.6.2 Tones 2 and 4
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