The Middle Tong-Tai dialect (Chinese: 通泰方言中区; pinyin: Tōng-Tài fāngyán zhōngqū) is a branch of the Tong-Tai dialect and is mainly used in the districts including Rugao, Rudong (excluding Binfang), Taixing, east of Dongtai, east of Hai'an and southwest of Jinhai, China. Although it is divided into the category of Jianghuai Mandarin, a communication barrier still exists between it and other dialects of Jianghuai Mandarin like the Yangzhou dialect. The reason could be that these areas are closely bonded on the Wu region in history. For example, there is much marked bottom preservation of Wu Chinese in vernaculars of Rudong. So it can seem as a dialect based on Wu, but later reformed by Jianghuai Mandarin. Or as an interim zone between Wu and Jianghuai.
References
- Ting, Pang-hsin 丁邦新 (1966). "Rúgāo fāngyán de yīnyùn" 如皋方言的音韻 [The Phonetic System of Ju-kao Dialect] (PDF). Zhōngyāng Yánjiùyuàn Lìshǐ Yǔyán Yánjiūsuǒ jíkān 中央研究院歷史語言研究所集刊 (in Chinese). 36: 573–664.
- Zhang, Guangyu 张光宇 (1999). "Dōngnán fāngyán guānxì zōnglùn" 东南方言关系综论. Fāngyán 方言 (in Chinese). 1999 (1): 33, 37, 38.