New Xiang language
Quick Summary
New Xiang is a variety of the Xiang language, spoken in China's Hunan province. Primarily spoken around the capital city of Changsha, New Xiang has been significantly influenced by Mandarin Chinese. This linguistic influence distinguishes it from Old Xiang, another variety of the Xiang language, which shares more similarities with the Wu language and features a larger number of initial consonants. Both varieties of Xiang utilize five tones to differentiate word meanings that share the same consonant and vowel sounds.12
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
- Xiang language
…major varieties of Xiang are New Xiang and Old Xiang. New Xiang, which is spoken predominantly around Changsha, the capital of Hunan, has been strongly influenced by Mandarin Chinese. Old Xiang, which is spoken in other areas of the province, including Shuangfeng, is similar in several respects to the Wu…
Read More…major varieties of Xiang are New Xiang and Old Xiang. New Xiang, which is spoken predominantly around Changsha, the capital of Hunan, has been strongly influenced by Mandarin Chinese. Old Xiang, which is spoken in other areas of the province, including Shuangfeng, is similar in several respects to the Wu…
Read More 
Chinese languagesXiang languages…in Hunan, are divided into New Xiang, which is under heavy influence from Mandarin and includes the language of the capital Changsha, and Old Xiang, more similar to the Wu languages, as spoken for instance in Shuangfeng. Old Xiang has 28 initial consonants, the highest number for any major Sinitic…
Read More…in Hunan, are divided into New Xiang, which is under heavy influence from Mandarin and includes the language of the capital Changsha, and Old Xiang, more similar to the Wu languages, as spoken for instance in Shuangfeng. Old Xiang has 28 initial consonants, the highest number for any major Sinitic…
Read More