Why only Anqing, Anhui Province speaks Gan dialect?

Anqing is not the only place in Anhui where Gan dialect is spoken.

Wangjiang, Zongyang, Susong, Huaining, Taihu Lake, Buried Hill, Yuexi and Tongcheng in Anqing, southwest Anhui; The eastern part of Chizhou, shitai county and the western part of Chizhou are all Gan dialect areas.

Anhui province has a vast territory, covering many Chinese dialects and local languages. Although some people in Anqing may use Gan dialect, it doesn't mean that only Anqing in Anhui uses Gan dialect. In fact, there are many dialects and languages used in Anhui Province, including various varieties of Putonghua (such as Hui dialect and Anhui dialect), Gan dialect, Hakka dialect, Minnan dialect and so on.

The use and distribution of these languages and dialects are related to geography, history, population mobility and other factors. Speaking Gan dialect in Anqing, Anhui Province is also caused by geographical factors and Jiangxi immigrants in history. Anhui Gan dialect area was formed in the early Ming Dynasty, which was brought by Jiangxi immigrants. The peak reached Fengyang, Hefei, Feidong, Feixi, Changfeng, Tongcheng, Qianshan, Susong, Taihu, Anqing, Huaining, Zongyang, Chizhou, Guichi, Qingyang, Lu 'an, Shouxian, Xiuning, yi county, Dongzhi, Wangjiang and Chaohu. So Anqing is not the only one in Anhui Province who speaks Gan dialect.

General situation of gan dialect

Gan dialect is one of the seven major dialects of Chinese in China, commonly known as Jiangyou dialect, and it is the main language used by Jiangyou people. It is mainly used in most areas of Jiangxi, eastern Hunan, southeastern Hubei, southwestern Anhui and northwestern Fujian, and is the de facto common language in these areas. The population using Gan dialect is about 52 million, accounting for about 5% of the national population.

Gan dialect is mainly distributed in five provinces of East China and Central China. According to the two phonological features of "Qin Tan's unfamiliar rhyme" and "the ending word Guhekou is pronounced with vowels, and the mouth-pinching or main vowel is a round-lipped vowel", Gan dialect is divided into "Northern Gan dialect" and "Southern Gan dialect" with Huaiyushan and Yuanjiang as the boundaries. "Northern Gan dialect" is popular in Poyang Lake Plain and its surrounding areas, with the above two phonological features, while "Southern Gan dialect" is not, except for some counties and cities.