ABSTRACT
Nantong Chinese is a unique variety of the Chinese language spoken by about one million people in an area about 800 square kilometers in size on the northern bank of the Yangtze Delta known as Nantong, or Nantungchow in early English literature. This area emerged from underwater some 1600 years ago as an isolated island in the middle of the Yangtze estuary, until the waterway to the north silted up, making it part of the northern bank some 500 years later. Inhabitants on this island came from north and south of the Yangtze River. This chapter starts with the geological, administrative and demographic history of the Nantong area and continues with a description of the origin, population, characteristics and linguistic environment of Nantong Chinese. It discusses the status of Nantong Chinese, focusing on its worsening vitality and endangerment. It provides a brief review of previous studies of Nantong Chinese.
