Abstract
Generally speaking, we accept Y. R. Chao's (1928: 88) definition of the Wu dialects spoken in the Chiang-su and Che-chiang provinces, in which the ancient sonants ping 並、ting 定、ch'un 、ch'uang 床, etc, remain as sonants or apparent sonants. We also agree that the Min dialects preserve the archaic feature of a lack of distinction between dentals (tuan 端) and supradentals (chih 知). Recently, we noticed that some of the Wu dialects also preserve this feature, I would like to provide an explanation in this paper.
Comparing the literary and colloquial readings in the Wu dialects, we have to admit that there existed a colloquial Min substratum of early stage in the Wu dialects. This substratum represents a residue of the "Wu Yu" of the Southern Dynasties, which is probably the ancestor language of the modern Min dialects. The northern dialects of that time were then the origin of the modern Wu dialects.
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