Dialectology proper has traditionally focused on the geographic distribution of language
variation as an end in itself and has remained relatively segregated from other branches of
linguistic and extra-linguistic inquiry. Cross-fertilizing winds have been blowing through the
field for more than a decade but much work remains for adequate synthesis. This book seeks to
further the interdisciplinary integration of the field by highlighting and harnessing the
many dialectic tensions inherent in language variation research and dialect definition.
Undertaking a broadscale experiment in applied dialectics the book demonstrates multiple
grounds for insisting on a more robust integrational approach to dialectology while
simultaneously demonstrating grounds for defining the Phula languages of China and Vietnam. The
Phula languages belong to the Burmic sub-branch of the Tibeto-Burman family and are primarily
spoken in southeastern Yunnan Province China. With origins as early as the ninth century
these language varieties have been left undefined and largely unresearched for hundreds of
years. Based on extensive original fieldwork the book identifies 24 synchronic Phula languages
descended from three distinct macro-clades diachronically. This is accomplished by blending
typological-descriptive historical-comparative and socio-cognitive perspectives. Diagnostics
include both qualitative and quantitative measurements and insights from history geography
ethnology language contact sociolinguistics and more are called on for data interpretation.
This dialogic approach incorporates complexity by asserting that dialectology itself best
flourishes as an interdependent dialectic - a dynamic synthesis of competing perspectives.
