Investigation on the Relationship between Biodiversity and Linguistic Diversity in China and Its Formation Mechanism

Previous studies have demonstrated that countries, biodiversity hotspots, wildness areas, and islands with high biodiversity also have high linguistic diversity, while the regional correlation between phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity within a particular kind of language and biodiversity has not been verified. Based on the methods of GIS visualization and Spearman correlation coefficient, the regional differences and correlations between linguistic diversity and biodiversity in China are investigated in this paper using the numbers of plant species, animal species, Chinese dialects, and the data of phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects. The results reveal the positive regional correlations between the diversity of Chinese dialects, as well as the phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects and biodiversity. In addition, the regional correlation between linguistic diversity and plant diversity is stronger than that between linguistic diversity and animal diversity. The diversity of Chinese dialects is being weakened by the industrialization and urbanization. Furthermore, some countermeasures to protect linguistic diversity are proposed, such as protecting biodiversity and small communities, as well as promoting national language resource protection projects.


Introduction
Language has the functions of information transmission, society construction, and social cognition [1][2][3]. Linguistic diversity indicates the typological diversity of languages and dialects, and the diversity of phonetics, lexicon, and grammar within languages [4,5]. It has become a human consensus to protect linguistic diversity [6,7].
Languages exhibit the trends of differentiation, unification, and extinction [8]. The extinction of languages is induced by such factors as globalization, industrialization, urbanization, the distinction of biodiversity, impacts of mainstream culture to non-mainstream culture, and population migration. There were approximately 20,000 kinds of languages in pre-agricultural society, while today approximately 6912 kinds of languages exist [9]. Furthermore, one-third to one-half of all existing languages are considered endangered [10].
There is a positive regional correlation between linguistic diversity and biodiversity. Generally, the areas with high biodiversity possess high linguistic diversity [11,12]. The acreage of the total 35 biodiversity hotspots only accounts for 2.3% of the global land while having more than 50% of the world's vascular plant species, at least 43% of the vertebrate species, and 3202 kinds of languages. There are five wildness areas with high biodiversity each of which has an acreage of more than 10,000 km 2 and their natural habitat loss of is less than 30%. The total acreage of these five wildness areas accounts for 6.1% of the global land, but they have 17% of the world's total vascular plant species, 8% of the vertebrate species, and 1622 kinds of languages [13]. The area of 238 World Natural Heritage Sites in 96 countries takes up 1% of the global land, but they have 445 kinds of languages [14]. and animal species in 33 provincial administrative regions (PARs) of China, except for Tibetan Autonomous Region. The numbers of Chinese dialects were derived from the reference [29]. The total numbers of variants of the 160 phonologies, the phonetics of the 32 special characters, and the source and change (region difference) of 13 important phonetic values of Chinese dialects, as well as the numbers of the regional combinations of the division of the Rù tone, which reflect the characters of the phonological diversity of Chinese dialects of the 33 PARs, were obtained from 205 maps in Linguistic Atlas of Chinese Dialects · Phonetics [30]. The total numbers of the dialectical expressions for the 203 concepts (Chinese words) and the numbers of the dialectical expressions for the concept (Chinese word) "father", which demonstrate the characters of the lexical diversity of Chinese dialects of the 33 PARs, were acquired from 203 maps in Linguistic Atlas of Chinese Dialects · Lexicon [31]. The total numbers of the dialectical expressions for the 102 Chinese grammatical words, morphology, and syntax, and the numbers of the regional combinations of the eight surveyed kinship terms using reduplication, such as grandpa, grandma, dad, mom, elder brother, elder sister, younger brother, and younger sister, which reveal the characters of the grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects, were derived from 102 maps of Linguistic Atlas of Chinese Dialects · Grammar [32]. The numbers of plant species and animal species were collected from the website of Species 2000 China Node "Catalogue of Life China: 2021 Annual Checklist" [24].
The data were input into the software ArcGIS10.2 developed by Environmental Systems Research Institute, USA, and divided into five grades using the natural discontinuity point method. The distribution figures of the kind numbers of Chinese dialects, the phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects, the numbers of the regional combinations of the division of the Rù tone, the numbers of Chinese dialects presentations of the word "father", the numbers of the regional combinations of the eight surveyed kinship terms using reduplication, the total numbers of animal and plant species, the numbers of plant species, and the numbers of animal species were drawn by the method of the hypsometric layer. The regional differences in Chinese dialect diversity, and biodiversity in China were analyzed.

Diversity and Regional Differences of Chinese Dialects
Following the regional differences in Chinese dialects' phonetics, lexicon, and grammar, the distributing areas of Chinese dialects are divided into 10 districts and 97 dialect slices, and the Mandarin district is divided into 8 Mandarin sub-dialect districts ( Table 2) [26]. Chinese dialects in different slices exhibit regional differences in phonetics, lexicon, and grammar. A dialect can represent a kind of Chinese dialect [29]. The number of Chinese dialect slices in the 33 PARs is roughly characterized by regional differences of "many in the south-east, fewer in the north-west, and fewest in the south-west and north-east" (Figure 1).

Diversity and Regional Differences of Chinese Dialects
Following the regional differences in Chinese dialects' phonetics, le mar, the distributing areas of Chinese dialects are divided into 10 distric slices, and the Mandarin district is divided into 8 Mandarin sub-dialect d [26]. Chinese dialects in different slices exhibit regional differences in ph and grammar. A dialect can represent a kind of Chinese dialect [29]. The nese dialect slices in the 33 PARs is roughly characterized by region "many in the south-east, fewer in the north-west, and fewest in the south east" (Figure 1). In this study, 77 initials, 84 finals, 38 tones, and 4 combinations of initials and finals were investigated (Appendix A Table A1). Meanwhile, 160 maps of correspondences and exemplar characters, 32 maps of special characters, and 13 maps of phonetic values were drawn to reveal the regional differences and historical evolutions of phonologies, pronunciations of special characters, and phonetic values of Chinese dialects. Maps of correspondences demonstrate the regional differences and historical evolutions of phonologies, namely, the types and conditioning factors of preservation, split, merge, variation, and regulation of particular phonological categories, such as the division of the Píng tone, the evolutions of Rù tone and Qièyùn voiced obstruent initials, and the distinction between the Qièyùn dental nasal and lateral initials. Maps of exemplar characters imply the regional differences in regular pronunciations of exemplar characters. Maps of special characters reflect the regional differences of the sources and evolutions of special characters' pronunciations, such as the tone of bí (nose), the initial in tȏng (bucket), and the final in dă (beat). Maps of phonetic values suggest the regional differences of some representative or important phonetic values of Chinese dialects [35].
The total number of sources and variations of 160 phonologies, pronunciations of 32 special characters, and 13 important phonetic values in the 33 PARs can indicate the regional differences in phonetic diversity of Chinese dialects. It presents roughly regional differences of "many in the south-east, fewer in the north-west and south-west, and fewest in the north-east" (Figure 2a). The Rù tone has 6 sorts of divisions, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 divisions, and 35 types of regional combinations [30]. The number of the regional combinations of the division of the Rù tone is a representative indicator reflecting the regional differences in phonetic diversity. The regional difference has the characters of "many in the south-east, fewer in the north-west, and fewest in the south-west and north-east" (Figure 2b). In this study, 77 initials, 84 finals, 38 tones, and 4 combinations of initials and finals were investigated (Appendix Table A1). Meanwhile, 160 maps of correspondences and exemplar characters, 32 maps of special characters, and 13 maps of phonetic values were drawn to reveal the regional differences and historical evolutions of phonologies, pronunciations of special characters, and phonetic values of Chinese dialects. Maps of correspondences demonstrate the regional differences and historical evolutions of phonologies, namely, the types and conditioning factors of preservation, split, merge, variation, and regulation of particular phonological categories, such as the division of the Pí ng tone, the evolutions of Rù tone and Qiè yùn voiced obstruent initials, and the distinction between the Qiè yùn dental nasal and lateral initials. Maps of exemplar characters imply the regional differences in regular pronunciations of exemplar characters. Maps of special characters reflect the regional differences of the sources and evolutions of special characters' pronunciations, such as the tone of bí (nose), the initial in tŏng (bucket), and the final in dă (beat). Maps of phonetic values suggest the regional differences of some representative or important phonetic values of Chinese dialects [35].
The total number of sources and variations of 160 phonologies, pronunciations of 32 special characters, and 13 important phonetic values in the 33 PARs can indicate the regional differences in phonetic diversity of Chinese dialects. It presents roughly regional differences of "many in the south-east, fewer in the north-west and south-west, and fewest in the north-east" (Figure 2a). The Rù tone has 6 sorts of divisions, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 divisions, and 35 types of regional combinations [30]. The number of the regional combinations of the division of the Rù tone is a representative indicator reflecting the regional differences in phonetic diversity. The regional difference has the characters of "many in the south-east, fewer in the north-west, and fewest in the south-west and north-east" ( The words of Chinese dialects are divided into four types of homonyms words, synonyms words, special words, and a type of idioms, proverbs, and two-part allegorical sayings of Chinese dialects. They are different in the origin, meaning, word-formation, value, and phonetic change. Particularly, the differences in origin result in the homologous words and heterologous words of Chinese dialects. The various words of Chinese dialects are different in their meaning breadth, extended meanings, grammar, and rhetoric. The words of Chinese dialects have been formed in various ways of overlapping, The words of Chinese dialects are divided into four types of homonyms words, synonyms words, special words, and a type of idioms, proverbs, and two-part allegorical sayings of Chinese dialects. They are different in the origin, meaning, word-formation, value, and phonetic change. Particularly, the differences in origin result in the homologous words and heterologous words of Chinese dialects. The various words of Chinese dialects are different in their meaning breadth, extended meanings, grammar, and rhetoric. The words of Chinese dialects have been formed in various ways of overlapping, affixation, single, or polyphony. They are also different in morpheme order, alliteration, assonance, derivative sound, and embedded sound [36]. The regional differences and historical evolutions of the dialectical expressions for the 203 surveyed Chinese words are illustrated in 188 semantics maps, 6 morphemes maps, 4 distinctions maps, and 5 summary maps [31]. The semantics maps reveal the specific statement of words in different Chinese dialects, such as taìyáng (the Sun), jīntiān (today), chī (eat), and rè (hot). The morphemes maps demonstrate the meanings of various morphemes in different Chinese dialects, such as the meanings of shȏu (hand), jiăo (foot), and fáng (house). The distinctions maps suggest whether the same word forms are used to express different concepts in different Chinese dialects, such as the similarities and differences between wàisūn (daughter's son) and wàisheng (sister's son), and hē (drink) and chī (eat). The summary maps indicate the results of further synthesizing and analyzing the existing materials, such as the idioms referring to "the moon" as a person, the terms for "penis" derived from animal names, and the euphemisms for pig's tongue. The 203 Chinese words are composed of 95 nouns, 29 adjectives, 53 verbs, 3 numerals, 2 adverbs, 10 quantifiers, and 11 special words or morphemes (Appendix A Table A2).
The total number of the dialectical expressions for the 203 Chinese words in the 33 PARs can reflect the regional differences in the lexical diversity of Chinese dialects. The total number exhibits the roughly regional differential characteristics of "most in the south-east, more in the central section, fewer in north-west and south-west, and fewest in north-east" (Figure 3a).  Table A3) are demonstrated in 51 structure maps (29 maps of standard Chinese forms and 22 maps of dialect forms), 39 grammatical word maps, and 12 summary maps. The structure maps indicate the forms of grammar, morphology, and syntax structure at the lexical, phrasal, and sentential levels in different Chinese dialects. The maps of standard Chinese forms present the regional differences of grammatical structures in the mandarin Chinese at both the lexical level, and the phrasal or sentential level, such as the suffix in zhuōzi (table), the perfective aspect with a substantive object (wŏ chī le yī wăn fàn, I ate a bowl of rice), the disposal construction (tā bă wăn dă pòle, he broke the bowl), and the comparative (wŏ bĭ tā dà , I am older than him). The maps of dialect forms reveal the regional differences of grammatical phenomena only in Chinese dialects, such as quantifiers as demonstratives (zhī jī sĭle, the hen/cock is dead), the noun suffix jiăn (son or daughter), and xiān as postposition marking preceding action in nĭ qù xiān (you go first). The grammatical word maps suggest the diversity and regional differences of dialectical expressions of pronouns, adverbs, and expletives with stronger grammatical attributes, such as the first-person singular pronoun wŏ (I), degree adverb hĕn (very) for adjectives, the possessive particle de (wŏde dōng xī, my things), perfective aspect le without object (tā laíle, he is coming), and the passive marker bè i (yīfu bèi tōu zŏule, clothes are stolen). The summary maps reflect the diversity and regional differences of some comprehensive grammatical phenomena of word-formations and grammatical functions in Chinese dialects, such as the plural forms of personal pronouns, negative word types, diminunatives, and animal gender constructions [32].
The regional differences in grammatical diversity can be demonstrated by the total A Chinese dialectal word with the same morpheme is one kind of dialectal expression regardless of the same phonetics. However, it will be another dialectal expression if the morpheme changes and the phonetics remain the same. A Chinese word with the same phonetics but different morphemes is considered a different dialectical expression in different regions. Most of the 203 surveyed words have multiple dialectical expressions in different regions. The 10 nouns-father, mother, sunflower, wife, child, village, boar (used for breeding), beautiful, paternal grandmother, and daughter (direct address)-have the most dialectical expressions, among which, 5 nouns are frequently and widely used kinship addresses. The 10 words with the least dialectical expressions contain 2 nouns, rén (person) and huȏkàng (heated brick bed); 2 numerals, one and two; 2 adjectives, duō (many) and hòu (thick); and 4 special words or morphemes, a semantic range of euphemisms for pig's liver, wénzi (mosquito), cháng (long), shȏu (hand), and jiăo (foot). "Heated brick bed" is applied only by Chinese northerners. The dialectical expressions of quantifiers and adjectives, though used frequently, are few because the meanings of quantifiers are fixed and the main functions of adjectives are modification. Moreover, the dialectical expressions of special words or morphemes are also few since they are not frequently used.
"Father" is the Chinese word with the most dialectical expressions and is a representative indicator reflecting the regional differences in lexical diversity of Chinese dialects.
The number of dialectal expressions for "father" in the 33 PARs has the roughly regional differential characteristics of "many in the south-east, fewer in the north-west, and fewest in the north-east" (Figure 3b).
The regional differences and historical evolutions of dialectical expressions of the 102 surveyed Chinese grammatical words, morphology, and syntax (Appendix A Table A3) are demonstrated in 51 structure maps (29 maps of standard Chinese forms and 22 maps of dialect forms), 39 grammatical word maps, and 12 summary maps. The structure maps indicate the forms of grammar, morphology, and syntax structure at the lexical, phrasal, and sentential levels in different Chinese dialects. The maps of standard Chinese forms present the regional differences of grammatical structures in the mandarin Chinese at both the lexical level, and the phrasal or sentential level, such as the suffix in zhuōzi (table), the perfective aspect with a substantive object (wȏ chī le yī wăn fàn, I ate a bowl of rice), the disposal construction (tā bă wăn dă pòle, he broke the bowl), and the comparative (wȏ bȋ tā dà, I am older than him). The maps of dialect forms reveal the regional differences of grammatical phenomena only in Chinese dialects, such as quantifiers as demonstratives (zhī jī sȋle, the hen/cock is dead), the noun suffix jiăn (son or daughter), and xiān as postposition marking preceding action in nȋ qù xiān (you go first). The grammatical word maps suggest the diversity and regional differences of dialectical expressions of pronouns, adverbs, and expletives with stronger grammatical attributes, such as the first-person singular pronoun wȏ (I), degree adverb hȇn (very) for adjectives, the possessive particle de (wȏde dōng xī, my things), perfective aspect le without object (tā laíle, he is coming), and the passive marker bèi (yīfu bèi tōu zȏule, clothes are stolen). The summary maps reflect the diversity and regional differences of some comprehensive grammatical phenomena of word-formations and grammatical functions in Chinese dialects, such as the plural forms of personal pronouns, negative word types, diminunatives, and animal gender constructions [32].
The regional differences in grammatical diversity can be demonstrated by the total number of the dialectical expressions for the 102 surveyed Chinese grammatical words, morphology, and syntax in the 33 PARs. The total number has the regional differential characteristics of "many in the south-east, fewer in the north-west, and fewest in the north-east in China". The grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Chongqing in the southwestern Mandarin district is lower than that in the south-eastern PARs, while there are many kinds of ethnic minority languages in these three provinces (Figure 4a). combinations in the 33 PARs is one of the representative indicators reflecting the regional differences of grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects, which have the regional differential characteristics of "many in south-eastern and fewer in north-western and northeastern" (Figure 4b).

China's Regional Differences in Biodiversity
The species of plants and the species of animals as well as their sum are the main indicators demonstrating the regional biodiversity at a creature species level. The plant and animal species have the general regional differential characteristics of "many in south-western and fewer in north-eastern". Many southern PARs have excessive plant In Chinese dialects, paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, father, mother, elder brother, elder sister, younger brother, and younger sister are frequently-used kinship terms. There are 83 regional combinations of the 8 kinship terms using reduplication, including 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 kinship terms using reduplication. The number of the regional combinations in the 33 PARs is one of the representative indicators reflecting the regional differences of grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects, which have the regional differential characteristics of "many in south-eastern and fewer in north-western and north-eastern" (Figure 4b).

China's Regional Differences in Biodiversity
The species of plants and the species of animals as well as their sum are the main indicators demonstrating the regional biodiversity at a creature species level. The plant and animal species have the general regional differential characteristics of "many in southwestern and fewer in north-eastern".

The Regional Correlation between Biodiversity and Linguistic Diversity of China
The Spearman correlation coefficient was adopted to calculate the correlation coefficients of the total numbers of plant and animal species, the numbers of plant species, and the numbers of animal species with the numbers of minority languages, and the 7 diversity indicators of Chinese dialects in the 33 PARs. The correlation between two variations is significant when the two-sided test confidence (Sig.) is less than 0.01 and the correlation coefficient (ρ) is higher than 0.5.
When Sig. is less than 0.01, the correlation coefficients of the total numbers of plant and animal species or the numbers of plant species with the numbers of minority language kinds, the total numbers of the 205 phonetics indicators, the total numbers of the 203 The plant species have a similar regional difference as the total plant and animal species, decreasing from south-western to north-eastern. There are more plant species in the southern PARs (such as 19,957 in Yunnan and 13,494 in Sichuan) and fewer plant species in the southern PARs with small areas and high urbanization (such as Jiangsu, Anhui, Chongqing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macao) (Figure 5b).
The animal species also have a similar regional difference of decreasing from the south-east to the north-east. The southern PARs have many animal species. For example, Yunnan, Taiwan, and Sichuan possess 16,157, 10,547, and 9230 species, respectively. Most northern PARs have fewer than 4000 animal species, except for Shannxi and Xinjiang. Furthermore, the animal species are still fewer in the southern PARs with small areas, high population density, and urbanization, such as Jiangsu, Anhui, Chongqing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macao (Figure 5c).
China's regional differences in biodiversity are mainly influenced by latitude, distance to the sea, and terrain fluctuation. The southern PARs of tropical and subtropical monsoon climate zone possess many plant and animal species owing to their low latitude, hot and humid climate, and large terrain fluctuation. The plant and animal species decrease from the eastern monsoon climate zones to the western non-monsoon climate zones in the temperate zone due to the decline of precipitation. The biodiversity in mountainous areas and plateaus with large terrain fluctuation is high. The plant and animal species are most numerous in Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou of the subtropical Hengduan Mountainous Area, with numerous peaks and valleys. The elevation of many peaks is around 4000 m, some even higher than 5000 m, and the relative height of peaks and valleys exceeds 2000 m. The climates in the valleys exhibit the hot, humid characteristics influenced by the southwest monsoon, and dramatic vertical variations. The Hengduan Mountainous Area is one of the most imperative forming and differentiating centers of plant and animal species. The biodiversity of northwestern interior grasslands and deserts of China is low due to all-year-round drought, though the animals are unique.

The Regional Correlation between Biodiversity and Linguistic Diversity of China
The Spearman correlation coefficient was adopted to calculate the correlation coefficients of the total numbers of plant and animal species, the numbers of plant species, and the numbers of animal species with the numbers of minority languages, and the 7 diversity indicators of Chinese dialects in the 33 PARs. The correlation between two variations is significant when the two-sided test confidence (Sig.) is less than 0.01 and the correlation coefficient (ρ) is higher than 0.5. When Sig. is less than 0.01, the correlation coefficients of the total numbers of plant and animal species or the numbers of plant species with the numbers of minority language kinds, the total numbers of the 205 phonetics indicators, the total numbers of the 203 lexicon indicators, the total numbers of the 102 grammar indicators, and the numbers of the dialectical expressions for "father" are higher than 0.5; the correlation coefficients of the 3 indicators of biodiversity with the numbers of the regional combinations of the division of the Rù tone and the numbers of the regional combinations of the 8 surveyed kinship terms using reduplication are less than 0.5; and the correlation coefficients of the numbers of animal species with the numbers of minority language kinds, the total numbers of variants of the 205 phonetics indicators, and the numbers of the dialectical expressions for "father" are higher than 0.5. Moreover, the correlation coefficients of the 3 indicators of biodiversity with the number of the kinds of Chinese slices are less than 0.5 ( Table 3).
The results demonstrated a significant positive regional correlation between biodiversity and Chinese dialect diversity, phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects in China. Additionally, the PRAs with high biodiversity have high diversity of Chinese dialects. Compared with the regional correlation between animal diversity and language diversity, the positive regional correlation between plant diversity and language diversity is more significant. Among the three single representative indicators of phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects, the number of the dialectical expressions for "father" presents a significant regional positive correlation with the three indicators of biodiversity. There was no regional positive correlation between the other two representative indicators of Chinese dialect diversity and the three indicators of biodiversity.

Discussions
Linguistic diversity is formed and maintained by the variations, selections, and reproductions of languages, creatures, and their interaction [11]. The dispersion of the population is conducive to the formation of language diversity. If the early ethnic groups engaged in gathering wild fruits and hunting wild animals split into two ethnic groups, language changes may lead to difficulties in language communications between the two groups and the formation of two new languages in 2-3 centuries or 8-10 generations due to rapid language changes within both groups [37]. There is an intrinsically interdependent relationship between language diversity and biodiversity [38]. The areas with high biodiversity are characterized by large terrain fluctuation, many rivers, hot and rainy climates, and high vegetation coverage. Natural barriers, such as mountains, rivers, and dense forests, hinder language communications of different ethnic groups, resulting in the differentiation of languages and the formation of linguistic diversity.
In the areas with high biodiversity, ancient ethnic groups possess diverse and plentiful food, with a large population of long-life spans, diverse production, and lifestyles. People within ethnic groups need more phonetic, lexical, and grammatical language elements to describe various plants and animals and complex natural phenomena, express their feelings, and exchange information when engaging in gathering wild fruits, hunting wild animals, adapting to the complex natural environments, avoiding the damage of wild animals, and preventing natural disasters, contributing to the promotion of the change in speech and the formation of linguistic diversity [39].
The loss of linguistic diversity was mainly caused by industrialization, urbanization, migration of population, natural disasters, and famine. At present, 83 languages are used by 80 percent of the population of the world; there are 2500 endangered languages, most of which do not have written words. One kind of language vanishes every two weeks on average. Moreover, 95 percent of the world's existing languages are expected to go extinct, and 5 percent of languages will survive in the 21st century [9]. The languages spoken by small populations have a greater chance of extinction in biodiversity hotspots and wilderness areas with high biodiversity [13].
With the industrialization and urbanization, the regional economic and cultural exchanges in different regions are becoming increasingly frequent, and the popularizing rate of mandarin is continually increasing for effective communication in different regions. Thus, convergence changes in various Chinese dialects have occurred. Some dominant Chinese dialects have maintained competitive relationships with mandarin for a long time, in the process of declining, and some secondary Chinese dialects have been evolving into dominant ones or mandarin [40]. The phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects have also changed.
The chances and frequency of people using Chinese dialects and their distinctive words have decreased as a result of the popularization of mandarin and the improvement of education. The decrease has led to the gradual disappearance of some Chinese dialectal words, as well as the gradual evolution of some Chinese dialectal words into those of Chinese mandarin. For example, the Chinese mandarin word taìyáng (the Sun) has been expressed by 21 lexical items of Chinese dialects in Shandong [41]. Nowadays, only middleaged and old people in some rural areas use local lexical items of Chinese dialects to indicate the Sun, while students, young people, and urban residents mainly adopt Chinese mandarin "tài yáng". The population inheriting lexical items of Chinese dialects is becoming fewer than before.
Chinese dialects can arouse people's sense of identity and belonging. People awayfrom-home will feel friendliness with each other when they communicate with the same dialects. The unification of Chinese dialects, the convergence of Chinese dialectal words, and the loss of their diversity have reduced cultural diversity and weakened people's sense of belonging and identity to their hometown. Effective measures should be taken to protect the natural and social environment in which the diversity of Chinese dialects have formed, such as adopting differentiated urban development strategies in different regions, appropriately regulating the urbanization process in areas with high biodiversity, protecting local World Heritage sites, numerous small communities, and the healthy ecosystems on which the production and living patterns of the residents depend, sustainably using biological resources and protecting biodiversity. Humans should vigorously promote the national project of protecting language resources, record and preserve the existing Chinese dialects comprehensively and scientifically, and apply Chinese dialects in literary creation and artistic performances, so as to enhance the vitality of Chinese dialects.
The numbers of Chinese dialect kinds; the data of phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects; the animal and plant species; the plant species; and the animal species in the 33 PARs of China have been divided into five grades based on the natural differences inherent in each data series by using the natural discontinuous point method of ArcGIS10.2 software. The division can maximize the differences of data in different grades to visually exhibit their regional differences. This paper verifies the regional correlation between the phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects at the micro linguistic level and animal and plant diversity, plant diversity, and animal diversity, deepening the research on the regional correlation between linguistic diversity and biodiversity.
There is no regional correlation between the number of Chinese dialect kinds and the biodiversity indicators, such as the total numbers of animal and plant species, plant species, and animal species, owing to industrialization, urbanization, and population migration. Southwest China possesses high biodiversity and diversity of minority languages. The phonetics, lexicon, and grammar of Chinese dialects are relatively different there. Due to the impact of population migration to cities and interregional migration caused by urbanization, the convergence of Chinese dialects has changed rapidly and significantly, and there are only a few varieties of Chinese dialects.
The phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects in south-western PARs is relatively low, while the diversity of minority languages and their phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity are relatively high. Thus, the linguistic diversity there is high. Due to the lack of data, this paper failed to verify the regional correlation between the diversity of minority languages, and their phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity and biodiversity in China. If the diversity of minority languages and Chinese dialects is comprehensively considered, the regional correlation between linguistic diversity and biodiversity will be more significant.

Conclusions
There are regional differences in the diversity of Chinese dialects; the phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects; and the diversity of animal and plant species in China. The phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects has significant regional positive correlations with the diversity of animals and plants in China. The positive regional correlation between linguistic diversity and plant diversity is stronger than that between linguistic diversity and animal diversity. Moreover, the diversity of Chinese dialects is declining with the rapid industrialization and urbanization in China. Thus, countermeasures should be taken to protect the diversity of Chinese dialects.
The biodiversity and linguistic diversity are influenced by the differences in area and population of the 33 PARs. The study neglected the impact of the size of the PARs on regional differences in plant and animal species and the impact of the population of the PARs on regional differences in linguistic diversity. The data on phonetic, lexical, and grammatical diversity of Chinese dialects were collected from the survey results of 2002-2006. Hence, the data of some indicators may have changed slightly, affecting the accuracy of the results. However, the conclusions cannot be affected by these changes. In addition, this study did not include the Tibetan Autonomous Region due to the lack of survey data on Chinese dialects in that PAR. shī & sī, the initials in jiē, the initials in kè, the initials in kāi, the initials in qiáo, the initials in áo, the initials in yín, the initials in xì, the initials in hòu, the initials in xiàn, comparison of the initials in huáng & wáng, the initials inēn, the initials in wēn, the initials in yȗ, the initials in yuán, the initials in yán, the initials in yòng, the initials in pȗ, the initials in niăo, the initials in tong, the initials in tà, the initials in nòng, the initials in què, the initials in song, the initials in shì, the initials in chăn, the initials in shȗ, the initials in gū, the initials in gōu, the initials in jīn, the initials in jìn, the initials in qù, the initials in xī, the initials in guì, the initials in xióng, the initials in qiān.

Types of Surveyed Items Surveyed Items
Tone, 38 Tonal distribution of contrasting codas, number of tone categories, division of the Píng tone, division of the Shăng tone, division of the Qù tone, division of the Rù tone, tonal distribution of qièyùn voiceless unaspirated and aspirated initials, tonal distribution of qièyùn voiced and sonorant initials, merges of píng tone sonorants, merges of shăng tone voiced obstruents, merges of shăng tone sonorants, merges of qù tone sonorants, development of the rù tone, merges of rù tone voiceless obstruents, merges of rù tone voiced obstruents, merges of rù tone sonorants, tone of pitch-contour of dōng, tone of pitch-contour of tong, tone of pitch-contour of zhȏng, tone of pitch-contour of zuò, tone of pitch-contour of dòng, tone of pitch-contour of shù, tone of pitch-contour of bȇi, tone of pitch-contour of băi, tone of pitch-contour of dú, comparison of the tone in tóng with dȏng & dòng, comparison of tones in zuò & dà, comparison of tones in bȇi & băi, the tone of ting, the tone of aó, the tone of maō, the tone of long, the tone of nóng, the tone of Bing, the tone of pài, the tone of caō, the tone of bí, the tone of lā, nasal and lateral syllabics.

Maps of Dialect Forms, 22
Measure words as demonstratives, the noun suffix jiăn, xiān as postposition marking preceding action in nȋ qù~(you go first), degree adverb hȇn (very) in post adjective position, the familiarizing prefixā used in names, the familiarizing prefixā used in kinship terms, the kinship prefix lăo, the prefix gē, the noun suffix tóu, the suffix tóu used to denote monetary amounts, the noun suffixes zăi and zăi, reduplicated single-syllable nouns, reduplicated single-syllable verbs wènwen (ask), reduplicated single-syllable verbs with complements nȋkànkanqīngchȗ (look at this clearly), reduplicated single-syllable adverbs of extent (jīn tiān hěn hěn rè, it is very hot today), the result complement diao in jī sȋ~le (the chicken died), Yȏu as perfective verbal prefix in wȏ~qù (I went), zhe as postposition marking complement of one action as prerequisite to another in xiē yīhuìr~zài shuō (rest a bit and then decide), tiān as postposition marking additional action in chī yīwăn~(have another bowl [of rice]), tiān as postposition marking remaining quantity in hái yȏu shílȋ lù~(there are still 10 miles to go), guò as postposition marking repetition in huàn yījiàn~(change into another item [of clothing]), kàn as postposition marking a try in wènwen~(try asking)

Maps of Summary, 12
Plural forms of personal pronouns, the pronoun dàjiā (everybody), negative word types, negative morpheme types, diminunatives, animal gender constructions, demonstrative pronoun types, the copula shì (to be) used as locative, kinship terms using reduplication, comparison of grammatical markers gěi, bă & bèi, comparison of particles used for imminent aspect and completed aspect, affirmative potential complement, negative potential complement