Modern Southwestern Mandarin was formed by the waves of immigrants brought to the regions during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Because of the comparatively recent move, such dialects show more similarity to modern Standard Mandarin than to other varieties of Chinese like Cantonese or Hokkien. For example, like most Southern Chinese dialects, Southwestern Mandarin does not possess the retroflex consonants (zh, ch, sh, r) of Standard Mandarin, but most varieties of it also fail to retain the checked tone that all southern dialects have.
Modern Southwestern Mandarin was developed through the influx of immigrants during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Consequently, this dialect is more akin to modern Standard Mandarin than other Chinese languages such as Cantonese or Hokkien. For instance, similar to most Southern Chinese dialects, Southwestern Mandarin lacks specific consonant sounds (zh, ch, sh, r) present in Standard Mandarin, yet it also fails to maintain a particular tone characteristic of all southern dialects.