중국 방언 속 비음 말음 합류 현상에 관한 고찰

Abstract

Chinese linguists have long debated about the bifurcated direction of syllable-coda nasal mergers in Chinese dialects since 1970’s. Some believed that the merging process is unidirectional (anterior to posterior), but others asserted that alveolarization of nasal codas (-m>-n and -ŋ>-n) is the major trajectory. Previous experimental research not only discovered salient acoustic cues in perceiving nasal codas but also provided social implications of different patterns of the merger. However, they failed to make a reasonable prediction about the further direction of the merger in addition to a lack of phonology-based analysis. This research aims to analyze the merging process on the basis of Contrastive Hierarchy (CH) and Sisterhood Merger Hypothesis (SMH). First, we can think of two types of contrastive hierarchies: [Dorsal]>[Labial], [Labial]>[Dorsal] because of Markedness theory. A theory of Predicted Acquisition Sequences and the SMH make us choose the first hierarchy: [Dorsal]>[Labial]. In short, the alveolarization of the velar nasal coda will happen after the completion of the merger between the labial and velar ones. Previous research papers and the data of Chinese dialects both support the conclusion.