Guttural fricatives and initial *w- in common Mǐn

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In his earlier Proto-Mǐn reconstructed phonological system the late Professor Jerry Norman posited three guttural fricative initials, i.e., *x-,*h-, and *-h-. In early unpublished manuscripts dealing with this system, *x- was classed as velar, while *h- and *-h- were described as laryngeals. Initial *x- was characterized as voiceless and *h- and *-h- as voiced. In Norman (1974), however, *h- was transcribed as phonetic [ɣ], a voiced velar (rather than laryngeal) fricative, while *-h- was interpreted as [ɦ], a voiced laryngeal. In his much more recent Common Mǐn system, as represented in certain of his final dialectological publications and posthumous papers, Norman posited one voiceless velar fricative, *x-, and two laryngeals, *h-, and *ɦ-, the former voiceless and the latter voiced. Additionally, he reconstructed a rounded semivowel, Common Mǐn *w-, which had not been explicitly mentioned in his published presentations of Proto-Mǐn but was posited without comment in manuscript materials in a single word, i.e., huáng 黃 "yellow". In the Common Mǐn system, on the other hand, this *w- plays a more prominent role and is also associated with the guttural fricatives in certain ways. The purpose of the present paper is to exemplify and compare Norman's new Common Mǐn *x-, *h-, *ɦ-, and *w-. 摘要: 上個世紀七八十年代之間，羅杰瑞先生構擬了眾所週知的"原始閩音" 系統。此系統含有三個口腔後的擦音聲母，即是*x-、*h-、*-h-。*x- 是清舌根音，而 *h- 與 *-h- 是濁喉音。在其 1974 年的一篇文章中， *h- 則轉寫為[ɣ]，濁舌根擦音，*-h- 為濁喉擦音 [ɦ]。到了九十年代晚 年，羅先生又進一步重建了一種新的閩音系統，稱之為"共同閩音"。 從那時起，共同閩音在羅先生的著作裡完全取代了之前的原始閩音。 共同閩音系統含有一個清舌根擦音*x-，以及兩個濁喉擦音：*h- 與 *ɦ-。 不過，除此之外還有一個半元音*w-，與*x-、*h-、*ɦ- 三個口腔後擦 音有非常密切的關係。這四個聲母之間的互相作用和影響都相當複雜， 與原始閩音系統裡的口腔後聲母的對應模式迥異。本文的目的即是探 討這四個共同閩音的聲母及其互相之間的關係。