The Phonology of Standard Chinese (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The phonology of Standard Chinese by San Duanmu Edward J. Vajda The phonology of Standard Chinese. By San Duanmu. (The phonology of the world’s languages.) Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Pp. xv, 300. $80.00. San Duanmu’s eclectic, clearly written approach to the sound pattern of Standard Chinese (or putonghua, China’s official lingua franca used by hundreds [End Page 435] of millions) could easily serve as an undergraduate text, yet his presentation is rich in theoretical proposals. Explanations are based on a variety of perspectives, from traditional views of the phoneme to feature geometry and optimality theory (OT), each concisely introduced so that the discussion is easy to follow, even for the novice. The result is a flowing, integrated approach that addresses—and solves—some of the thorniest perennial problems in Chinese phonology. The twelve chapters address issues of increasing complexity. Ch. 1 (1–11), the introduction, covers basic sociolinguistic matters such as the relation between Standard Chinese (SC) and other dialects; it also summarizes the history of the study of Chinese sounds and syllables beginning with contributions made by compilers of the so-called ‘rhyming books’. Ch. 2 (12–50) identifies the number of basic phonemic contrasts in SC. D integrates phonemic analysis with syllable theory and feature geometry to demonstrate that SC contains only 19 consonant phonemes and 5 vowel phonemes. The palatals (Pinyin j, q, x) are interpreted as combinations of dental obstruents and the j-glide. Other allophonic variants are discussed in Ch. 3 (51–76) using the OT framework. Ch. 4 (77–95) covers syllable structure, arguing that there are only two syllable types, strong vs. weak, and several phonological realizations of each. One of D’s main innovations is in accounting for how the various possible consonant, glide, and vowel phoneme inputs are mapped onto the segmental timing slots of each syllable type. His analysis explains many seemingly unconnected facts such as the presence of syllabic fricatives, zero onsets, and, most important, the absence of numerous potential syllable rhymes (most are blocked by either rhyme harmony or dissimilation). This is the first study that elegantly accounts for the missing SC syllable types as well as for the phonetic shape of those that do occur. This provides strong support for the system D proposes. The remaining chapters are mostly devoted to phonological aspects of SC greater than the syllable. Ch. 5 (96–124) discusses phonological aspects of the word, Ch. 6 (125–44) word stress, Ch. 7 (145–72) word length, and Ch. 8 (173–94) word order. D argues that both word length and word order are influenced by stress, which is shown to play a key role in SC phonology. Ch. 9 (195–208) deals separately with the r-suffix. Ch. 10 (209–36) introduces the concept of tone, hitherto mentioned only in passing. As in his previous publications, D treats SC contour tones as combinations of high and low register tones. His analysis uses both timing slots and moras, demonstrating that SC ‘counts’ both rather than only one or the other. Ch. 11 (237–54) is a concise discussion of tonal sandhi patterns involving the third (rising/falling) tone. Ch. 12 (255–67), entitled ‘Further issues’, makes a preliminary foray into higher prosodic domains and also touches upon other major Chinese dialects, notably the spoken variety of SC prevalent in Taiwan. A useful appendix (268–78) gives basic monosyllabic words in Pinyin with tonal number, phonemic transcription, surface phonetic transcription, Chinese character, and finally English translation. This list provides a handy reference illustrating the correlation between Pinyin and D’s underlying phonemic representation. Because this user-friendly introduction offers innovative new solutions to old problems, it enjoys the rare distinction of succeeding both as an essential textbook of SC phonology and as an important new theoretical advance in phonological analysis. Edward J. Vajda Western Washington University Copyright © 2003 Linguistic Society of America