漢語方言介音的認知

Cognition of the Medial in Chinese Dialects

鄭錦全(Chin-Chuan Cheng)

《聲韻論叢》 11期 (2001/10) Pp. 25-36

https://doi.org/10.29753/CP.200110.0003

摘要

本文的主要目的是探討說漢語的人對自己語言的介音的認知。在許多漢語方言中，單獨以高元音和央中元音爲韻母的音節不能押韻，可見這兩個元音的感知距離並不很接近。可是，高元音韻母和央中元音韻母帶有鼻音韻尾的音節，卻能押韻。我們的解釋是，這類帶鼻音韻尾的高元音韻母在音韻層次上的結構是介音加央中元音加鼻音韻尾，因此可以和央中元音加鼻音韻尾的音節押韻，但是在語音層次上央中元音弱化，介音變成主要元音。介音元音化，是本文的主要論點，從這個觀點來看，漢語押韻的基礎是音韻層次而不是語音層次。漢語裡鼻音輔音可以單獨形成音節，其他聲母不能變爲主要元音，音韻層次的介音能夠變成語音層次的主要元音，因此介音應該分析成韻母的一個音段，不隸屬聲母。

關鍵字

介音元音化 ； 押韻 ； 介音認知

並列摘要

The main purpose of this writing is to investigate the human cognition of the medial element in Chinese syllables. In Chinese dialects, a syllable ending in a high vowel cannot rhyme with one ending in a mid central vowel. That is an indication of the perceptual distance between those two vowels. However, a syllable with a final consisting of a high vowel plus a nasal ending can rhyme with a syllable with a final consisting of a mid central vowel plus a nasal ending. Our explanation is that the phonetic sequence of a high vowel plus a nasal ending is derived from the phonological sequence of a medial plus a mid central vowel plus a nasal ending. Therefore the two types of syllable can rhyme. Phonetically, the mid central vowel after the medial looses its prominence, and the medial becomes the vocalic main vowel. The main point of this paper is that the medial can become the main vowel of a syllable. Thus rhyming is based on the phonological level and not the phonetic level. Moreover, as initial consonants in Chinese never become a main vowel, the medial becoming a vocalic segment justifies the traditional grouping of the medial as a part of the final.

並列關鍵字

the medial becoming the main vowel ； rhyming ； cognition of the medial