本論文藉由locus equation探討台灣閩南語CV結構和VC結構協同構音的異同,並描述台灣閩南語六個單元音在構音上的現象。前人以locus equation研究英語和波斯語的結果顯示,在CV結構中可以觀察到聲母與元音協同構音的現象,但在VC結構中,無法觀察到韻尾塞音對元音有協同構音的作用。然而台灣閩南語的韻尾輔音是未除阻的,這與英語或波斯語不同,韻尾與元音關係也較緊密。因此,本研究將探討CV結構和VC結構協同構音的異同。研究結果認為,閩南語韻尾對元音確實有協同構音現象,從研究結果可以觀察到,不同發音部位的韻尾與元音有不同程度的協同構音,顯示了韻尾對元音的影響,但與聲母對元音的影響相比程度略小。在單元音構音研究結果方面,主要觀察六個單元音的三個舌位,舌面(TD)、舌葉(TB)、和舌尖(TT)之前後和高低。觀察結果認為,在描述元音高低時,應考慮構音時舌頭整體形狀,而非以單一舌位描述元音高低。
This thesis investigates the coarticulation between CV and VC in terms of locus equation and provides articulatory descriptions of vowels in Taiwanese Southern Min (TSM). Previous studies on the locus equation focus on the CV, which illustrate the alveolar plosive onset has the lowest locus equation that suggests larger coarticulatory force on the following vowel. The same method applied to the VC in English and Persian do not show any coarticulatory effect on precedent vowel. However, the coda in TSM is unreleased top, which behaves differently from these languages. Therefore in this study, the locus equations of CV and VC are calculated, and the coarticulatory patterns of the two positions will be discussed. The results from this thesis suggest that the coda in TSM, although has weaker coarticulatory effect compared to the onset, still shows coarticulatory effect based on the observation that different places of articulation have different coarticulatory force on the precedent vowel. For the articulatory description on vowels, the result will be illustrated according to the backness and height of the three tongue gestures, tongue dorsum (TD), tongue blade (TB), and tongue tip (TT). The observations on vowel height indicate that the whole shape of the tongue should be considered while describing the vowel height.