從虞支兩韻「特字」看粵方言跟古江東方言的聯繫

Evidence for an Ancient Jiangdong Layer in the Yue Dialects as Revealed in “Special Words” of the Yu and Zhi Rhymes

本文根據虞支兩韻的「特字」考察粵方言的語言層次，特別是古江東方言的成分。所謂「古江東方言」，是指六朝時期流行於長江下游地區的方言，以今天的蘇州為中心。近來頗有學者認為《切韻》是折衷北方方言和江東方言而編成的，足見江東方言在當時有相當崇高的地位。至於它的音韻特徵，《顏氏家訓》和《切韻序》都有較詳細的論述，最為人所熟悉的就是「魚虞有別」「支與脂之不混」、。上述這些音韻特點仍然保留在部分吳方言和閩方言裡。毫無疑問，吳、閩兩種方言都有個江東方言的底層。粵方言區雖然與閩方言區毗連，但幾乎找不到半點江東方言遺留下來的痕跡，只是個別字的讀音比較特殊。我們認為這些字──也就是本文的所謂「特字」──都是舊有層次的殘留。通過跟吳、閩諸方言比較之後，發現部分跟江東方言有關。本文共分五節。第一節主要介紹江東方言的性質，兼及吳、閩等方言的層次問題。第二節講解中古魚、虞、支、脂、之五韻在現代粵方言裡的發展。第三、四節是本文的重點，集中討論虞、支兩韻「特字」在各種粵方言裡的情況，同時嘗試追溯它們的歷史淵源。這些「特字」不單反映了江東方言的音韻特徵，而且往往能跟吳、閩等方言掛鉤，很可能源自古江東方言。最後一節是結論，簡單交代粵方言各個語言層次的形成和移民史的關係。

“Special words” can be used to identify an ancient Jiangdong layer in the Yue dialects. It has been suggested that the Jiangdong dialects (also referred to as ancient Wu (古吳語) or Jinling Qieyun (金陵切韻)), extended across most of southeastern China during the Six Dynasties (A.D. 220-589). Historical documents such as The Family Instruction of the Yan Clan (顏氏家訓) record various phonological traits of the Jiangdong dialects, enabling us to discern vestiges of them in the modern dialects. Recent reports furthermore reveal a relatively complete Jiangdong layer preserved in southern Wu, northern Gan, and Min. Yue dialects, on the other hand, are believed to derive from a northern variety brought south by immigrants not earlier than the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907). Yue apparently has no clear Jiangdong layer as found in Wu or Min. What Yue does attest is a mere handful of “special words” pronounced differently from their values in traditional rhyme books. Instances involving Middle Chinese Yu and Zhi rhymes are of particular interest, since they not only show a strong correlation to the Jiangdong layer of Wu and Min, but also reflect phonological innovations found in the rhyming practices of the Jiangdong poems, leading us to believe that these “special words” belong to the Jiangdong layer. We therefore claim that the dialect spoken in Guangdong (廣東) and Guangxi (廣西) during the Six Dynasties was a variety of the Jiangdong dialects, but that it was largely replaced after newcomers from the north populated the south. And so traces of the older Jiangdong substratum can be found only in the forms of “special words”. We also show that the Jiangdong dialect carries an Old Chinese layer. Some archaic features observed in the Yue dialects are in fact better derived from the Jiangdong layer, rather than directly from Old Chinese. It is hoped that the present work will shed new light on the stratification of Chinese dialects, a topic that has recently evoked much heated discussion.