臺灣閩南語「仔」前變調的趨同變化－－社會語言學及音韻學的調查

本文在六個方言點進行臺灣閩南語「仔」前變調的田野調查，涵括漳州腔、泉州腔以及都會區。田調有兩個發現：一、鹿港（老泉州腔）的「仔」前變調與其他方言點明顯不同，尤以低平調11為其特色。二、不同方言點或者同一方言點的不同語者間都存在變異體，足見「仔」前變調正在變化中。全文由社會語言學的角度分析方言腔、年齡層及性別對「仔」前變調的影響，也由音韻學的角度檢視「仔」前變調。音段變化方面，「仔」尾“a”經由音節節縮的方式併入根詞，聲調部分也因音節節縮產生35及55兩調。「仔」前變調的趨同變化具有兩個層面的意義：一、「仔」前變調原本存在的多種調值正逐漸趨同為35及55兩調，這是音韻層面的趨同。二、方言腔之間的不同亦正在消弭中，這是社會語言學層面的趨同。

This study investigates tone sandhis before the diminutive “á” suffix in six dialects, including two Zhang-based 漳州腔, two Quan-based泉州腔, and two metropolitan accents. Our field work shows that the Lugang 鹿港 dialect, with the low level tone 11 as its distinctive characteristic, is the most different among the six dialects. In addition, variations in tone sandhis preceding the “á” suffix are not only found among different dialects but also among different speakers of the same dialect. This shows that these sandhis are an on-going process in the Southern Min dialect閩南語 in Taiwan. From a sociolinguistic perspective, we analyze tone sandhis of different dialectic accents in persons of varying ages and gender. From a phonological perspective, we argue that these sandhis occur in connection with syllable contraction. At the same time, we notice that convergences are taking place in the Southern Min dialect in Taiwan. On one hand, different tone sandhis preceding the “á” suffix are merging into two: 35 and 55. This is a phonological convergence. On the other hand, differences between Zhang-based and Quan-based accents are fast disappearing. This is a sociolinguistic convergence.