台灣東勢客家話的捲舌音

Retroflexed Fricatives in Dongshi Hakka of Taiwan

本文從發音部位與發音方式的互動為基礎，先討論世界上其他語言的舌尖摩擦音描述，然後回頭檢視東勢客家話的捲舌摩擦音，特別是關於[ʃ]與[ʒ]的語音產生過程。我們發現過去文獻上固然已有「舌葉音」或「舌尖後音」等等名詞供描寫之用，但各家對於同一語音的名詞使用未臻一致。東勢客家話的摩擦清音[ʃ]或塞擦清音 [tʃ, tʃh]都不是明顯捲舌的捲舌音，只是在發音過程之中把舌尖伸向齒齦後的部位，留下了比較狹小的通道，使氣流通過時產生了摩擦，結果是捲舌成分大於顎化的摩擦音。論證基礎：(a) [ʃ] 與[ʒ] 發音時，舌尖帶動了舌面，提升到和後齒齦形成窄道，產生摩擦。(b) [ʃ]與 [ʒ] 的頻率下限都比 [s] 低。(c)[ʃ] 的F3與F4距離不大，且LPC 的噪音峰點迥異於 [s]，均足以看出捲舌的語音徵性。(d)與英語的 [ʃ] 比較，東勢客家話的 [ʃ] 並沒有顎化色彩。由於阻擦音 [tʃ, tʃh] 的形成基本上端視 [ʃ] 的發音情形，所以研究[ʃ] 的發現很能幫助我們瞭解客家阻擦音的語音。本文最後討論本研究之發現在漢語語音研究上的理論與經驗之啟示。

This article explores the phonetic properties of [ʃ] and [ʒ] in Dongshi Hakka (Taiwan). In the literature, they are categorized as “blade” or “post apical” consonants. However, the terms are not unanimously followed. We argue in this article that these two fricatives are more retroflexed than palatalized on the basis of the following arguments: (a) In articulation, both [ʃ] and [ʒ] are produced by raising the tip of the tongue to the post-alveolar position, giving rise to friction. (b) The lower edge of the frequency band of [ʃ] and [ʒ] is lower than that of [s], conforming entirely to findings in the literature. (c) Phonetic cues like the distance between F3 and F4 and peaks of noisy frequency also help identify the properties of retroflexed sounds. (d) By comparing the Dongshi [ʃ] with the American [ʃ], we find there is no palatalized color in the Dongshi [ʃ]. Given that affricates like [tʃ] and [tʃh] are essentially composed of a stop and [ʃ], the findings of this article can presumably be extended to account for the phonetic nature of Hakka affricates. The article ends with some remarks on the theoretical and empirical implications of the findings.