台灣華語音節末鼻音合流之方言變異

Dialectal Variations on Syllable-final Nasal Mergers in Taiwan Mandarin

本文說明台灣華語音節末鼻音合流之方言變異：北部有 /in/ (R) [iŋ] 及/əŋ/ (R) [ən]，南部則外加 /iŋ/ (R) [in]。前二者為新規則，後者則源於閩語負遷移。規則意涵似由起源、類比與說者信心度決定。/iŋ/ (R) [in] 因閩語負遷移而污名化，/əŋ/ (R) [ən] 則經類比而帶負面意涵，/in/ (R) [iŋ] 則相當正面。北部人為標準語代表，對合流語形接受度較南部人高。規則意涵與發展進程成正比。/in/ (R) [iŋ] 最接近完全音韻化，/əŋ/ (R) [ən] 次之，/iŋ/ (R) [in] 最慢。同時具 /in/ (R) [iŋ] 與 /iŋ/ (R) [in] 者之合流率較僅有單一規則者低。推測社會意涵衝突及認知負荷增加為主因。

This paper reports a dialectal split in syllable-final nasal mergers between northern and southern Taiwan Mandarin: both /in/ → [iŋ] and /əŋ/ → [ən] are found in northerners’ speech, while an additional /iŋ/ → [in] is reported among southerners. The former two mergers are treated as innovations while the latter is due to negative Min transfer. Rule connotation seems to be a combined result of origin, analogy, and speaker confidence. /iŋ/ → [in] is stigmatized due to Min transfer, /əŋ/ (R) [ən] has acquired a slight negative tang by analogy, and /in/ (R) [iŋ] is deemed as fairly positive. Regardless of rules, northerners, being speakers of the standard dialect, are generally more receptive to merged forms than southerners. A positive correlation is found between rule connotation and development. /in/ → [iŋ] is the closest to complete phonologization, followed by /əŋ/ → [ən], and /iŋ/ (R) [in], which is the least developed. Rule interaction is found in speakers that have both rules involving /i/. Those who have only one rule show higher merging rates than those who have both rules. Conflict of social connotation and increased cognitive loading are posited to be the cause.