以自然語料觀察字頻與語音變化的關係：以台南台語[ə]元音為例

Word Frequency and Sound Change: The Analysis of [ə] Vowel of Tainan Southern Min

本文採用8位台南人士的自發性台語語料，分析其中[ə]元音的表現。結果發現，語料中出現的42個以[ə]為韻母字當中，有19個出現[ə]、[o]自由變化(free variation）的現象。統計分析結果顯示，字頻和[ə]、[(符號略）自由變化與否之間，存在顯著相關。出現頻率高的字，容易出現[ə]、[(符號略）]自由變化。本文推斷，台語言之間的接觸，以及台語和華語之間的接觸，可能是造成這項語音變化的原因。

This study analyzed the [a]-rhymed words in the spontaneous speech of 8 speakers in the Tainan dialect of Taiwan Southern Min. The results indicated that among the 42 observed raj-rhymed words, [a] / [ə]free variation was practiced on 19 words, indicating the ongoing collapse of the phonemic contrast between these two vowels in Tainan dialect. In addition， statistical analysis displayed significant correlation between the [a] / [ə]free variation and word frequency.