Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT: This paper examines the phonetics and phonology of lenition in Taiwanese Southern Min, focusing on intervocalic voicing as a crucial manifestation. To systematically explore the phonetic realizations of intervocalic voicing, recognized widely as a typical instantiation of lenition, an electroglottography (EGG) study was conducted. This study manipulated (i) morphosyntactic junctures (word-internal, phrase-internal, and cross-phrasal), (ii) places of articulation (labial, coronal, and dorsal), and (iii) speaking rates (slow and fast) to derive insights into the phenomenon in question. Our findings reveal a robust lexical-functional asymmetry: Intervocalic voicing predominantly occurs in functional elements while being systematically suppressed in lexical words. In comparison, other factors, such as junctures and speaking rates, have a relatively insignificant influence on intervocalic voicing, which contradicts the previous impressionistic results that indicated otherwise. The disparity between lexical and functional elements is attributable to the less stringent faithfulness requirements on functional elements. To elaborate, within a stress-driven analysis of lenition, the unstressed status of functional elements compared to lexical words may contribute to increased gestural overlap between adjacent vowels. This overlap, in turn, could facilitate the exclusive emergence of intervocalic voicing in functional elements. 摘要: 本文使用电子声门仪 (Electroglottograph) 记录并分析台湾闽南语的弱 化现象。主要观察标的为一般公认为典型弱化现象之一的元音间浊化。 本研究操弄以下变项：(甲)形态句法边界，(乙)构音部位与(丙)语速 来观察浊化现象。与先前文献报导不同、实验结果显示上述三个变项 基本上都不是促发元音间浊化的原因。反而是虚词与实词的对立才是 促使元音间浊化发生的主因。亦即：虚词一般都会促发元音间浊化， 但在相似的环境里的实词原则上并不会如此。这种虚实对立可由优选 论里对虚词的信实性(Faithfulness)要求较低来解释。而究其动因，很 有可能还是因为重音的缘故。本文认为由于虚词不能独立构成韵律词， 因此无法承载重音。非重音音节的虚词会导致邻近音段构音重叠程度 显著加大，进而引发元音间浊化、乃至于其他类似的弱化现象的发生。 也正因如此，可承载重音的实词并不会发生弱化。
Source: Journal of Chinese linguistics
Author: Feng-fan Hsieh
Institution: National Tsing Hua University
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4411611146