A study of the variations of finals in Yangshan county's Yue dialect = 廣東陽山粵語的韻母變化現象研究

Abstract

This thesis is dedicated to analyzing the internal phonological variations of Yángshān Yuè dialect 陽山粵語, for instance, the competitive relation between phoneme “i” and “ɐi”, among its local speech community. In oral speaking, a word is pronounced differently by different interviewers, and this pronunciation differs from previous research findings on Yángshān Yuè dialect, so this thesis will seek the origin, justification and pattern for such changes through the major research methods of field study and comparative analysis. Local speakers in different age groups have been interviewed and their pronunciations have been recorded for comparative analysis. Besides, a dialect map has been used to explore the possible interrelations between YC and other dialects in adjacent cities like Guǎngzhōu 廣州 and Yīngdé 英德.

The thesis is divided into four parts. The first part introduces Yángshān’s geographical and administrative information and the history of its prestigious local language. The second part centers on the phonological system of Yángshān Yuè dialect and how it differs from other dialects that all originate in the same region, Běijiāng liúyù北江流域 (Beijiang River Basin) and reviews some relevant studies done by previous scholars. The third part presents the interview results, illustrates how certain words in Yángshān Yuè dialect obtain various readings in the local community, and analyzes why such a change occurs under the scope of geographical linguistics, sociolinguistics and relevant language contact theories. Based on the finding in the third part, the fourth part uses a dialect map to further explore the nature of the phenological change within the framework of hypercorrection theory. In conclusion, the thesis argues that the phonological change that Yángshān Yuè dialect is undergoing now is a result of impact of Yuè dialects from neighboring cities like Guǎngzhōu and Yīngdé.