Cross dialectal comparison: A case study and some theoretical considerations
方言比较：案例研究及理论探讨
Matthew Chen 陈渊泉

Abstract 摘要
The author examines the gradual attrition of the syllable final consonants (p, t, k and m, n, ) which is manifested in its various phases in a large number of contemporary Chinese dialects. The results of this case study provide a starting point for discussion on issues of general interest to a phonological theory: (1) the reality of universal metarules which define the general pattern underlying similar processes in individual languages and the margin within which these processes may vary from language to language; (2) the phonetic motivation of recurring phonological processes; (3) the concept of coherent 'rule systems' reflecting the functional unity of formally quite diverse rules; (4) the hypothesis of 'latitudinal' reconstruction based exclusively on coexisting reflexes in related languages; and (5) a standard for measuring the distance between two given phonological systems.