Readers 读者
Tonal adaptation of English loanwords in early Cantonese
早期粤语中英语借词的声调变化
Carine Yuk-man Yiu 姚玉敏
Abstract 摘要
Contact between two cultures and languages often gives rise to linguistic borrowing. In tracing the development of a set of English loanwords in six texts compiled in the 19th and early 20th centuries for teaching Westerners Cantonese, it is observed that these loanwords are pronounced with a basic tone in the 19th century texts but with a changed tone in the 20th century texts. Changed tones are used to signal familiarity, a function that is observed in the Cantonese historical texts. The present study suggests that the use of changed tones on a loanword is an indication of its integration into the lexicon of Cantonese. The examination of the six texts shows that such an integration process might take several decades to complete.
借词现象经常在两个文化接触时发生。在考察六部在十九世纪和二十世纪初编写，教授西方人粤语的教材时﹐我们发现有些英语借词在十九世纪的教材中是念原调的，但在二十世纪的教材中却念变调。变调表示熟悉，而这功能在早期粤语教材中已存在。本文说明当一个借词念变调时，这个借词已溶入到粤语词汇中。六部早期粤语教材显示这个溶入过程可历时数十年。
Subject Keywords 关键词
Changed tones 变调 Loanwords 借词 Early Cantonese 早期粤语