Readers 读者
Early Sound Values and Historical Evolution of the [zhi-si] Rime Category in Chinese (in Chinese)
早期支思韵的音值及其演进
Hongzhi Wang 王弘治
Abstract 摘要
The apical vowels have been subjected to two stages of sound changes. In the first stage, lasting from the period of late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties to the Ming Dynasty, the sound change was conditioned originally by the Jing-initial group in the kaikou (open) finals of the rime group Zhi. The main vowel has undergone centralization from [i]>[ɯ]. Then the change gradually spread in the same rime group to those bearing the Zhuang and Zhang initial groups, and the Ri-initial as well, which results in the formation of the 「Zhi-Si」 Rime category in Zhongyuan Yinyun, the Rhyme Dictionary compiled in Yuan. The second stage probably spans from the Ming Dynasty up to the present. Conditioned by the emerging retroflex initials and triggered by push-chain sound shift of front vowels, the central high vowel underwent further raising, and, together with the high-front vowel, changed ultimately into the apical vowels in the phonology of the diverse dialects of modern Chinese. The paper addresses the origin of the apical vowels in Chinese, with its focus mainly on the first stage of sound change process.
本文讨论了汉语舌尖元音的早期来源，并认为这一重要音变现象大致经历了两个阶段。第一阶段是从晚唐五代至明代，音变最初发生于中古止摄开口精组字中，韵母元音发生央化音变[i]>[ɯ]，并渐次向止摄开口的莊组字、章组字和日母字扩散，至元代《中原音韵》形成所谓「支思韵」的格局；第二阶段可能是从明代至今，伴随着声母卷舌化的发生以及推链音变条件的成熟，支思韵的央高元音同前高元音一起发生了高顶出位的音变现象，最终成为现代汉语方言中的舌尖元音。本文主要讨论了此音变过程的第一阶段。
Subject Keywords 關鍵詞
The 「Zhi-Si」 Rime Category 支思韵 The Out-of-chain Shift of High Vowels 高顶出位 Late Middle Chinese phonology 近代音