Reconstructing Proto-‘Mandarin’ Retroflex Initials
重构原始北方方言卷舌声母
William H.Baxter 白一平

Abstract 摘要

1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
This study is part of a larger project to investigate the history of Chinese dialects – especially the dialects traditionally called ‘Mandarin’ (guanhua 官話) – using techniques derived from traditional comparative reconstruction. I focus here on the history of syllables which have (in at least some dialects) distinctive retroflex affricates and fricatives. The reason for using comparative reconstruction is that the modern dialects offer a very considerable amount of internal evidence about their own history, which may tell us things that the Qieyun 切韻, the Yunjing 韻鏡, and other documents of traditional phonology cannot. At the same time, comparative reconstruction can provide independent evidence by which to judge the provenance and reliability of these traditional sources.

2. CORRESPONDENCES AND RECONSTRUCTIONS
2.1 TONES
2.2 RETROFLEX INITIAL CONTRASTS AND CORRESPONDENCES
2.3 WHERE DO RETROFLEX INITIALS COME FROM?
2.4 PROTO-‘MANDARIN’ *j AND *i IN PATTERNS 1 AND 2
2.5 VOWELS IN PATTERNS 4 AND 5
2.6 PATTERN 3 AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF LABIODENTALS IN XI’AN
2.7 PROTO-MANDARIN *ʐ

3. SUMMARY OF DEVELOPMENT BY DIALECT
3.1 RETROFLEX DEVELOPMENT IN JINAN
3.2 RETROFLEX DEVELOPMENT IN XI’AN
3.3 RETROFLEX DEVELOPMENT IN HEFEI
3.4 RETROFLEX DEVELOPMENT IN YANGZHOU

4. CONCLUSIONS