Southern Min

Comparative Phonology and Subgrouping
1. Auflage 2018
ISBN: 978-1-138-94365-0
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 232 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 520 g

Reihe: Routledge Studies in East Asian Linguistics

Southern Min refers to a group of Chinese dialects spoken mainly in Southeast China and Taiwan. This group occupies a special position in the study of Chinese dialects, not only because of its large population of speakers (around 48 million) but also because of its preservation of various archaic linguistic features long lost in other dialects. In this book, B.C. Kwok applies the comparative method on new fieldwork data to reconstruct the common sound system of ‘Proto-Southern Min’, from which all modern Southern Min varieties emerged. The syllable initials, finals and tonal categories of Proto-Southern Min are illustrated by more than 500 examples. In addition, this book offers an alternative view on the subgrouping of 12 Southern Min varieties. It proposes that the Quánzhou dialect and the Zhangzhou dialect form the two main branches of the dialect group. This book should be of great interest to advanced students and scholars in the fields of historical linguistics and Chinese dialectology.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Professional

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kwok, Bit-Chee

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Sprachwissenschaften
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Phonetik, Phonologie, Prosodie
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Historische & Vergleichende Sprachwissenschaft, Sprachtypologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Background and Methodology 2. Proto-Southern Min initials 3. Proto-Southern Min finals 4. Proto-Southern Min tonal categories 5. Subgrouping Southern Min 6. Conclusion

Über Autor(innen)

Bit-Chee Kwok is currently Associate Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research interests lie primarily in historical linguistics, contact linguistics and Chinese dialectology.