| Abstract |
This study investigated the diminutive opacity of Qu tones in Zhuolan Raoping Hakka (ZRH) and Dongshi Hakka by comparing the diminutive formation in cognate Hakka dialects. The word list consisted of 30 monosyllables, and the compared Hakka dialects included Miaoli Sixian, Chudong Hailu, Chungli and Hsinchu Raoping, ZRH and Dongshi. The comparative results showed that Miaoli Sixian Hakka and Chudong Hailu Hakka formed their diminutives by attaching the diminutive suffixes [e31] and [55] to the monosyllables respectively. Chungli and Hsinchu Raoping Hakka created their diminutives partly with attaching the diminutive suffix [e53] to the monosyllables, but partly without such suffixation. In ZRH and Dongshi Hakka, the diminutives surfaced in monosyllabic forms, with neither diminutive suffixes nor diminutive tones. This study argued that part of the Qu tones in ZRH and Dongshi Hakka, in essence, are diminutive tones. However, compared with a large number of words with Qu citation tones, those Qu tones with diminutive roles turned out to be opaque. Only through comparing the ways of diminutive formation among cognate dialects can the opaque diminutive roles of Qu tones be revealed
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