| Abstract |
The distribution of the Southern Min dialects in western Taiwan mainly exhibits a tendency of “coastal areas favoring Quan-based accent, while inland areas favor Chang-based accent”. However, the distribution of the accents in Longjing is roughly divided along a north-south boundary by the “Longjing Dapai.” The southern area uses the Chang-based accent, while the northern area uses the Quan-based accent. The distribution of the southern Chang and northern Quan in Longjing differs from the pattern in western Taiwan; therefore, the geographic distribution of the local dialects in Longjing is quite unique. The article first compares the distributions of the sound variations of the Chang-based and Quan-based accents in Longjing, examining the trends in sound variations through investigations among the elderly, middle-aged, and young. The article discovers that the “Tsɨm/Tsɔm literary 箴箴文” word group is no longer read as [əm] or [ɨm], indicating the disappearance of central vowels followed by a nasal coda. Furthermore, it explores the decline of the two central vowels /ɨ/ and /ə/ in the Longjing Old Quan-based middle accent, with /ɨ/ declining faster than /ə/. The vowel systems in Longjing of Chang-based and Chuan-based accents converge to a five-vowel system. Given the Four Families of Qietou in Chang-based accent area of Longjing mainly immigrated from Zhangpu, where the “To/Ko colloquial 刀高白” word group is read [ɔ], the same reading in Chang-based accent area of Longjing may inherit the characteristic of Zhangpu dialect. The “Kɔ/Ko literary 高高文”, “To/Ko colloquial 刀高白” and “Kɔ/Kɔ 高沽”word groups merge into [ɔ] in modern Chang-based accent of Longjing, and this subsequently influences the trend of sound changes of Quan-based accent. Finally, it is found that while some sound changes have undergone natural changes, more have originated from dialect borrowing. |
