GLIMPSES OF HANKOU PHONOLOGICAL HISTORY W. South Coblin University of Iowa

ABSTRACT

The modern metropolis of W3uh4an comprises three earlier cities, i.e., H4ank3ou,

H4any2ang, and W3uch1ang. For modern W3uh4an we have several different phonological descriptions, and for pre-modern H4ank3ou there are romanized records reaching back 125 years. On the basis of these sources it is possible to trace the history of the H4ank3ou sound system for the past century and quarter. Such a study reveals that the phonological history of this dialect was quite complex and reflects contact and convergence as well as simple historical sound change.

SUBJECT KEYWORDS: Hankou dialect, Wuhan dialect, historical dialectology, language contact 1. INTRODUCTION

The metropolis of W3uh4an 武漢 was formed in 1949 by combining three adjacent cities, i.e., W3uch1ang 武昌, H4ank3ou 漢口, and H4any2ang 漢陽, which clustered around the intersection of the Hàn 漢 and Yangtze rivers. The modern urban complex consists of a nucleus of these three (i.e. the so-called l3aos1anzh4en 老

三鎮), plus extensive suburban areas. Hànyáng and W3uch1ang are joined by a major

bridge. Bridges also link Hànyáng to H4ank3ou.

The W3uh4an Area of Central H2ub3e>i

The W3uh4an dialect is fairly familiar to linguists today because it was included in

the famous H4any3u f1angy1in z4ihu4i漢語方音字匯collection (Anonymous 1989;

hereafter: FYZH). More recently, W3uh4an material has figured in two important studies, Chén and L3i (1996-99) and Zh1u (1998). FYZH mentions slight differences in pronunciation between the three constituent W3uh4an cities. It draws its data from the H4ank3ou sub-variety. Zh1u (1998) recognizes an identical three-way split but considers the pronunciation he reports to be a general l3aos1anzh4en type. Ch2en and L3i (1996-99) identify two major sub-types, i.e. a W3uch1ang variety and a H4ank3ou/H4any2ang type. They claim the latter as the source of their data. According to Zh1u (1998: 3), there are generational differences within spoken W3uh4an, wherein elderly and some middle aged speakers comprise an Old group (l3ao p4a>i老派), while young people, together

with the remaining middle aged speakers, constitute a New speech group (x1in p4a>i 新

派). The sound system of the latter speech type appears to differ from that of the

former primarily in showing affinity for the pronunciation of standard Mandarin, i.e., the P3utonghu4a 普通話 koine. Zh1u (1998) implicitly follows the sound system of the

Old group. This choice is apparently also that of Ch2en and L3i (1996-99), whose informants are said to be in their sixties. FYZH does not identify the ages of its informants. As we shall see below, there are several significant differences between the sound systems reported by the three modern W3uh4an corpora.

A number of pre-modern alphabetic sources exist for the H4ank3ou dialect. First, we find in the Report on a Survey of the Dialects of Hupeh (Chao et al, 1948; hereafter: Survey) a brief description of the sound system of this language. The analysis is based on field data elicited in 1936 from two teenaged speakers. Both were natives of H4ank3ou who had each also spent two years living in W3uch1ang.

Some forty years older than the Survey account is James A. Ingle's Hankow Syllabary (1899). As the title suggests, this is a list of Chinese characters as pronounced in H4ank3ou. It was compiled with the help of a native informant, with further additions from an unpublished manuscript "Dictionary of the Hankow Dialect" by the then already late Reverend William Scarborough. The introduction observes that W3uch1ang variant pronunciations are specifically and systematically excluded from the syllabary.

Our third and earliest linguistic source for H4ank3ou is material compiled by Edward H. Parker (1849-1926). As has been shown in a recent study (Branner 1999), this man was an avid and adept collector of Chinese dialect material. He arrived in China at the age of twenty and published an outline of the H4ank3ou sound system in 1875. A second paper, which contained a list of characterless H4ank3ou lexical material, appeared three years later (Parker 1878: 30-31). We may therefore conclude that his work represents the dialect as it was spoken in the 1870's. Parker's 1875 and 1878 contributions were rather brief and would not alone support a broader historical study of the H4ank3ou sound system. But, happily, we have access to a much larger collection of Parker's H4ank3ou data. This is found in the dialect marginalia included in the great Chinese-English Dictionary of Herbert Giles (1892). One of the spoken Chinese varieties represented there is called "Middle" (abbreviated as "M."), referring to mid-China as a geographical region. The dialect which serves as exemplar for this "Middle Chinese" is H4ank3ou. As pointed out by Branner (1999: 15), Parker's dialect

material suffers from certain shortcomings, some due to his own errors and others introduced editorially by Giles. But, on the whole, the material provides an invaluable view of pre-modern H4ank3ou phonology. When used judiciously, it can be combined with other H4ank3ou data to complete a phonological history of the dialect covering the past 125 years.

Of particular importance to us here is Parker's penchant for noting and recording variant pronunciations. Doublets of this sort are particularly numerous in his H4ank3ou data. He himself noticed this and had the following observation on it (1878: 29):

This dialect is one of the most unsatisfactory to deal with. Unlike the Pekingese, which stagnates in a comparative seclusion, little effected [sic] by external influences, the dialect of Hankow is in a transitory state of its own proper motion, and is moreover largely affected by the speech of the numerous traders who congregate at that centre. Hence the greatest care is required not to accept blindly as local colloquialisms the chance importations from other tongues."

This passage is reassuring, since it indicates that Parker was aware of, and wary of, "chance importations" which might be confused with true native forms. But in addition it indicates a striking prescience regarding what was actually happening in the language. For Parker realized that he was witnessing not just chaos or sloppiness but rather phonological change in progress. Several decades later Ingle noticed the same phenomenon without perceiving its significance, for he simply said, "Hankow is such an omnium gatherum of all eighteen provinces, that its speech is very impure..." (1899: III). He continues further on, "There are many characters which have two or more pronunciations but are found in this book under only one. In such cases the aim has been to choose the representative Hankow sound" (1899: IV). In fact, however, Ingle does list certain variants, and these can be profitably compared both with Parker's material and with the modern W3uh4an data.

In the present paper we shall focus on phonological points where the earlier record differs in some way from our modern materials. Our interest will be in illuminating the history of H4ank3ou phonology over the last century and a quarter.

2. SYLLABLE INITIALS 2.1 Initial N- versus Ø-. In modern W3uh4an (hereafter WH) initial N- occurs before mid and low vowels. It is in general not found in contrast with initial zero. An exception is the pair Na1 丫/ a1 阿.1 A more important set of exceptions comprises syllables having the rime -o; compare o1 呵, o2 惡, o4 臥 vs. No1 屙, No2 鵝, No4 餓.

In Chén and L3i's data, syllables of these two types are homophonous and are all transcribed as uo. Zh1u indicates that WH syllables in N- have zero initial variant readings in New group pronunciation. This might suggest that Chén and L3i have simply followed the New pronunciation here. The 1930's H4ank3ou (hereafter HK) system outlined in the Survey shows a distribution of N- identical to that found in the Old group pronunciation of modern WH, with the distinction between o and No type

syllables fully intact. The Survey further remarks that HK /N/ could vary phonetically, being realized as [V] or [/] among some speakers. Interestingly, Ingle's syllabary agrees with Chén and L3i in giving all syllables of the o/No type a single spelling in wo. Thus, this merged, zero initial configuration is apparently not really new in WH, for it was already present a century ago among at least some HK speakers. In other respects Ingle's HK data agree with WH Old group usage, i.e., before mid and low vowels only N- can occur. No zero initial syllables of this vowel type are attested.2 Parker's material is fundamentally different from all the above in that variant forms in N- and zero are common before all mid and low vowels. Some examples are: 愛 ai, ngai, 安 an, ngan, 熬 au, ngau, 厄 ngê, ê, 恩 ên, ngên, 蛾 ngo, o, wo, 餓， 我，臥 wo, ngo, 偶 ou, ngou. This indicates that in ca. 1870 HK there was active

competition between N- and Ø- initial forms. By the turn of the century this seems to have been resolved in favor of N- in most environments. The loss of N- among New group speakers in modern WH might indeed be due to influence from P3ut1onghu4a, but we should remember that the competition itself is of long standing in the area. It is noteworthy that the Survey description of W3uch1ang (hereafter WC) phonology indicates that in the 1930's this dialect had no initial N- at all. It is thus possible that the N-/Ø- competition in earlier HK reflected the influence of WC speakers migrating into the expanding commercial center across the Yangtze. 2.2 Initial l-, n- and r-. All three WH sources agree that this language has a single phoneme corresponding to the separate l- and n- initials of standard north Chinese,

and all three transcribe this WH initial as n-. FYZH and Chén and L3i state that this initial has free phonetic variants in [n] and [l], and FYZH adds that [l] may be nasalized. Zh1u states that the variation is sociolinguistically conditioned, with [n] used by the Old group and [l] by the New. The Survey indicates that in HK of the 1930's [n] was preferred over [l] before high front vowels, with free variation elsewhere. Ingle throws up his hands before the situation he encounters and says of his syllabary, "An attempt has been made in this work to distinguish between L and N....using Giles as a guide, and in cases where it was difficult to distinguish, the same character appears under both L and N." At first it might appear that Ingle's consternation was occasioned by an encounter with the sort of free variation found in modern WH. In fact, however, close examination of his material reveals a different picture. In his syllabary, all syllables having modern standard Mandarin l- are spelled with l-. All syllables having modern standard n- have double readings in l- and n-. Standard l- initial syllables never have n- readings in this material. Moving on to Parker's data, we find a different but related pattern. In his material all standard l- initial words are spelled with l-. Some standard n- words are spelled with n-, while others are written with l-; and a few, with high front vowel onsets, have double readings in n- and l-. The following are examples of standard n- words from Parker's listings: 1. 那 na, 難 nan, 柅 ni, 娘 niang, 年 nien, 紐 niu

2. 拿 la, 納 la, 奶 lai, 南，男 lan, 囊 lang, 腦 lao, 內 lei, 嫩 len, 鳥，尿 liau, 念

lien, 怒 lu, lou

3. 你 li, ni, 牛 niu, liu, 女 nü, lü

There emerges here a general picture which is suggestive of sound change in

progress. It would appear that in the late nineteenth century the old outlines of an earlier l-/n- distinction were still present. The l- initial category was unchanged. Syllables having earlier n- had either shifted to l- or developed variant readings in l-, indicating ongoing merger of the two initial types. Between the time of Ingle and that of the Survey, this merger had been culminated. Given the Parker and Ingle data, we would have predicted that the emerging HK/WH common initial class would have

been realized as plain l-. And this is in fact what we find among WH New group speakers. But, enigmatically, the Old group has an initial which is usually pronounced as n-, with less common realizations as plain or nasalized laterals. For this situation we currently have no handy explanation.

Syllables of the following type constitute a special case:

Parker Ingle Survey FYZH Chén & L3i Zh1u

女 nü, lü nü3, lü3 ny3 ny3 (wén 文) ny3 y3 (bái 白) y3 y3

驢 lü lü2 --- ny2 (wén) ny2 ny2

ni2 (bái) ni2 呂 lü lü3 ny3 (wén) ---

yü y3 y3 (bái) y3 --- 旅 lü lü3 --- ny3 (wén) ny3

yü --- y3 ni3 (bái) ni3 慮 li4 lü4 --- ny4 (wén) ny4 ny4

ni4 (bái) ni4 律 lü lü5>2 ny2 ny2 (wén) ny2

ni2 (bái) ni2 ni2

These examples point to complex lexical layering, dating in some cases from at least Parker's time. Certain forms, such as the zero initial readings in y and those having final -i, are reminiscent of the Hu2ang-X>i4ao 黃孝 dialects of northeastern

H2ub3e>i, which abut on the northern environs of WH. Further study of contact phenomena in the area will be necessary before these interrelationships can be clarified.

Closely related to the l-/n- question in WH is that of initial r-. This consonant does not occur at all in Chén and L3i's WH material. In FYZH it is said to have the phonetic value [®] and occurs in a single etymon, ®uei4 銳. Zh1u transcribes it as [z]. In addition to his zuei4銳, he finds it in several characterless words. He also reports it in z>2入，肏 "sexual intercourse (vulgar)". However, this is clearly a loan form from

some other type of Mandarin, since it competes with an expected native WH form, ¨4 "id." Comparing with other Mandarin varieties, we find that in WH the general Mandarin r- initial is lost before high vowels and merges with WH n- elsewhere. Ruì銳is of course an exception to this. FYZH and Zh1u state that n- in these cases is in

fact the Old group pronunciation. The New group uses r- (i.e. ®-/z-) instead. This would appear to reflect the influence of modern standard Mandarin.

In the Survey we find the same system as that reported for the Old group by FYZH and Zh1u. Initial r- (transcribed as Ω-) is said to occur only in ruì銳, and it is

suggested by the Survey that this word is a loan form. Moving on to Ingle, we find a different picture. In his data, general Mandarin r-

corresponds to zero before high vowel onsets. But elsewhere Ingle has r-. His comments on this are quite interesting. He says by way of illustration (p. III) that "rang will become lang" in the pronunciation of "a large proportion of men". And to this he adds, "In fact, in Wuchang, all the R-sounds seem to become L, while in Hankow I cannot detect any consistent change of all of one sound into another. An attempt has been made in this work to distinguish between....L and R using Giles as a guide..." So Ingle's consistent use of r- (rather than l-) in his syllabary is artificial. But, by the same token, it is clear that he actually did hear this initial in a significant number of words. And he also tells us that the tendency to substitute l- for r- was a specifically W3uch1ang trait in his time.

Parker writes r- (spelled j-) before mid and low vowels with great regularity. For him there was apparently no ambiguity here. For rì 日 he writes jï, where modern WH has ¨4. However, for words like rú 如 and r3u 乳 he consistently has yü, in agreement with modern WH y2, y3, etc. For rù 入, an old entering tone word, he gives variants in ju and yü, where modern WH has only y2. For ru3an 軟 Parker has

three variants, juan, yüan, and jang, where modern WH has only yEn3. For words like róng 容 and róng 融, where WH now has ioN2, Parker usually gives variants, jung and yung. Finally, and most interestingly, Parker's reading for ruì 銳 is lei! Ingle had

written rüei4 for this word.

The historical picture which emerges here is of a dialect which in Parker's time had r- before mid and low vowels and before the apical vowel in the word rì 日. By

the turn of the century, as witnessed by Ingle, this r- was undergoing merger with l-, a process manifested by numerous doublets in r- and l-. It is possible that this merger was stimulated by contact with WC, where the change had already occurred by Ingle's time. By the 1930's, the merger was essentially complete in HK. 2.3 The Mandarin Rhotic Syllable „. In modern WH, syllables such as ér 兒, 3er 耳, and èr 二 are realized as ¨. However, Zh1u states that this is the Old group

pronunciation. The New group uses „ here. The Survey represents such syllables as Ø for HK of the 1930's. Ingle on the contrary writes them as êr. Parker's forms are quite interesting. In 1875 he has the following to say about this type of syllable (p. 311): "The Pekingese êrh is represented by ngh,—a more liquid and guttural sound." This description is rather difficult to interpret. However, in the HK data found in Giles' dictionary Parker writes not ngh but ngï, ï being his spelling for various high central and back unrounded vowels, as explained in his Philological Essay (Giles 1892: xlv). Thus, a possible phonetic interpretation of his ngï would be [N¨]. In certain cases he also gives variant forms, yï (perhaps [j¨]) and ï (probably simply [¨]). The following are examples: 兒 ngï, yï, 而 ngï, 耳 ngï, 二 ï, ngï. For 爾 he gives êrh.

This material suggests an historical scenario for the development of this type of syllable in HK/WH. We may suppose that the oldest form was Parker's ngï. His variants in jï and ï were later developments which directly yielded the modern WH forms. Spellings such as Ingle's êr and Parker's êrh represent [„] and are intrusive. They are not part of the direct development: early HK N¨ > WH ¨; but they have been present, waiting in the wings, throughout the past century or so. And today they have gained ascendancy in New group usage. 2.4 The Mandarin Retroflexes. If one sets aside the matter of initial r-, modern WH has no retroflex initials. In WH the presumed earlier Mandarin retroflexes have merged with two other initial types. The first of these is the dental sibilants. We find, for example, tsaN1 張, ts' Ø1 車, and sa2 殺, where northern Mandarin has retroflex

initials. The same pattern appears in the Survey and in Ingle's data. And there are also many such cases in Parker's material. But in addition to these Parker also has words which have retroflex initials, and he has in addition recorded a small number of items

which show variant dental and retroflex sibilant readings. The following are examples of the three types: 1. 張tsang, 趙，兆 tsao, 宙 tsou, 盅 tsung, 重 tsung, ts'ung, 扇，衫，鱔 san, 燒

sau, 舌，社 sê

2. 丈，仗 chang, 罩 chao, 周，紂 chou, 中，塚，種 chung, 沖 ch'ung, 善，擅

shan, 少 shau, 蛇，設 she

3. 站 tsan, chan, 山 san, shan, 勺 sho, so, 誰 sui, shui, 數 shu, su, 梳 sho, su, 辰

sen, shun, hsün

It is possible that this state of affairs represents a stage when retroflexion was being lost through merger with the dental sibilants. What can be said with certainty is that the ambiguities Parker observed had been resolved in HK by Ingle's time.

The second WH destination for earlier Mandarin retroflexes is the palatal series of initials. This is evidenced by words of the following type: tÇy1諸, tÇ'y1 出, Çy3 薯; tÇyn3 準, tÇ'yn2 脣, Çyn4 順. These are therefore segmentally homophonous in WH with such syllables as tÇy1 居, tÇ'y1 區, Çy3 許; tÇyn1 軍, tÇ'yn2 群, and Çyn4 訓

respectively. And we find a similar pattern in both the Survey and Ingle's syllabary. In Parker's data there are the following spellings for the first three of our example syllables: 諸chü, 出 ch'ü, 薯shü. With these we can compare his renderings for the parallel examples: 居 chü, 區 ch'ü, 許hsü. Of particular interest here are the

fricative members of these sets. Hsü, we may assume, stands for phonetic [Çy]; but shü clearly represents something else, perhaps [Sy], or even [ßy]. No such distinction occurs in any record subsequent to that of Parker. It must have been lost in HK soon after his time. Did it also exist in the affricate members of these sets but simply defy his efforts to transcribe it? Unfortunately, we have no way of determining this.

Another feature of syllables like zh1u諸, ch1u 出, and sh3u 薯 is the fact that they

often have either doublet readings with palatal and dental sibilant initials, or they have onsets of only the latter type. The following illustrate this: 1. chü or tsu: 豬，朱，珠，主，煮，住

ch'ü or ts'u: 出，廚，除，怵 shü or su: 書 2. tsu: 柱，註，駐，渚，箸 ts'u: 楮，杵，處 su: 殊，暑，署

There are also spellings pointing to retroflex readings in certain such syllables. Some examples are: 蛛 chu; 輸，鼠 su, shu; 樹 shu, shü; 豎 shu. In the end, what

we find here is rather complex competition between three different pronunciation types. By the turn of the century, this competition had been resolved in favor of a single set of palatal plus -y readings, and that result remains with us today in modern WH.

Parker's treatment of such WH syllable types as tÇyn3 準, tÇ'yn2 脣, Çyn4 順also

shows variations, as the following examples illustrate: 諄 chun, chün; 肫 tsun, chün; 准 chun

春 ch'un

順，舜 shun; 純 hsün, sun; 醇 shun, ch[']ün

Here again we see that there has subsequently been a resolution of these competing types. Interestingly, Zh1u remarks that in WH there are certain speakers who say in such cases not tÇyn, tÇ'yn, and Çyn but tsu´n, ts'u´n, and suen respectively. This seems to reflect a situation similar to that seen by Parker. Why has the resolution been incomplete here? The Survey tells us that in the 1930's WC regularly read tsu´n, ts'u´n, and suen rather than tÇyn, tÇ'yn, and Çyn in these cases. Perhaps there has all along been a steady influx into HK of WC speakers, providing a basis for continued diversity in the modern WH metropolis. Significantly, retroflex initial forms like

chun [tßun], which are very common in Parker's data, have not survived at all in modern WH or its environs. 3. SYLLABLE FINALS 3.1 Mandarin Final -u. A notable characteristic of modern WH is the fact that, unlike in many other types of Mandarin, final -u does not occur after coronal initials. We have seen a facet of this in 2.4 above, where retroflex plus -u combinations, common in standard Mandarin and elsewhere, are replaced in WH by palatal plus -y syllables. Another instance in WH is illustrated by the following examples: tou3賭, t'ou3 土, nou3 努, nou4 路, ts'ou1 初, sou1 蘇. In standard Mandarin and many other varieties

these syllables end in -u. The WH pattern extends consistently back through Ingle's HK data. (In his syllabary the HK final in question is transcribed as -eo, where raised e indicates shwa.) In Parker's corpus there is a pronounced tendency to realize this final as -ou. But there are also a number of doublets in -u. Examples are: 賭，讀 tu, tou, 圖 t'u, t'ou, 土 t'ou, t'u, 露，怒 lu, lou, 粗 ts'u, ts'ou, 俗 su, sou. And there are also a few cases where only -u is found, e.g., 肚 tu, 突 t'u, 廬 lu,(also lü). What we

see here looks like sound change in progress, where HK was shifting from final -u to final -ou after coronals. In most pertinent syllables the shift had already occurred. In a smaller number shifted and unshifted variants were still in competition. And an even smaller residue showed only unshifted forms.

Initial m- words constitute an interesting subtype here. FYZH and Zh1u list no WH syllables having the shape [mu]. Instead, we find examples such as the following: moN2 木，目, moN3 母, moN4 墓，幕. For all such cases, Chén and L3i cite variant

readings in [mu], which may be loans from P3ut1onghu4a. The Survey gives only [moN] for such syllables. Ingle has the same pattern, using the spelling mung. Parker, true to form, gives a mixture: 沒，母，目，木，沐 mu, mung; 幕 mu, mo; 暮，募，墓 mu, mou; 模 mo, mung; 牧，睦，穆 mu. Here again Parker seems to have

encountered a competition, which was resolved subsequent to his time in favor of the nasal final readings. It is possible that what he saw was sound change in progress. 3.2 Final -n and -N. Where standard Mandarin contrasts -en/-eng and -in/-ing, WH makes no such distinctions. All these finals end in -n there. The same is true in the

HK data of the Survey and of Ingle's syllabary. Parker's description of HK phonology (1875) agrees with the later accounts, for he says the dialect had only -in and -ên where Peking of his day showed -ing and -eng as well. But examination of his data reveals certain departures from this dictum. In the case of the -en/-eng contrast these discrepancies are fairly minor. For sh1eng 生 we find double readings, sêng and sên. And there are contrasting readings in the following pair: 甑 tsêng/贈 tsên. Another

interesting exception to the supposed general lack of -eng in Parker's HK comprises certain words having the shape feng in standard Mandarin. As rule, these are realized as fung (corresponding to modern WH foN) in Parker's record. But there are departures from this. 諷 is spelled fêng, and 鋒，逢 and 縫 are given competing

readings in fêng and fung. So, peripherally at least, final -eng does exist in Parker's HK.

As regards the –in/-ing distinction, the discrepancy with the later picture is more marked. For, though the majority of modern standard words in final -ing do tend to have -in in Parker's material, there are in fact numerous exceptions to this. The following are examples: 敬，菁，井，境，鏡 ching

青，清，情，擎 ch'ing

星，猩，刑，醒 hsing

零 lin, ling; 領，嶺 ling

餅 ping

評，屏，憑 p'ing

名，銘，鳴，命 ming

丁，釘，訂 ting; 頂 tin, ting

映 ying

In conclusion, we can say that the loss of the earlier Mandarin -en/-eng distinction was essentially complete in Parker's HK. But the merger of earlier -ing into -in, appears still to have been in progress in the 1870's. 3.3 WH Rounding Loss. After dental initials the general Mandarin finals -uan, -un, and -ui become unrounded in WH, e.g., tan3 短, nan4 亂, san4 算; t´n4 頓, n´n2 輪, ts'´n1 村; tei4 對, nei3 蕾, tsei3 嘴. This same pattern prevails back through the Ingle

data. For the -uan > -an reduction Parker's HK material agrees, except that after initial s- there is vacillation. Compare: 酸，酸 swan; 蒜 san, swan; 算 san. Perhaps the

change was still in progress in this environment. The -un > -en change is well-represented Parker's data, there being only vestiges of a distinction: 崙 lun, lên, 輪 len; 孫，損 sen, 筍 sun. There is, however, considerably more equivocation

regarding the loss of the -ui/-ei distinction. This is illustrated in the following: 1. 堆，兌，對 tei, 隊 twei; 退 t'ei, t'wei, 腿 t'ei, 推 t'wei

2. 嘴 tsui, 最 tsei, tsui, 罪 tsui, tswei, 醉 tswei; 雖 swi, sui, 荽 sui, hsi, 歲 swei

This change may still have been in progress in Parker's time.

3.3 High Front Rounding in Modern WH Varieties. Our final problem is rather complex, in that it involves differences not only between material of successive historical periods but also notable variation among our modern sources. Examples are given below, where forms from standard Mandarin of the late seventeenth century are included for comparison. This early material is cited from works of the Dominican missionary, Francisco Varo (1627-1687), sources for which are Varo (1703; see Coblin and Levi 2000) and Varo (Mss.; see Coblin 2006). The Varo forms are given in the original romanization, accompanied by phonetic interpretations in square brackets.

zhu3an 專 chu2an 船 ju4an 卷 qu2an 權 xu1an 喧 xu2an 玄 Varo chu1en ch'uên k>i>u2en k'>i>u5en h>i>u1en h>i.u5en

[tßuEn] [tß'uEn] [kyEn] [k'yEn] [xyEn] [xyEn] Parker tswan ts'wan chüan ch'üan hsüan hsüan Ingle tsuan1 ts'uan2 tsuan4 ts'uan2 hsuen1 hsuen2 Survey tsuan1 ts'uan2 tsuan4(倦) --- Çyen1 (暄) Çyen2

FYZH tsuan1 ts'uan2 tsuan4 ts'uan2 suan4 (楦) suan2

Zh1u tsuan1 ts'uan2 tsuan4 ts'uan2 suan1 --- Chén tsuan1 ts'uan2 tÇyEn4 tÇ'yEn2 ÇiEn1 ÇiEn2 & L3i cf. ÇyEn4 (楦)

qu2an 全 xu3an 選 yu2an 元 Varo çh'>i>u5en s>i.u4en >i.u5en

[ts'yEn] [syEn] [yEn] Parker ch'üan hsüan yüan Ingle ch'ien2 hsien3 yüen2 Survey tÇ'ien2 Çyen3 yen2 FYZH tÇ'iEn2 ÇiEn3 yEn2 Zh1u tÇ'iEn2 ÇiEn4 (旋) yEn2

Chén tÇ'iEn2 ÇiEn3 yEn2 & L3i ~ ÇyEn3

We see here that there is uniformity of structure in the forms spelled by Parker as chüan, ch'üan, and hsüan, anticipating their modern Mandarin readings. But in later HK and WH the affricate and certain of the fricative initial syllables have developed as two separate sets, with the difference mirroring the velar versus dental sibilant initial distinctions in the Varo forms. What this tells us is that the HK/WH developments are predictable in terms of the sound systems of earlier forms of Mandarin (here represented typologically by Varo) but that they cannot have descended directly from the HK system of Parker. Some other process must have been involved in their development.

It is interesting in this connection to compare the three different pre-WH corpora included in the Survey. The following are their forms for some of our example syllables (where HY = Hànyáng):

zhu3an 專 chu2an 船 ju4an倦 xu2an 玄 qu2an 全 xu3an 選 yu2an 元 WC tsuan1 ts'uan2 tÇyEn4 ÇyEn2 tÇyen2 Çyen3 --- HK tsuan1 ts'uan2 tsuan4 Çyen2 tÇ'ien2 Çyen3 yen2 HY tsuan1 ts'uan2 tsuan4 Çyen2 tÇ'ien2 --- ---

Here we see that 1930's WC agreed perfectly with Parker's record, while HK and Hànyáng (hereafter HY) had taken a separate course. And, since that course cannot have been a simple matter of conditioned sound change, we are led to think of possible replacement through convergence. In this connection it is interesting to note that the developmental pattern seen in the WH material of the Zh1u and FYZH corpora mirrors perfectly the characteristic handling of the pertinent syllables in the neighboring Hu2ang-X>i4ao dialects. This can seen in the following table, where the Hu2ang-X>i4ao pattern is illustrated with data from three H2ub3e>i dialects: Y1ingsh1an 英山 (Chén 1989), X1ishu3i 浠水 (Zh1an 1980), and H2ong1an 紅安 (Chén and L3i 1996-

99):

zhu3an 專 chu2an 船 ju4an 卷 qu2an 權 xu1an 喧 xu2an 玄

Varo chu1en ch'uên k>i>u2en k'>i>u5en h>i>u1en h>i.u5en

[tßuEn] [tß'uEn] [kyEn] [k'yEn] [xyEn] [xyEn] FYZH tsuan1 ts'uan2 tsuan4 ts'uan2 suan4 (楦) suan2 Zh1u tsuan1 ts'uan2 tsuan4 ts'uan2 suan1 --- Y1ingsh1an tß¿an1 tß'¿an2 tß¿an4 tß'¿an2 ß¿an1 ß¿an2 X1ishu3i tß¿an1 tß'¿an2 tß¿an4 tß'¿an2 ß¿an1 (萱) ß¿an2

H2ong1an k¿an1 k'¿an2 k¿an4 k'¿an2 ß¿an1 ß¿an2

qu2an 全 xu3an 選 yu2an 元 Varo çh'>i>u5en s>i.u4en >i.u5en

[ts'yEn] [syEn] [yEn] FYZH tÇ'iEn2 ÇiEn3 yEn2 Zh1u tÇ'iEn2 ÇiEn4 yEn2

Y1ingsh1an tÇ'ian2 Çian3 ¿an2 X1ishu3i tÇ'iEn2 ÇiEn3 ¿an2 H2ong1an tÇ'ian2 Çian3 ¿an2

Conversion from the Hu2ang-X>i4ao forms given here to those of WH would be a

matter of a few simple rules. The match is in fact so striking as to be suggestive. One

may suspect that in this instance WH pronunciation has been directly influenced by the speech patterns of the Hu2ang-X>i4ao area. The process had begun by Ingle's time and has continued to the present. As of the 1930's, WC had not been affected. It was HK and HY which experienced the admixture from outside. This hypothesis is support by migration history, for recent demographic studies show that WH has seen a heavy influx of persons from Hu2ang-X>i4ao-speaking areas during the past century (G3e et al. 1997, vol. 6, p. 612). 4. TONES

As indicated in note 1 above, modern WH has four tones, i.e., y1inp2ing 陰平, yángpíng 陽平, sh3ang 上, and qù 去. Syllables belonging to the traditional r4ush1eng

入聲 class have systematically merged into WH yángpíng. Ingle and Parker both

find in HK a fifth tone, corresponding exactly to the traditional r4ush1eng. On this tone Ingle remarks, "It is well to remember that there is much confusion between the lower even (下平) and the entering tone (入聲)." In his phonological sketch Parker says (1875: 308): "The入聲differs from the下平only in that the former obtains in

syllables ending with the vowel, the latter in those ending with n or ng. In the few cases (such as °pi a nose, or °sê a snake) where the下平takes a vowel termination, the

Hankow native makes no distinction whatever between the pronunciation of these words and those such as pi° must, and sê° colour) which are in the入聲." Elsewhere

he comments (Giles 1892: xxxviii), "...the entering tone word always ends in a vowel of ordinary length, and is quite indistinguishable from the lower even tone so far as regards it cadence to the ear." Thus, for Parker, who was particular in these matters, the r4ush1eng did not exist as a distinct phonetic entity. If it was present in Ingle's HK variety, he was not able to distinguish it well. In fact, the chances are that the "fifth tone" had merged with the second in both HK types and was still distinguished only as a school tradition. But if so, that tradition may have been based on fairly recent reality. Ingle mentions that he had consulted a WC syllabary of the Rev. S. C. Partridge, which distinguished five tones. This work cannot have been older than the Taiping period. Did it represent phonological reality for late nineteenth century WC? Today WH is assigned by the Language Atlas of China (Map B-6) to a small set of closely related dialects designated as the "W3ut>i1an 武天 group". One of these dialects, i.e., T>i1anm2en 天門, has a distinct entering tone. Thus, if one used the comparative

method to reconstruct a "Proto-W3ut>i1an" phonological system, that system would

have a r4ush1eng. Given the close similarity of the constituent dialects, the time depth of this proto-language cannot have been great. It is therefore likely that HK had a distinct entering tone in the not too distant past. 5. CONCLUSIONS

In this paper we have examined aspects of the recent phonological history of W3uh4an, a major urban area of central China. In certain cases, we have found evidence for regular or conditioned sound change. But also numerous have been cases of apparent replacement, probably due to contact and convergence. As an actively and quickly developing metropolis, the demographic history of W3uh4an has been intricate and multifarious. On the one hand there has been an influx of immigrants into the area, leading to expanding diversity. But on the other there has been administrative and physical consolidation of three different earlier cities, and this has led to leveling and increased uniformity in the new metropolitan area. The interplay of these competing factors has yielded a complex and still evolving phonological landscape in today's WH.

NOTES

1. WH has four tones, which will be identified with tone number superscripts as follows: 1 y1inp2ing 陰平, 2 yángpíng 陽平, 3 sh3ang 上, 4 qù 去. 2. Note that no syllable type nga [Na] appears in Ingle's material. The graph 丫 is

read only as ya there.

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119.1.12-34. CHAO, Yuen-ren, et al. 1948. Report on a Survey of the Dialects of Hupeh.

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, and Joseph A. Levi. 2000. Francisco Varo's Grammar of the Mandarin Language (1703): an English Translation of the 'Arte de la lengua Mandarina'. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

GE, J>i4anx>i2ong 葛劍雄, C2ao Sh4uj1i 曹樹基, and W2u S1ongd4i 吳松弟. 1997. Zh1onggu2o y2im2insh3i 中國移民史. Six vols. Fuzhou: Fujian renmin.

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of Social Sciences and the Australian Institute of Humanities. Hong Kong: Longman.

PARKER, Edward H. 1875. "The Hankow Dialect." China Review 3.5: 308-12. . 1878. "The Comparative Study of Chinese Dialects." Journal of the North China

Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, new series, 12: 19-50. VARO, Francisco. 1703. Arte de la Lengua Mandarina. Edited by Pedro de la

Piñuela. Canton. Editions held by the Biblioteca Dell’Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei e Corsiniana, Rome and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris.

. Mss. "Vocabulario de la Lengua Mandarina." Manuscripts held by the German State Library, Berlin and the British Library, London.

ZHAN, B2ohu4i 詹伯慧 . 1980. X1ishu3i f1angy2an j4iy4ao 浠水方言紀要 . Tokyo:

Ry1uke>i. ZHU, J>i4ans4ong 朱建頌. 1998. W3uh4an f1angy2an c2id>i3an 武漢方言詞典. Nanking:

Jiangsu jiaoyu.

漢口方言語音歷史的幾點認識 柯蔚南

愛我華大學

武漢是現代中國大都巿之一，包括從前漢口、漢陽、武昌三大市

鎮。現代武漢方言有三樣不同的仔細語音記錄。漢口話也有清代晚年

至民國初年的拼音字母和方言調查記錄。本篇使用這幾種資料來研究

漢口方言近代語音演變的歷史。

關鍵詞：漢口方言，武漢方言，方言歷史，語言接觸