| This study examines the formal properties of segmental processes in a number of Chinese dialects. Current theoretical models involving autosegmental representations, feature geometry, underspecification, and hierarchical syllable structure are integrated into the analysis of various aspects of Chinese segmental processes.;In Chapter 2, underspecification and the view of assimilation as autosegmental spreading are adopted to account for Mandarin segmental processes. Focus is placed on the determination of Mandarin underlying vowels, syllable internal assimilation, and alternations under diminutive retroflex suffixation. It is demonstrated that proper underlying feature specifications and rule ordering help explain assimilation and alternations in a unified way.;Chapter 3 is a comprehensive study of alternations under suffixation, infixation, and 'rime change' (bianyun) in various Chinese dialects. Syllable contraction, autosegmental feature association, and segmental merger are claimed to be the main operations involved in these processes and syllable structure is shown to play an important role. Feature-sized morphemes and morphologically conditioned syllable templates are posited to account for the stem internal change under the 'rime change' process. A revealing analysis of rime change is achieved by adopting underspecification and autosegmental feature association.;In Chapter 4, two types of constraints, a morpheme structure constraint and a syllable structure constraint, are proposed to account for the co-occurrence restrictions on labial/rounded segments in Taiwanese and Cantonese. Some theoretical and empirical problems arising from previous analyses and the relevance of the Obligatory Contour Principle to the proposed constraints are discussed.;The final chapter examines segmental processes in the Taiwanese secret language. Similar processes in other Chinese secret languages are discussed to provide further support for our analysis, in which autosegmental association/delinking, and underspecification are adopted. It is also demonstrated that the segmental processes in the secret languages are not always explicable by appealing to morpheme structure constraints of the source languages. The concealment function of secret languages must be taken into consideration.;These seemingly diverse topics are related by the involvement of general issues concerning the proper formal representation of segmental features and the role of syllable structure in the segmental processes of these Chinese dialects. By examining feature spreading, delinking, insertion, and deletion processes in Chinese, we are able to enrich our understanding of phonological theory, and at the same time illuminate little-studied aspects of Chinese phonological structure. |
