COEXISTENT TONE SYSTEMS IN CHINESE DIALECTS

This work is a fine-grained study of coexistent tone systems in Chinese dialects as manifested in the development of Middle Chinese Tone II and III morphemes with voiced initials. We take as two theoretical focal areas Chaozhou and Kejia where coexistent tone systems are competing with each other for eventual triumph.;As in Chaozhou, our exhaustive analysis of the Kejia tone development based on a dynamic model of sound change yields a profile of on-going sound change where traditionally held exceptions are reinterpreted as embodiment of different stages of development.;The posited multi-layered tone systems in Chinese dialects discussed here have implications for our understanding of the phonological structure of a language, general issues in language change and aspects of language contact and dialect classification.;The unique tonal development in Chaozhou is of special interest to phonologists and has generated some disputes. Wang and Cheng (1972) account for it in terms of the theory of lexical diffusion, and Egerod (1976 & 1982) and Ting (1978) hold that the solution lies in the existence of colloquial and literary layers and the notion of contamination. The overall picture of bidirectional diffusion that emerges in our fairly comprehensive lexically-oriented treatment resolves the controversy and supports the lexical diffusionists' thesis that the Chaozhou case is a system-internal development caught in midstream, though the input comes from without.