The Transitional Role of the Glottal Stop in the Development of Glottalized Diminutives

This study focuses on the transitional role of the glottal stop in the development of glottalized diminutives. First, this study compares the historical development of two types of widely-observed diminutives (nasalized diminutives and glottalized diminutives) in southeastern Chinese dialects, with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Concentric: Studies in Linguistics 2009-01, Vol.35 (1), p.1-25
Main Author: 鄭明中(Ming-Chung Cheng)
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
diminutive
glottal stop
glottalized
Min
Scopus
THCI
Wu
吳
喉塞化
喉塞音
小稱
閩
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Summary:This study focuses on the transitional role of the glottal stop in the development of glottalized diminutives. First, this study compares the historical development of two types of widely-observed diminutives (nasalized diminutives and glottalized diminutives) in southeastern Chinese dialects, with special focus given to the transitional stages, CVN and *CVk. While CVN can be easily gathered in synchronic dialects, it seems impossible for *CVk to exist in the dialects of Min and Wu. Then, the asymmetry between CVN and *CVk is explored in terms of sonority as well as the emergence of the unmarked. This study further suggests that, because of the internal glottal stop and its special articulatory characteristic, diminutives with middle glottal stop insertion (middle-GSI) can be viewed as the transitional stage in the development of glottalized diminutives in southeastern Chinese dialects. Finally, the immigration history between Min and Hakka also shows that the view proposed in this study can be historically supported.
ISSN:1810-7478
DOI:10.6241/concentric.ling.200901_35(1).0001