| dc.description.abstract | The essay discussed evolution of apical vowel in terms of modern Chinese dialects,giving insights into developments, features and differences of apical vowel in various areas by reviewing literature of languages in Ming and Ching dynasties. Besides, it analyzed category of apical vowel in dialects, which clarified the cause of its evolution, as well as comprehensively understood its trends. Chapter One was introduction of this essay. Chapter Two elaborated achievements of researches into phonology in Song and Yuan dynasties, which has been viewed as pioneer of researches into phonology in Ming and Ching dynasties. The evolution of apical vowel in Song and Yuan dynasties focused on zhikaisan jingzu. Zhongyuan Yinyun（《中原音韻》）is leading literature for revealing northern rhymes in Ming dynasty. To compare it with corpora of Ming and Ching dynasties, legacy and differences of rhyme evolution will be presented clearly. Chapter Three dug into literature of phonology of Ming and Ching dynasties to understand evolution of apical vowel and related rhymes. The author could not verify phonetic value from rhymes, styles, Consonant and vowel attributes, but grasped its development based on induction in the classes of voice type, and determined its variation based on consonant and vowel. Chapter Four analyzed pronunciation of apical vowel and some exceptions in terms of modern Chinese. Chapter Five sorted out combinations of apical vowel and initial, as well as analyzed reasons of differences in their variations, which was based on Dictionary of XianDai hanyu fangyan dacidian（《現代漢語方言大辭典》［Modern Chinese Dialects］）and Han Yu fangyin zihu（i《漢語方音字彙 ［Dictionary of ChineseDialects］）. By comparing discussions in Chapter Four and Five, differences of
pronunciation in modern Chinese and dialects were highlighted. Chapter Six focused on apical vowels in the modern days, and pronunciation types, styles, and geographic distribution of modern dialects. It presented a systemic picture about process and pattern of apical vowel’s evolution based on literature and materials about dialects. The essay discussed evolution, development and trends of apical vowel in terms ofvarious times and view
points. It enhanced explanation and understanding of history,evolution and style of Chinese apical vowel. | en_US |