A comparative study on haplology of Putonghua and Taiwan Mandarin and its standardisation

Abstract

Haplology in Chinese nominal compounds is yielded by a set of constraints,which may function diversely across varieties or dialects.Based on empirical studies, Mandarin varieties of the mainland and Taiwan are found to be essentially the same in terms of acceptability of haplology, but differ in the overall tendency,with Taiwan Mandarin being slightly inclined to use non-haplology forms while Putonghua showing no significant preference.The two varieties also display difference in the strength rankings of three constraints.It is ‘frequency > syllabicity > tone sandhi’ in Putonghua, and ‘frequency > tone sandhi > syllabicity’in Taiwan Mandarin.Such rankings can be well explained with markedness constraints in Optimality Theory and also the theory of lexical diffusion. 汉语名词性复合结构中的同音删略是否发生，具有一套制约机制。该机制的具体运作方 式在不同的共同语变体或方言中可能存在差异。根据对语言使用习惯的调查，两岸共同语在同音 删略的接受度方面表现大体一致，不过大陆普通话在是否删略方面没有显著倾向，而台湾“国语” 在整体趋势上略微倾向于不删略。此外，两岸共同语还体现出了同音删略制约条件在强弱排序上 的差异：大陆普通话为“使用频率＞韵律＞变调”，台湾“国语”为“使用频率＞变调＞韵律”。这一 强弱等级的排序以及跨语言变体的差异，可以在优选论框架中借助标记性制约条件获得解释，同 时也符合词汇扩散的语言演变模式。