The following paper has been accepted for publication:
To, C.
K. -S., McLeod, S. & Cheung, P.
S. -P. (2014, in press December). Phonetic variations and sound changes in Hong
Kong Cantonese: Diachronic review, synchronic study, and implications for
speech sound assessments. Clinical Linguistics and
Phonetics.
Here is the abstract:
The aim of this paper was to describe phonetic variations and sound changes in Hong Kong Cantonese (HKC) in order to provide speech-language pathologists with information about acceptable variants of standard pronunciations for speech sound assessments. Study 1 examined the pattern of variations and changes based on past diachronic research and historical written records. Nine phonetic variations were found. Five in syllable-initial and syllabic contexts: (1)[n-]→[l-], (2)[ŋ-]→Ø-, (3)Ø-→[ŋ-], (4)[kwɔ-]→[kɔ-], (5)syllabic [ŋ̍]→[m̩]; and four in syllable-final contexts: (6)[-ŋ]→[-n], (7)[-n]→[-ŋ], (8)[-k]→[-t], (9)[-t]→[-k]. Historical records demonstrated the pattern of variation and changes in HKC across time. In study 2, a large-scale synchronic study of speakers of differing ages was undertaken to determine acceptable phonetic variations of HKC for speech sound assessments. In the synchronic study single-words were elicited from 138 children (10;8-12;4) and 112 adults (18-45 years) who spoke Cantonese and lived in Hong Kong. Synchronic evidence demonstrated five acceptable variants in syllable-initial and syllabic contexts: (1) [n-]→[l-], (2) [ŋ-]→Ø-, (3) Ø-→[ŋ-], (4) [kwɔ-]→[kɔ-], and (5) syllabic [ŋ̍]→[m̩] and four incomplete sound changes in syllable-final contexts: (6) [-ŋ]→[-n], (7) [-n]→[-ŋ], (8) [-k]→[-t], and (9) [-t]→[-k]. The incomplete sound changes may still be accepted as variants in speech sound assessments unless related speech problems are indicated.
