지역 유형론적 관점에서 본 漢語와 소수 민족 언어의 비음 운미 유형― 중국 중⋅남부 지역을 중심으로

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the sound patterns and the distribution features of the nasal codas /-m, –n, -ŋ/ of the Sinitic languages and the ethnic languages distributed in central and southern China, centering on the Yangtze River basin and the southern part of the Yangtze River. We have produced a language atlas of the typology of the nasal codas of such languages, and from an areal typology perspective, this atlas shows that the areal distribution features of the nasal codas of the Sinitic languages and ethnic languages distributed in mainland China are similar to each other. The patterns of the nasal codas of these languages show similar regional distribution characteristics. They can be broadly divided into the central and southeastern /-ŋ/ types, the central /-n, -ŋ/ types, and the far southern /-m, –n, -ŋ/ types. In addition, we have also produced a language atlas of the typology of the plosive codas of these languages and compare their distribution features with those of the nasal codas; the results show areal distributions that can be divided into southwestern, central, far southern, and southeast areas in China in which consonant codas are geographically similar. Through observing and analyzing the patterns of the areal distribution of the nasal codas in the same region based on /-m, –n, -ŋ/ and the areal distribution of the nasal codas in the ethnic languages, a discussion about language contact and language shift in the Sinitic languages and non-Sinitic languages emerges. We attach great importance to the relationships and influences among the ethnic languages that are distributed in or around the same region as the Sinitic languages from the perspective of areal typology.