Phonetic variations and sound changes in Hong Kong Cantonese: Diachronic review, synchronic study and implications for speech sound assessment

Abstract

The aim of this article was to describe phonetic variations and sound changes in Hong Kong Cantonese (HKC) 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) [k^wɔ-] → [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) [k^wɔ-] → [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.

• Assessment
• cantonese
• phonetic variation
• sound change
• speech articulation test

Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT0990588) awarded to Sharynne McLeod.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.