A Research On The Representation Of Prenuclear On-Glides In Mandarin Chinese Within The Framework Of Government Phonology

This thesis analyzes evidence from daily speech errors and language game to detect the proper status of prenuclear on-glide in Mandarin Chinese within the framework of Government Phonology (henceforth GP). All the analysis offers evidence to support the rationality of ON-template in GP.Government Phonology is based on universal principles and language-specific parameters instead of features or rules, with the aim of providing non-arbitrary accounts for various phonological phenomena. In GP, phonological segments are expressed in terms of univalent elements rather than binary articulatory features arranged in matrices.The research of this study shows:different theories provide different opinions on the status of prenuclear on-glides in Mandarin Chinese, so the key problem lies in which syllable structure should be the optimum one for analyzing Chinese syllable structure. Traditional Chinese syllable structure consists of four segments and the following studies carry this syllable structure on. Division of onset and rime has been discussed vehemently from different theories by different phonologists. In the analysis of ON-template for Han language in GP, all these problems disappear, for GP theory of phonological representations allows one to capture certain generalizations in a natural and insightful way. Yeng-seng Goh and Jonathan Kaye have done theoretical research on Chinese syllable structure and the status of prenuclear on-glides in GP, but even the two brought out different findings. This thesis analyzes speech errors and language games to collect some practical evidence to find which position could the glides "i" and "u" occupy in Mandarin Chinese. Meanwhile, the analysis of evidence in this thesis proves that ON-template in GP is better than the other syllable structure assumptions, for on one hand it simplifies derivation process, and on the other hand it analyzes language facts in a more convincing way. Finally, this study brings the result that prenuclear on-glides should be part of the onset in Mandarin Chinese.