A Phonological Study On Er-suffixation In Daguan Dialect Of Chinese

As an important language phenomenon in Chinese, er-suffixation does not only exist in mandarin but also widely in various dialects. Its complex phonetic forms and close relationship with lexicon and grammar have drawn a lot of attentions in linguistics. Dialect of Chinese used in Daguan County, Yunnan is a dialectal spot belonging to southwest mandarin in which er-suffixation is a prominent feature. With regard to this topic, previous studies mainly focus on comparisons between the dialect itself and mandarin Chinese. Few of them refer to the internal mechanism of er-suffixation.This paper aims at er-suffixed words in Daguan dialect, including three research questions.1) How is the current developmental situation of er-suffixation? 2) What is the derivational mechanism of er-suffixed words? 3) What is the nature of er-ending and retroflextion? The paper applies literature studies and fieldwork and selects six informants for collecting the data. Under the direction of the phonological template and theories in lexical phonology, the research makes an analysis of the data.The major findings show that er-suffixation is experiencing a stage of the coexistence of er-ending and retroflextion. They are mainly distributed in noun words and have different derivational mechanisms. Er-ending is an independent syllable and occupies a single position in the template. While retroflextion exerts influence on the preceding syllable and makes it retroflexed. It must share the position with the other syllable. Er-ending is a lexical category required by word formation, but retroflextion seems to be a supersegmental element subjected to phonology, just like intonation and stress. But, both the two has made a difference in the internal structure of word formation and forms of prosodic words in Daguan dialect. Through the in-depth exploration, the paper illustrates the er-suffixation in Daguan dialect comprehensively. It has explained the derivational mechanisms of er-ending and retroflextion respectively and defined the natures of both, which enables readers to understand Daguan dialect more clearly.