A Study On The Variation Of The Vowel [o] In Linli Dialect

Linli dialect,which belongs to southwest Mandarin,is an important branch of Changde dialect.The vowel[o]of Linli dialect undergoes change under the impact of Putonghua,leading to the co-existence of three linguistic variants.On the basis of language contact and lexical diffusion,this study chooses 32 local people as informants to collect vernacular speech data with the method of interview and observation.By analyzing all linguistic data with the help of GOLDVARB X and Excel 2016,this study aims to present the overall variation of the vowel[o]and tries to find out how linguistic factors(word frequency and stressed syllables)and social factors(gender,age and education)affect the variation.The phonetics of Linli dialect is greatly impacted by Putonghua.Vowel[o]in Linli dialect is in the process of convergence towards Putonghua.The standard form[?]is entering into the phonological system of Linli dialect.The standard form[?]with retroflex ending[-er]is another new variant because of the interference from the local dialect.As it shown in the overall distribution,the number of the standard form[?]is slightly larger than that of the old form[o].The third form[?]with retroflex ending[-er]occupies the lowest percentage,but is accepted by local people of different age groups.There is a close relation between word frequency and the variation.Generally speaking,the more frequently the words are used by local people,the higher possibility they become the standard forms.Besides,local people tend to adopt the standard form when words in a relatively low degree of variation appear in phrases with low frequency.And the stressed syllable is not a favorable factor for the variation.Local people use the old form to make an emphasis.Young people are the pioneer of the variation while old people are more likely to use the old form.Compared with male,female favors the standard form more.From the perspective of education background,people who have the college degree or above use the standard form most.The variation of vowel[o]shows the trend that dialects converge towards Putonghua,which is a result of the language policy and people's positive attitude.This study examines linguistic and social factors constraining the variation of the vowel[o],making a contribution to the variation study of Linli dialect.