A comparative phonology of Chinese and Sino-Paekche Korean

Sino-Paekche Korean is the pronunciation system of Chinese characters in Paekche (18 B.C. ?-663 A.D.), a southwestern state in ancient Korea. This dissertation attempts to reconstruct Sino-Paekche to determine the date and the Chinese source dialects. It attempts also to present linguistic evidence for a transmission route of Chinese characters in early East Asia.; Chapter 1 points out the historical problems in Karlgren's hypothesis on Sino-Korean and proposes an alternative hypothesis: that the Go-on readings of Sino-Japanese were transmitted from southeastern China to Japan via Paekche prior to the time when the Kan-on readings were transmitted directly from northern China to Japan. Chapter 2 critically reviews the phonological history of Chinese from Early Old Chinese to Modern Mandarin.; Chapter 3 clarifies some controversial views on the selection of a Sino-Paekche corpus and on the method of reconstruction. As for the Sino-Paekche corpus, this chapter presents one hundred forty-seven Paekche toponyms in the Samguk sagi (1145), the oldest extant history book in Korea. In Chapter 4, reconstructions of Sino-Paekche are conducted under the conventional framework of the historical phonology of Chinese. Based upon evidence from Paekche toponyms, this chapter asserts that voicing and aspiration were not distinctive in Sino-Paekche initials. This chapter also provides some suggestions concerning the reconstructions of Old Chinese.; Chapter 5 contains a diachronic comparison between Sino-Paekche and Old/Middle Chinese in order to date Sino-Paekche. This chapter argues against the conventional view on the date of Sino-Korean and claims that Early Old Chinese is the basis of Sino-Paekche. Chapter 6 presents a phonological comparison with some major Chinese dialects, including other Sinoxenic dialects, for the purpose of determining the source dialects of Sino-Paekche. While many have considered the Wu dialects to be source of dialects of Sino-Paekche, this chapter demonstrates the closest affinity is between the Min dialects, Sino-Paekche, and Go-on.; Chapter 7 concludes that Sino-Paekche can be dated as early as the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) and that the Old Min dialects are indeed the source dialects of Sino-Paekche. These findings support the hypothesis that Go-on was transmitted from the area where Old Min was spoken to Paekche and from Paekche to Japan.