5. Comparison of 1990s data with 1950s data 551
[o] in BYDCBG was recorded as [ B] twice, and as [C:t] and [uo] once each.
English 1950 1990
English 1950 1990
‘bat’ un00
uC:t20 ‘bird’
ynf02 YBj13
‘to go down’ ynM00
YtnM20 ‘shallow’
fanf44 faBj33
The pitch values as reported in the 1950s data and in our data are given below.
1950 data
Tone 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 Pitch
22 00 44 42 13 02 44
02 Example
m`22 m`00 m`44 m`42 ju`13 s`02 y`o44, yCo44 j`o02,
jCo02 Gloss thick
field face
mother’s older
brother to cross
river to carry with
shoulder pole, small pig basket
to press between,
to catch
1990 data
Category 1 2 3,
4 5 6 7 8
Pitch value 44 31 42 34 24 45 24
5.20. Ziyun Huohua
Most of the words transcribed in the 1950s with [z] initial were transcribed with [ Y]. The
nucleus of several of these words also was different. Examples:
English 1950 1990 English 1950 1990
‘bird’ ynj02
Ynj13 ‘ear’
yh00 YL20
‘to vomit’ yt02
Yt13 ‘to boil’
ytM22 YtM22
‘outside’ yn02
Yn13 ‘to crawl’
ytm00 ytm20
A few words transcribed in the 1950s with [s] were recorded in our data with [ b]. Examples:
English 1950 1990
English 1950
1990
‘scales weighing’ rCM02
bhCM13 ‘to borrow’
rh13 bh24
Some words transcribed in the 1950s with [ F] were recorded in our data with [G], [g], or [f]
initials. Examples:
English 1950 1990
English 1950
1990
‘bank river’ FCm00
GCm20 ‘rice’
FCt31 fC:t31
‘to close’ FCo44
f=o24 ‘smelly’
GCt22 gCt22
552 5. Comparison of 1990s data with 1950s data
The [j] initial in BYDCBG was recorded as [ Y] once and [G] once:
English 1950 1990
English 1950 1990
‘goat’ itM00
Yt:M20 ‘guest’
id13 GD24
The vowel [ L] transcribed in the 1950s was recorded as various different vowels in our data.
Examples:
English 1950 1990
English 1950 1990
‘leaf’ faCL22
faC22 ‘bean’
kLj02s=t02 k=j13o=h13
‘clothes’ oL02
oX13 ‘fertilizer’
oLm02 o=m13
‘to give’ FCL44
FC13 ‘inside’
fcCL22 fcC22
[i] in BYDCBG was sometimes recorded as various other vowels in our data:
English 1950 1990
English 1950 1990
‘duck’ ohs44
oHs24 ‘ear’
yh00 YL20
‘foot’ shm22
s=m22 ‘to sew’
¯ho02 mho13
‘to ride’ jth02
jtDh13 ‘to smile’
yht22 yh=t22
[e] in the 1950s data was sometimes recorded as various other nuclei:
English 1950 1990 English 1950 1990
‘year’ odh22
o=h22 ‘sand’
yd13 yD24
‘vegetable’ odj44
oiDj24 ‘mosquito’
mdM20 ¯DM20
‘tooth’ idt44
iCt33 ‘towel gourd’
jud22 jvD22
‘sick’ odM02
ohDM13 ‘to choose’
kd02 kD13
‘one’ fcdt22
fcht22 ‘four’
rdh13 r=h24
‘good’ fcdh22
fc=h22 ‘expensive’
odM00 ohDM20
The pitch values as reported in the 1950s data and in our data are given below.
1950 data
Tone 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 Pitch
22 00 44 42 13 02 44
02 Example
m`22 m`00 m`44 m`42 ju`13 s`02 y`o44, yCo44 j`o02,
jCo02 Gloss thick
field face
mother’s older
brother to cross
river to carry with
shoulder pole, small pig basket
to press between,
to catch
5. Comparison of 1990s data with 1950s data 553
1990 data
Category 1 2 3 4 5 6 7,
9 8 10 Pitch
value 33 31 34 or
44 43 24 22 45 22 33
Conclusion
For the following sounds, there is often either change or discrepancy between the BYDCBG data and ours. These are the sounds that vary most often across all or most of the data points:
BYDCBG sound Sounds in our data
u v r S, b, p
g G, F, w L X, =, X=
d D final
j final f
There was also considerable difference in the complex vowels between our data and the BYDCBG,
the nuclei found in our data sometimes being more complex than those recorded in the 1950s.
For most of the data points, there is some difference in pitch values. Of all the phonological features of a language, pitch varies the most. The variation we see between our data and the
BYDCBG could be due to change over time. However, pitch can vary slightly even from village to
village. Since we do not know the exact village in the BYDCBG data points, and since in any one data point there are several villages, the variation could be due to pitch variation within the data
point itself.
554
6. Comparison of speech between younger and older speakers