新加坡华语中的方言词融合程度 = INTEGRATION OF DIALECT WORDS IN SINGAPORE MANDARIN

This paper analyses the varying degrees of dialect word integration and shows the dynamic usage of dialect words in Singapore Mandarin. By using the methods of determining lexical integration as proposed by Hasselmo (1969), Mackey (1970) and Poplack & Sankoff (1984), this paper attempts to divide the dialect word integration into five levels and gives possible reasons behind such difference in integration. Through the comparison with English and Malay words used in Singapore Mandarin, this paper also discovers the unique characteristics of dialect word integration in Singapore Mandarin. A total of 182 dialect words were collect from various sources including the local Chinese Newspaper Lianhe Zaobao and through the author's daily observations. Out of these 182 dialect words (mostly from Southern Min dialect and Yue dialect), 120 of the dialect words were investigated using a survey conducted on 48 Singapore Mandarin speakers. The dialect words are then divided into different levels based on their phonological integration and acceptability. It is found that on the linguistic level, highly integrated dialect words are usually loan shifts and they have standardized word forms with no quotation marks or lexical meanings included when used in written texts. On the social level, for highly integrated dialect words, the translatability into standard Mandarin words is usually low, bilinguals often do not know the dialect words' origin and the frequency of use by monolinguals is fairly high. The opposite is true for lowly integrated dialect words. The study also found possible reasons for varying degrees of dialect word integration includes the influence of Singapore dialectal substrate and local culture, as well as the influence of Hong Kong and Taiwan media. Dialectal substrate results in the high occurrence of highly integrated substratum words and local cultural influence also gives rise to dialect cultural words and keywords which are highly integrated predominantly. The influence of Hong Kong and Taiwan media, especially newspaper reports, has resulted in the occasional borrowing of dialect words into Singapore Mandarin but these words are often lowly integrated in spoken speech. Besides, it is also found that the type of lexical borrowing will also influence the level of integration of the dialect words. On the whole, highly integrated words are usually established loanwords and substratum words, whereas lowly integrated words are mostly nonce borrowings. The paper then concludes with the unique characteristics of dialect word integration in the aspects of motivation for borrowing and modes of borrowing. In summary, dialect words are often substratum words resulted from imperfect learning of standard Mandarin, and borrowing of dialect words often involves transliteration and loan shifts using Mandarin morphemes that are related to the semantic meanings of the words. Hence many dialect words often have higher levels of integration as compared to English and Malay words used in Singapore Mandarin.

Authors dc:creator

• 蒋政音
• CHEONG ZHENG YIN AGNES