Chapter 5 Conclusions
5.3 Limitations
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Moreover, it seems the nonstandard variant [s] of /ɕ/ functions more like a social marker than as a structural consequence of assimilation. For internal factors, character frequency, preceding vowels, and syllable structure are all influential to the surface realization of /ɕ/ as [s], with their strengths of effectiveness descending in this order.
In addition, as Wang (1969), Bailey (1973), and many other scholars propose, this target phonetic variation extends gradually through geographical space, situational space, and social space.
As for the impacts of the external factors, the influences of age, geographical area, and situational formality are strong, with the strengths of their effectiveness descending in this order. In contrast, the impact of gender is moderate, and that of education level is weak. Also, one thing worth noting is that the younger group always shows patterns different from those of the other groups. It is doubted whether these younger people take Hakka dialect or Mandarin as their mother tongue. It seems likely that the old and the young behave differently in their recognitions of Hakka dialect as their “mother tongue,” and in their attitudes toward the association between their mother tongue and their ethnic identity.
5.3 Limitations
This study is not without flaws. Due to limitations of time and man power, there are several insufficiencies.
First, one possible explanation for the emergence of [s] as a variant of Mandarin /ɕ/ lies in the fact that some subdialects of Hakka dialect (such as Hailu subdialect, 海 陸腔) do not have /ɕ/; therefore, it is very likely that some native speakers of these subdialects, under the pressure of subdialectal interference, substitute [ɕ] with [s].6
6 This thinking is originated from Dr. Feng-fu Tsao during the oral defense of this thesis. This researcher is most grateful for Dr. Tsao’s advice.
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Unfortunately, during the period of data collection, this possibility was not examined and should be done in the future.
Second, the number of the subjects is small because it is extremely hard to find Hakka speakers willing to join the tests in Taoyuan County. Moreover, the sample size of the qualitative interviews is even smaller because three of the thirty-two subjects left the country before the investigation were completed.
Third, due to limits of time and man power in this study, the social factors are in dichotomy. It is likely that if these factors (except gender) are divided into gradable groups, more patterns and more conspicuous patterns will emerge.
Last, due to erroneous implementation of the interviews, the reliability of the data of many parts of the qualitative design was sacrificed. For example, in eliciting the domain and functions for which the subjects use their mother tongue, this researcher did not require all of the subjects to answers exactly the same number of questions, in exactly the same order. Also, in eliciting the subjects’ ethnic identity and their opinions for the association between ethnic identity and language use, the researcher did not notice on site that some of the subjects did not respond to the questions clearly, sincerely, and completely. In other words, parts of the data for qualitative analyses fail in reliability and completeness. These problems should be resolved in future studies.
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Appendices
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