白沙屯位於苗栗縣後龍、通霄兩鎮交界處，居民主要來自泉州惠安；生計以農業為主，漁業為輔，自原鄉福建泉州惠安頭北移居此地已逾兩百年。 白沙屯方言區北接後龍的漳泉方言混合區；南接通霄，則為漳州方言區；東接苗栗客語區，間雜著幾個客家聚落，但平時閩客間鮮少接觸。因此，白沙屯方言除保留少數原鄉特色外，深受後龍、通霄兩地閩南語方言影響，而形成一種聲韻偏向漳泉混合的臺灣優勢腔，但聲調卻又保存泉州方言色彩的特殊腔調。 漢語聲調的分析，一般採用趙元任先生的五度制。洪惟仁（1985）從音位學角度分析，認為臺灣閩南語優勢腔聲調只有三個「辨義調階」。但白沙屯方言的聲調，則分為四個辨義調階，這可算是白沙屯方言的一大特色。 如所周知，閩南語變調豐富，任何聲調都有本調、變調的分別。白沙屯方言的變調，可以歸納如下： 1.上聲、陰去、陰入的變調都是半高平調。 2.陰平、陽平、陽去、陽入則依照後字聲調而有兩種變調： (1)其後不托低平調時，變為半低平調。 (2)其後接低平調時，則同化為低平調。 這種變調規律，與臺灣優勢腔閩南語大異其趣；再加上本調的不同，後中元音的混同和喉塞音的失落，造成大量同音詞，因此難免造成溝通學習上的障礙。 此外，雖然本區人口不多，但因受鄰近方言的影響程度不同，實可再細分為數區。唯此尚待進一步全面調查，本文僅就本方言一般性的特色作一分析。

Pai-sha-tun is Located in the west coast of Miao-li County in Taiwan. The residents emigrated Taiwan since more than 200 years ago from their motherland Tou-pei, a small town in Huei-an, Chuan-chou, Fukien. They live on farming primarily, and fishing secondarily. Adjoining to Hou-long on the north, a mixed-dialect of Chang-chou dialect and Chiuan-chou dialect of Southern Min, and Tong-hsiau on the south, a Chang-chou dialect, Pai-sha-tun dialect has been greatly influenced by this two dialects, and become a mixed dialect on initial and rhyme, but retain some tonal features of Chiuan-chou dialect. Based on phonemic analysis, Ang Uijin (1985) argued that there are three registers in General Taiwanese. But the tonal system of Pai Sha Tun dialect consists of four registers, which is very special in Taiwanese Southern Min. Generally speaking, Min dialect owns a complicated tone system. There are a basic tone and a sandhi tone every tone category in Taiwanese Southern Min. The features of tonal system in pai-sha-tun dialect can be depicted as follows. 1.The sandhi tones of rising, upper falling, and lower entering are all mid-high level. 2.For tones of upper even, lower even, lower falling, lower entering, there are two alternations depending on the tone value that follows. (1)If what follows is not a low level tone, the sandhi tone will be mid-low level. (2)If what follows is a low level tone, the sandhi tone is assimilized as a low level tone. This paper is aimed to describe the special tonal system and the rules of the tone sandhi for the Pai-sha-tun dialect.

閩南語; 泉州方言; 白沙屯方言; 聲調

Taiwanese southern min; Chiuan-chou dialect; Pai-sha-tun dialect; Tonal system