Abstract:

ABB adjectives are prevalent in Cantonese,yet research on their phonological features remains limited.This study investigates 150 ABB adjectives by analyzing 50 cross-paired combinations of eight syllabic units (including manner of articulation,place of articulation,roundedness of initials,type of prenuclear glide,vowel closeness,vowel backness,type of coda,and tone) in root A and suffix B,using quantitative analysis,Chi-square tests,and correlation coefficients,to identify constraints and preferential patterns in A-B collocations.This article further proposes a seven-tiered phonological stratification model that hierarchically ranks the influence of syllabic unit combinations on A-B collocational patterns,establishing an empirical framework to explain the phonological patterns of Cantonese ABB adjectives.

Key words: ABB adjective, Cantonese, phonological combination, phonological constraint, sound symbolism