Problem of Consonant Clusters in Chinese Adaptations of Polish Surnames
Problem of Consonant Clusters in Chinese Adaptations of Polish Surnames

Summary/Abstract: The paper presents some phonetic-graphic phenomena occurring in the Chinese substitutions of Polish surnames. The work concentrates on simplification of the consonant clusters present in the initials and finals of the syllables constituting Polish family names. Numerous examples of sound additions and sound reductions have been excerpted from the examined material. The sound addition type of changes include anaptyxis and paragoge. The reductive changes are apheresis, syncope and apocope. The research material consists of 668 Polish surnames and their 778 adaptation variants, functioning in the Chinese language. The submitted deliberations are preceded with a theoretical description of the adaptation process, as well as of the main differences between Polish and Chinese and their writing systems, which significantly influence the final shape of the substitutions being created.

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