Abstract
This study investigates the new developments of sound variation in Taiwan Southern Min, including dialects spoken in Taipei, Changhua and Tainan. Four research questions are raised: First, what are the different vowel systems in these dialects? Second, what are the differences regarding lower register entering tone in these dialects? Third, what are the mechanisms motivating the sound variation? Fourth, what are the phonological structural changes of these dialects caused by the said sound changes? This study confirms that the vowel system (i, e, a, ə, u, ɔ) of Tainan dialect tends to be the most popular system in Taiwan. The lower register tone of syllables with -p, -t, or -k ending tends to become [32], which is identical to the higher register entering tone. That which with -ʔ ending tends to lose the glottal stop and to be lengthened, becoming mid-level, high-falling or high-level, depending on the original contour.