Abstract
This study examines ongoing sound changes in two Taiwanese dialects, Lok-kok and An-peng, through an investigation of the degrees of lexical diffusion, which we believe are caused by linguistic and social factors. With respect to linguistic factors, we predict that a sound will undergo faster change if a more prestigious dialect has a corresponding sound as another phoneme in its phonological system. We also confirm the idea that a lack of pattern congruence will enhance sound change. Thirdly, we find that sound change occurs more readily if it results in a sound that is more distinct from other sounds. Social factors can influence sound change, too, such as when a dialect is negatively evaluated by speakers of other dialects (exemplified in the changes occurring to a number of uncommon sounds in the Lok-kok dialect). In addition, sound change can occur at a faster rate under the influence of more prestigious neighboring dialects. Overall, our results show that the sound changes in both Lok-kok and An-peng dialects correlate with our predictions regarding both linguistic and social factors.