本文分析《釋名》聲訓的聲母關係，涉及相關音理探討，指出《釋名》聲訓的聲母具有異讀層次，其成因或為來源有別，或為類型差異，或為音變速度不同所致。全文具體分析八組聲母關係：1中古心母的聲訓關係主要為心母與舌音及齒音精、莊、章組的接觸。顯示心、生母字具有塞擦音的音讀層次，現代漢語方言燥、生、嗽、笑讀ts-或ts^h-，即此類型的反映。2中古邪母的聲訓關係反映在邪母與舌尖音、舌根音聲訓兩類。3中古喻四的聲訓關係反映*Cl-類型複輔音、邊音、清邊音的相關現象。4中古來母的聲訓關係反映*Cr-類型複輔音尚未消失。5中古章組的聲訓關係反映章組有舌尖、舌根二源。舌音端、知組未分，故端、知、章組聲母接觸頻繁；章、見二組的關係，仍殘留在現代閩方言，如「齒枝」讀舌根音。本文亦論及書母的聲訓關係，現代漢語方言書母字讀塞擦音與聲訓相應，反映自古已經存在音韻類型差異。6舌尖鼻音的聲訓關係有心日、泥日、泥日與照三、泥日與舌尖音四類。7清鼻音聲母的聲訓關係有雙唇、舌根清鼻音二類。8中古匣母字的聲訓反映舌根塞音、舌根擦音、零聲母三種音讀類型。證明現代閩語匣母字的四種音讀層次並非獨一無二，匣母字自古已經存在音讀類型差異。以上各式聲母的交替可統合為三大類：（1）在噝音內交替。（2）在響音和阻塞音內交替（3）在阻塞音內交替。

Sound gloss, as it is known among Chinese linguists, is a form of philology practiced by ancient scholars to define the meaning of homophonous words. A sizable collection of phonological information is stored in Liu Xi's ”Shiming”, which the current study analyzes. Eight kinds of initial alternations are addressed in this paper, some as common as one often sees in textbooks on historical linguistics, others so unusual that they require separate treatments. Regardless of their nature, the author has used comparative techniques, drawing parallels with modern dialects to offer some discoveries. These eight kinds of initial alternation can be broken down into three major categories: (1) alternation within sibilants; (2) alternation between sonorants and obstruents; and (3) alternations within obstruents. Overall, initials of ancient and modern Chinese dialects, like consonants, have differences in strata. 'Strata' is a tripartite composition of time, place, and phonology. The arguments in this paper lead to a clear view of historical Chinese phonology and discuss many meaningful issues.