This study examines tone in the Nyato dialect of the nDrapa language (Qiangic). First, tonal patt... more This study examines tone in the Nyato dialect of the nDrapa language (Qiangic). First, tonal patterns and phonetic observations are described, including pitch contour pictures created with Praat. The following tones are identified based on the pitch contour patterns: (i) high level, (ii) falling, (iii) rising, and (iv) rising-falling. Regarding polysyllabic words, the initial two syllables show distinctive pitch patterns. Finally, I examine pitch alternation to analyze the tone bearing unit and conclude that a phonological word, which may consist of multiple words, bears tone in Nyato nDrapa.
In: Nagano Yasuhiko and Ikeda Takumi (eds.) Grammatical Phenomena of Sino-Tibetan Languages 4: Li... more In: Nagano Yasuhiko and Ikeda Takumi (eds.) Grammatical Phenomena of Sino-Tibetan Languages 4: Link languages and archetypes in Tibeto-Burman. (http://hdl.handle.net/2433/263924)
This paper examines language contacts between Tibetan and minority languages of the Western Sichu... more This paper examines language contacts between Tibetan and minority languages of the Western Sichuan Ethnic Corridor (WSEC) area. I list basic pronouns in WSEC languages and examine the possibility of borrowing. A geolinguistic analysis suggests that certain types of words for 'I, me,' 'this,' 'who,' and 'what' may be loanwords. Moreover, a parallel case in a Chinese dialect and a comparative analysis support the possibility of borrowing of the first person pronoun, though it is regarded as inherent in most preceding studies. I will also show the overlap of isoglosses and provide a tentative conclusion in terms of the area of deepest contact.
Rice (rice plant)" in Hmong-Mien Some of the data sources do not have the item "rice as a plant" ... more Rice (rice plant)" in Hmong-Mien Some of the data sources do not have the item "rice as a plant" distinguished from the item "rice as a grain". In this case, we look up the forms for "early-ripening rice" and "late-ripening rice", and identify the part for "rice" in the word-form. In such a case, the part that we use might not be a word, but a bound morpheme. Most of the forms for "rice plant" in Hmong-Mien come from a single etymon, reconstructed as *mblәu in Ratliff ( ). The initial consonant of the form is a prenasalized plosive, where the nasal part and the plosive part are always homorganic. The tone of the modern reflexes is Tone 2 (Tone A in some lects). We designate all the forms cognate with this proto-form as Type A. Type A lects are divided into several subgroups, depending on the development of the prenasalized initial. First, Subgroup A-1, represented by mple, retains both the nasal part and the bilabial plosive part. Subgroup A-2, represented by blau, has lost the nasal part with the plosive part voiced. Subgroup A-3, represented by plau, has also lost the nasal part but does not have the plosive voiced. Subgroup A-4, represented by mjo, does not have the plosive part and the following lateral changes into j. In subgroup A-5, represented by ndli, the plosive part has the place of articulation assimilated to that of the following lateral. Subgroup A-6, represented by nɯ, only retains the nasal part. These various forms observed in Type A are the result of regular sound changes.
Th is paper examines the polysemic enclitic =ta ‘ON’ in nDrapa (the Qiangic branch of the Tibeto-... more Th is paper examines the polysemic enclitic =ta ‘ON’ in nDrapa (the Qiangic branch of the Tibeto-Burman language family) and discusses its development process. =ta ‘ON’ is one of the enclitics that have been grammaticalized from location nouns, and is thought to be grammaticalized from tha1 ‘upper side’. However, =ta ‘ON’ is considerably more polysemic than other enclitics grammaticalized from location nouns: it can indicate a malefactive or respected object and can form a temporal adverbial phrase, as well as marking location, goal, or source of action. Moreover, it can function as a conjunction. In this capacity, =ta ‘ON’ primarily forms a temporal subordinate clause, but it may also play a successive, conditional, or concessive role. With regard to the process of semantic derivation, the conditional and concessive meanings are considered to derive from the successive meaning, which itself derives from the temporal meaning. Th is paper further contrasts nDrapa with four Qiangic la...
This study examines directional prefixes of the languages spoken in the Qiangic language area fro... more This study examines directional prefixes of the languages spoken in the Qiangic language area from a geolinguistic perspective. Among these languages, the northern languages tend to have more directional prefixes. This fact suggests the areal development of directional prefixes. I discuss the following eight directional prefixes: (i) "upward", (ii) "downward", (iii) "inward", (iv) "outward", (v) "upriver", (vi) "downriver", (vii) "eastward" and (viii) "westward". These directional categories are based on nature such as landforms or space and are relatively common in Qiangic. First, I show the geographical distribution of the forms of prefixes for each directional category. Then, I make hypotheses on the historical development of directional prefixes using a geolinguistic method. I conclude that among these directional categories, (i)-(iv) are basic in the Qiangic language area. In other words, the other categories, (v)-(viii), developed later in each local area. The following are the oldest types of initial of each directional prefix: dental plosive for the "upriver" prefixes; dental nasal for the "downward" prefixes; voiceless velar plosive for the "inward" and "upriver" prefixes; voiced velar plosive for the "outward" and "downriver" prefixes; velar plosive for the "eastward" prefixes; and dental nasal for the "westward" prefixes.
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Papers by Satoko Shirai