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Title
Abstract
FAQs
Scope and Structure of This Essay
Paired Columns of Rhymes in Sino-Tangut Materials
Discussion
Cases Not Discussed in the Esquisse
Conclusion
References

Nasal Preinitials in Tangut Phonology

Profile image of Xun GongXun Gong

2021, Archiv Orientalní

https://doi.org/10.47979/AROR.J.89.3.443-482
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40 pages

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Abstract

Gong Hwang-cherng proposed that the Tangut language has a distinction between short and long vowels. To date, however, no reliable correlates have been found regarding the actual phonological nature of the distinction. A careful examination of Chinese loanwords in Tangut and Sino-Tangut pronunciation reveals that the "vowel length" distinction should be revised to that of the presence vs. absence of a nasal preinitial. The pair 𗻍₃₈₀₆ "weed" vs. 𗽰₂₁₃₈ "tomb," borrowed respectively from Chinese 蒲 bu and 墓 muH (the latter from a Northwest-type reflex with *mb-), hitherto reconstructed as buʶ¹ {bu¹} vs. buuʶ² {buu²}, should be revised to buʶ¹ vs. mbuʶ². The reconstructed nasal preinitial not only has a close typological parallel in Modern West Rgyalrongic, but is equally reflected in other sources of evidence, most strikingly Sanskrit transcription and fǎnqiè. The revision solves a large number of problems in the historical phonology of Tangut, though not without raising some new ones, especially in connection with the treatment of Proto-Rgyalrongic preinitials before nasals.

FAQs

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AI

What evidence supports the distinction in Tangut vowel length?add

The research indicates that rhymes representing Chinese loanwords in Tangut only exhibit short vowels, lacking long vowel sequences, thereby suggesting a categorical distinction.

How does the nasal preinitial hypothesis alter traditional views on Tangut phonology?add

This hypothesis posits that column-2 rhymes indicate a nasal preinitial rather than a vowel length distinction, challenging Gong Hwang-cherng's earlier theories from 1994.

What role do prenasalized voiced stops play in Tangut phonology?add

Prenasalized voiced stops correlate significantly with column-2 rhymes, as seen in their representation of Chinese syncretic nasal initials in loanwords.

How does Gong Hwang-cherng's partition of Tangut rhymes hold up in contemporary analysis?add

Recent studies validate the existence of paired columns, though challenge the classification of these as indicative of vowel quantity, calling for more nuanced understandings.

What methodologies illustrate the chronological layers in Chinese-to-Tangut loan translations?add

Analysis of established borrowings reveals a clear stratification between earlier and later layers, indicating sound changes reflective of contemporaneous Chinese dialects.

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Zev Handel, Katia Chirkova

2013

Ersu, Lizu and Duoxu (collectively ELD) are three closely related, little-studied Tibeto-Burman [TB] languages of Sichuan Province in China. Their position within the broader TB family is a matter of dispute. Recent analyses variously link them to other lesser-known TB languages of Sichuan (known under the term Qiangic, Sūn 2001a) or consider them more closely related to the Naish languages (Bradley 2008, 2012; Jacques & Michaud 2011). This study presents one significant new finding for the reconstruction of Proto-ELD (going beyond the conclusions of Yu 2012): the existence of voiceless nasal onsets. This finding not only illuminates the broader problem of classification of the languages of the area, it also suggests the existence of a universal pathway of sequenced changes related to the development and loss of voiceless nasals in languages of the world. The study makes use of a significant amount of new data arising from recent fieldwork. The conclusions are based on a combination of (i) the techniques of the comparative method within the ELD cluster, (ii) external comparison with cognates elsewhere in Tibeto-Burman, and (iii) analysis of universal phonetic mechanisms and constraints. Voiceless nasals are posited based on cognate sets like the following for ‘ripe’, showing a correspondence between a voiceless fricative in Ersu, a voiceless nasal approximant in Lizu, and a nasal stop in Duoxu: Ersu /(dɛ³¹-)xe⁵¹/, Lizu /(de³³-)h̃e⁵¹/, Duoxu /me³⁴/ The reconstruction is supported by cognate forms elsewhere in TB (for example, Written Burmese /m̥ɛ1/ ‘ripe’ and Written Tibetan smyin ‘ripe’). In combination with recent acoustic studies of voiceless nasals in several different TB languages, it is argued that ELD developments are part of a general pathway of change that can be schematized as: *sN > *N̥N > *N̥ > h̃ > x While the development of voiceless nasals within Tibeto-Burman is not uncommon, the high degree of consistency within ELD that allows for the regular reconstruction of Proto-ELD voiceless nasals in a particular subset of lexical items constitutes an innovation that suggests that the ELD cluster is a legitimate taxonomic node within TB that may not be as closely aligned with other TB languages of Sichuan as previously thought. We further suggest that the developments of nasal initials may be used as a general diagnostic tool to help sort out the relationships among lesser-known languages of Sichuan whose genetic and contact affiliations remain obscure. More generally, the study provides further insights into the synchronic and diachronic aspects of voiceless nasals, a type of sound that remains somewhat poorly described and poorly understood due to its relative rarity in languages of the world.

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Diachronic developments in fricative + nasal sequences: a Tibeto-Burman case study
Katia Chirkova

Journal of Historical Linguistics, 2021

Through comparison of regular sound correspondences in three closely related Tibeto-Burman (TB) languages, Ersu, Lizu, and Duoxu (collectively "ELD"), informed by external comparison with other TB languages and recent phonetic analyses of the production of voiceless nasals, we reconstruct *fricative-nasal sequences in their common ancestor, Proto-ELD. In the development of these historic clusters, two pathways of change can be recognized. Their difference lies in the divergent relative phasing of velic and oral gestures in the original fricative-nasal sequences: (i) fricative weakening (from a tight cluster): *FN > N ̥ > h̃ > x (ii) fricative strengthening (from a loose cluster): *F-n > *F-t > t > k or *F-n > s The different reflexes observed in Ersu, Lizu, and Duoxu represent different points along these two developmental pathways. These reconstructions and pathways of development have implications for our understanding of both universal (phonetic) and language-specific aspects of change in fricative-nasal sequences. The first pathway makes it possible to explore the process of nasal devoicing beyond voiceless nasals so as to enrich our understanding of nasal devoicing in natural languages. The coexistence of two opposite pathways of change, on the other hand, provides insights into the morphological and syllabic structure of words with contiguous fricative-nasal sequences in ELD languages at different points in time-insights that may be valuable in examining the history of other languages and language families beyond the ELD cluster.

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A Hypothesis on the Origin of Old Chinese Pharyngealization (上古漢語咽化聲母來源的一個假設)
Bill Baxter

Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics, 2016

It is proposed that oc pharyngealized onset consonants—that is, ‘type-A’ onset consonants—arose out of Proto-Sino-Tibetan plain consonants followed by geminate vowels separated by a pharyngeal fricative. When the first copy of the geminate vowel fell, the initial consonants formed clusters with the pharyngeal fricative, evolving into the oc pharyngealized consonants we reconstruct. In the Kuki-Chin branch of Tibeto-Burman, the pharyngeal fricative fell, and long vowels resulted. This proposal supposes a statistical correlation between Kuki-Chin long vowels and oc type-A words on the one hand, and between Kuki-Chin short vowels and oc type-B words on the other, as originally proposed by S. Starostin. A significant statistic bearing on forty-three probable Chinese-Kuki-Chin cognates supports this correlation. Thus reconstructed, a precursor language of Proto-Sino-Tibetan was aligned with Proto-Austronesian and Proto-Austroasiatic in exhibiting a surface constraint against monomoraic f...

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