Pub Date : 2019-02-01DOI: 10.31826/jlr-2019-171-205
J. Lixin, Huo Wenwen
This paper discusses the Old Chinese origin of voiced sibilants zand ʑin Middle Chinese. First, based on careful examination of Guǎngyùn (广韵) and other texts, we argue that, although the distinction between voiced affricates and fricatives was largely kept in the Guǎngyùn system, in some words the voiced affricates dz-/dʑhad already merged into fricatives z-/ʑdue to copying from other texts and/or sound change. Second, we argue that zand ʑin Middle Chinese are either in complementary distribution or show free variation in some occasions. Therefore, they had one single origin (/z/) before the onset of the sound change z> ʑ-. Based on these arguments, we have carried out a detailed analysis of the xiéshēng series and found four different origins for /z/. They are *r-j-, *s-ɢ-, *z-, and *s-drespectively.
{"title":"The Old Chinese origin of Middle Chinese voice sibilants z/ʑ","authors":"J. Lixin, Huo Wenwen","doi":"10.31826/jlr-2019-171-205","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31826/jlr-2019-171-205","url":null,"abstract":"This paper discusses the Old Chinese origin of voiced sibilants zand ʑin Middle Chinese. First, based on careful examination of Guǎngyùn (广韵) and other texts, we argue that, although the distinction between voiced affricates and fricatives was largely kept in the Guǎngyùn system, in some words the voiced affricates dz-/dʑhad already merged into fricatives z-/ʑdue to copying from other texts and/or sound change. Second, we argue that zand ʑin Middle Chinese are either in complementary distribution or show free variation in some occasions. Therefore, they had one single origin (/z/) before the onset of the sound change z> ʑ-. Based on these arguments, we have carried out a detailed analysis of the xiéshēng series and found four different origins for /z/. They are *r-j-, *s-ɢ-, *z-, and *s-drespectively.","PeriodicalId":52215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Relationship","volume":"17 1","pages":"17 - 7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44230401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-02-01DOI: 10.31826/jlr-2019-171-213
George Starostin
In this paper, I attempt to compare the relative rates of replacement of basic vocabulary items (from the 100-item Swadesh list) over four specific checkpoints in the history of the Chinese language: Early Old Chinese (as represented by documents such as The Book of Songs), Classic Old Chinese, Late Middle Chinese (represented by the language of The Record of Linji), and Modern Chinese. After a concise explication of the applied methodology and a detailed presentation of the data, it is shown that the average rates of replacement between each of these checkpoints do not significantly deviate from each other and are generally compatible with the classic «Swadesh constant» of 0.14 loss per millennium; furthermore, these results correlate with other similar observed situations, e.g. for the Greek language, though not with others (Icelandic). It is hoped that future similar studies on the lexical evolution of languages with attested written histories will allow to place these observations into a more significant context.
{"title":"Chinese basic lexicon from a diachronic perspective: implications for lexicostatistics and glottochronology","authors":"George Starostin","doi":"10.31826/jlr-2019-171-213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31826/jlr-2019-171-213","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, I attempt to compare the relative rates of replacement of basic vocabulary items (from the 100-item Swadesh list) over four specific checkpoints in the history of the Chinese language: Early Old Chinese (as represented by documents such as The Book of Songs), Classic Old Chinese, Late Middle Chinese (represented by the language of The Record of Linji), and Modern Chinese. After a concise explication of the applied methodology and a detailed presentation of the data, it is shown that the average rates of replacement between each of these checkpoints do not significantly deviate from each other and are generally compatible with the classic «Swadesh constant» of 0.14 loss per millennium; furthermore, these results correlate with other similar observed situations, e.g. for the Greek language, though not with others (Icelandic). It is hoped that future similar studies on the lexical evolution of languages with attested written histories will allow to place these observations into a more significant context.","PeriodicalId":52215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Relationship","volume":"17 1","pages":"153 - 176"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46353761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-02-01DOI: 10.31826/jlr-2019-171-207
Johann-Mattis List, N. Hill, Christopher J. Foster
Although rhyme analysis plays a crucial role in the reconstruction of Old Chinese phonology, the field has not yet developed a standardized annotation framework for rhyme judgments applied to Ancient Chinese texts. Building on initial attempts to standardize crosslinguistic data for the purpose of historical and typological language comparison (as part of the Cross-Linguistic Data Formats initiative), we present a proposal for consistent and transparent rhyme annotation. This proposal allows scholars to annotate the rhymes they identify in historical texts in such a way that the judgments can be analyzed with computational tools as well as conveniently inspected by scholars. Our framework is accompanied by software tools and exemplary datasets, which were annotated by various scholars, and reflect not only Chinese, but also contemporary poetry in different languages. In the paper, we present the framework and also point to caveats and current insufficiencies in annotation. In doing so, we hope to inspire more scholars working on Old Chinese reconstruction to share their judgments, allowing others working in the field to improve, revise, and analyze them.
{"title":"Towards a standardized annotation of rhyme judgments in Chinese historical phonology (and beyond)","authors":"Johann-Mattis List, N. Hill, Christopher J. Foster","doi":"10.31826/jlr-2019-171-207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31826/jlr-2019-171-207","url":null,"abstract":"Although rhyme analysis plays a crucial role in the reconstruction of Old Chinese phonology, the field has not yet developed a standardized annotation framework for rhyme judgments applied to Ancient Chinese texts. Building on initial attempts to standardize crosslinguistic data for the purpose of historical and typological language comparison (as part of \u0000the Cross-Linguistic Data Formats initiative), we present a proposal for consistent and transparent rhyme annotation. This proposal allows scholars to annotate the rhymes they identify \u0000in historical texts in such a way that the judgments can be analyzed with computational tools \u0000as well as conveniently inspected by scholars. Our framework is accompanied by software \u0000tools and exemplary datasets, which were annotated by various scholars, and reflect not only \u0000Chinese, but also contemporary poetry in different languages. In the paper, we present the \u0000framework and also point to caveats and current insufficiencies in annotation. In doing so, \u0000we hope to inspire more scholars working on Old Chinese reconstruction to share their \u0000judgments, allowing others working in the field to improve, revise, and analyze them.","PeriodicalId":52215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Relationship","volume":"17 1","pages":"26 - 43"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44945601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-02-01DOI: 10.31826/jlr-2019-171-206
Mao Kun
This paper discusses some phonological issues with the Xiaochu (小畜) and Dachu (大畜) hexagrams by using text variants from three versions of the unearthed Zhouyi (周易). We point out that the reading of the character 輻 fú ‘spoke’, which rhymes with 目 mù ‘eye’ in the current version of Xiaochu, is the result of phonetic assimilation. We also propose that the phonetic 逐 zhú ‘pursue’ be assigned to the *-uk group instead of *-iwk in the BaxterSagart (2014) system.
{"title":"A study of phonological issues in the text variants of Xiaochu and Dachu hexagrams, Zhouyi","authors":"Mao Kun","doi":"10.31826/jlr-2019-171-206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31826/jlr-2019-171-206","url":null,"abstract":"This paper discusses some phonological issues with the Xiaochu (小畜) and Dachu (大畜) hexagrams by using text variants from three versions of the unearthed Zhouyi (周易). We point out that the reading of the character 輻 fú ‘spoke’, which rhymes with 目 mù ‘eye’ in the current version of Xiaochu, is the result of phonetic assimilation. We also propose that the phonetic 逐 zhú ‘pursue’ be assigned to the *-uk group instead of *-iwk in the BaxterSagart (2014) system.","PeriodicalId":52215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Relationship","volume":"17 1","pages":"18 - 25"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47261069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-02-01DOI: 10.31826/jlr-2019-171-208
Shen Ruiqing
The invention of the Ancient Chinese Writing System (henceforth ACWS) is a significant event in world history. In this paper I put forward a hypothesis on the co-evolution of the Old Chinese language and its writing system (ACWS). I argue that the invention of ACWS bears a strong correlation with the linguistic evolution, more specifically, the monosyllabicization, of Old Chinese. In other words, ACWS might never be invented if monosyllabicization had not occured in Chinese. The paper is organized in the following way. First, we discuss the reason why a subsyllabic writing system was not invented for Old Chinese (section 2). Next, we discuss the nature of the rebus principle in ACWS (section 3), and its correlation with morphological alternations (section 4). Then I argue that monosyllabicization of Old Chinese is a precondition for the rebus principle, which is crucial for the birth of ACWS (section 5). Lastly, I discuss the implication of the hypothesis for the study of Old Chinese (section 6).
{"title":"The monosyllabicization of Old Chinese and the birth of Chinese Writing: A hypothesis on the co-evolution of the Chinese language and its writing system","authors":"Shen Ruiqing","doi":"10.31826/jlr-2019-171-208","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31826/jlr-2019-171-208","url":null,"abstract":"The invention of the Ancient Chinese Writing System (henceforth ACWS) is a significant event in world history. In this paper I put forward a hypothesis on the co-evolution of the Old Chinese language and its writing system (ACWS). I argue that the invention of ACWS bears a strong correlation with the linguistic evolution, more specifically, the monosyllabicization, of Old Chinese. In other words, ACWS might never be invented if monosyllabicization had not occured in Chinese. The paper is organized in the following way. First, we discuss the reason why a subsyllabic writing system was not invented for Old Chinese (section 2). Next, we discuss the nature of the rebus principle in ACWS (section 3), and its correlation with morphological alternations (section 4). Then I argue that monosyllabicization of Old Chinese is a precondition for the rebus principle, which is crucial for the birth of ACWS (section 5). Lastly, I discuss the implication of the hypothesis for the study of Old Chinese (section 6).","PeriodicalId":52215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Relationship","volume":"17 1","pages":"44 - 54"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43637596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-02-01DOI: 10.31826/jlr-2019-171-210
Zhang Shuya, Guillaume Jacques, Lai Yunfan
Gyalrongic languages, a subgroup of the Burmo-Qiangic branch of the Sino-Tibetan family, are spoken in the Western Sichuan Province of China. They are polysynthetic languages, and present rich verbal morphology. Although they are not closely related to Chinese, they are of particular interest for Sino-Tibetan/Trans-Himalayan comparative linguistics with regards to their conservative phonology and morphology. Based on previous studies on Old Chinese phonology, combining with recent fieldwork data, this paper aims to show how Gyalrong languages could shed light on Old Chinese morphology and thus contribute to the Old Chinese reconstruction. It also proposes a list of possible cognates between Old Chinese, Gyalrong languages, indicating also Tibetan cognates when available.
{"title":"A study of cognates between Gyalrong languages and Old Chinese","authors":"Zhang Shuya, Guillaume Jacques, Lai Yunfan","doi":"10.31826/jlr-2019-171-210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31826/jlr-2019-171-210","url":null,"abstract":"Gyalrongic languages, a subgroup of the Burmo-Qiangic branch of the Sino-Tibetan family, are spoken in the Western Sichuan Province of China. They are polysynthetic languages, and present rich verbal morphology. Although they are not closely related to Chinese, they are of particular interest for Sino-Tibetan/Trans-Himalayan comparative linguistics with regards to their conservative phonology and morphology. Based on previous studies on Old Chinese phonology, combining with recent fieldwork data, this paper aims to show how Gyalrong languages could shed light on Old Chinese morphology and thus contribute to the Old Chinese reconstruction. It also proposes a list of possible cognates between Old Chinese, Gyalrong languages, indicating also Tibetan cognates when available.","PeriodicalId":52215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Relationship","volume":"17 1","pages":"73 - 92"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69520990","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-02-01DOI: 10.31826/jlr-2019-171-212
Orlandi Giorgio
The Ng Yap (formerly Sze Yap) dialects are routinely considered a branch of the Yue subfamily. This paper seeks to demonstrate that, contrary to this widespread opinion, these dialects show a wide range of distinctive features which, for formal purposes of language/dialect classification, may warrant their separation from the Yue subfamily. This paper also discusses the criteria which are often at the basis of language subgrouping in the field of Chinese linguistics. Nevertheless, this work should be regarded only as an attempt of stimulating a further discussion into a topic which has been overlooked for far too long.
{"title":"On the classification of the Ng Yap dialects: some thoughts on the subgrouping of Sinitic languages","authors":"Orlandi Giorgio","doi":"10.31826/jlr-2019-171-212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31826/jlr-2019-171-212","url":null,"abstract":"The Ng Yap (formerly Sze Yap) dialects are routinely considered a branch of the Yue subfamily. This paper seeks to demonstrate that, contrary to this widespread opinion, these dialects show a wide range of distinctive features which, for formal purposes of language/dialect classification, may warrant their separation from the Yue subfamily. This paper also discusses the criteria which are often at the basis of language subgrouping in the field of Chinese linguistics. Nevertheless, this work should be regarded only as an attempt of stimulating a further discussion into a topic which has been overlooked for far too long.","PeriodicalId":52215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Relationship","volume":"17 1","pages":"128 - 152"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43118304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-02-01DOI: 10.31826/jlr-2019-171-211
A. Nikulin
In this work, I examine the sound correspondences between Proto-Cerrado (Nikulin 2017) and Proto-Southern Jê (Jolkesky 2010) and offer a phonological reconstruction of Proto-Jê, the proto-language of the most diverse subgrouping within the Macro-Jê language stock. I reconstruct 11 consonants and 19 vowels for this proto-language. I also claim that */CrVC/ was the maximal syllable structure in Proto-Jê with some further restrictions on its complex onsets (only */pr, mr, kr, ŋr/ were allowed). I reconstruct a shielding allophony pattern to Proto-Jê, according to which nasal onsets would have had post-oralized allophones before oral nuclei. The discussion on Proto-Jê phonology is followed by a sample of Proto-Jê lexicon.
{"title":"A reconstruction of Proto-Jê phonology and lexicon","authors":"A. Nikulin","doi":"10.31826/jlr-2019-171-211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31826/jlr-2019-171-211","url":null,"abstract":"In this work, I examine the sound correspondences between Proto-Cerrado (Nikulin 2017) and Proto-Southern Jê (Jolkesky 2010) and offer a phonological reconstruction of Proto-Jê, the proto-language of the most diverse subgrouping within the Macro-Jê language stock. I reconstruct 11 consonants and 19 vowels for this proto-language. I also claim that */CrVC/ was the maximal syllable structure in Proto-Jê with some further restrictions on its complex onsets (only */pr, mr, kr, ŋr/ were allowed). I reconstruct a shielding allophony pattern to Proto-Jê, according to which nasal onsets would have had post-oralized allophones before oral nuclei. The discussion on Proto-Jê phonology is followed by a sample of Proto-Jê lexicon.","PeriodicalId":52215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Relationship","volume":"17 1","pages":"127 - 93"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44333177","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-02-01DOI: 10.31826/jlr-2019-171-204
Johann-Mattis List, George Starostin, Lai Yunfan
{"title":"“Old Chinese and Friends”: new approaches to historical linguistics of the Sino-Tibetan area","authors":"Johann-Mattis List, George Starostin, Lai Yunfan","doi":"10.31826/jlr-2019-171-204","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31826/jlr-2019-171-204","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":52215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Relationship","volume":"17 1","pages":"1 - 6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48073217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-02-01DOI: 10.31826/jlr-2019-171-209
G. Xun
While consonant clusters, taken broadly to include presyllables, are commonly hypothesized for Old Chinese, little direct evidence is available for establishing the early forms of specific words. This essay examines a hitherto overlooked source: Old Vietnamese, a language substantially attested in a single document, which writes certain words, monosyllabic in modern Vietnamese, in an orthography suggesting sesquisyllabic phonology. For a number of words loaned from Chinese, Old Vietnamese provides the only testimony of the form of the Vietic borrowing. The small list of currently known sesquisyllabic words of Chinese origin attested in this document includes examples of both words with a secure initial Chinese cluster and words with plausible Vietic-internal prefixation.
{"title":"Chinese loans in Old Vietnamese with a sesquisyllabic phonology","authors":"G. Xun","doi":"10.31826/jlr-2019-171-209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31826/jlr-2019-171-209","url":null,"abstract":"While consonant clusters, taken broadly to include presyllables, are commonly hypothesized for Old Chinese, little direct evidence is available for establishing the early forms of specific words. This essay examines a hitherto overlooked source: Old Vietnamese, a language substantially attested in a single document, which writes certain words, monosyllabic in modern Vietnamese, in an orthography suggesting sesquisyllabic phonology. For a number of words loaned from Chinese, Old Vietnamese provides the only testimony of the form of the Vietic borrowing. The small list of currently known sesquisyllabic words of Chinese origin attested in this document includes examples of both words with a secure initial Chinese cluster and words with plausible Vietic-internal prefixation.","PeriodicalId":52215,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Relationship","volume":"17 1","pages":"55 - 72"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48299901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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