On the Notion of “Vowel” and “Consonant” in Chinese Linguistic Tradition

On the Breakdown of Syllables in Chinese Historical Linguistics and the Four Grades of Rime Tables

Bibliographic Data

ID20354797
AuthorsGeorg Orlandi (0000-0002-5756-4769, Schlumberger (Ireland), corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume70
Issue1
Pages209-235
Publication date2022-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMonumenta Serica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0254-9948 • E-ISSN: 2057-1690
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02549948.2022.2061171
OpenAlexW4283016181
LanguageEN
References cited25

The present article seeks to investigate the notion of vowels and consonants in the Chinese linguistic tradition, which developed independently of Western linguistic traditions, despite being influenced by the phonetic science of India. In particular, this study seeks to discuss the questions of (1) how traditional phonologists in China had split the syllable into smaller units, (2) what was the nature of the units, and (3) whether Chinese phonologists had already been aware of the existence of vowels and consonants. This study also discusses the question of whether the Four Grades of traditional rime tables were actually related to the quality of vowels, and the presence of medial glides. It is concluded that vowels were probably understood as sounds that may have been pronounced alone, whereas consonants were interpreted as sounds which should be attached to a vowel. Occasionally, a comparison with Western linguistic tradition is also offered

Art · China · Consonant · Formant · Hard rime · Linguistics · Literature · Mid vowel · Morphophonology · Phonology · Syllable · Vowel · Chinese history and philosophy · Historical Linguistics and Language Studies · History · Linguistics and language evolution · Philosophy

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