New origins to vowel tensing in Tangut

Internal and Comparative Evidence

Bibliographic Data

ID2810733
AuthorsShuya Zhang (0000-0002-3444-1475, Shanghai Jiao Tong University), Yanning Lai (0000-0001-7034-056X, Nanyang Technological University, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume88
Issue1
Pages103-122
Publication date2025-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0041-977X • E-ISSN: 1474-0699
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0041977x24000673
OpenAlexW4407341599
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited20

This paper proposes new origins for tense vowels in Tangut by integrating textual analysis of Tangut texts with comparative data from both Gyalrongic and other Sino-Tibetan languages. It uncovers two previously unreported sources of vowel tensing in compounding: the collective prefix (*S-) and the compound linker (*-S-). Both morphemes left only a few traces, indicating their antiquity and productivity in earlier stages. The collective *S- could be an inherited morpheme which finds parallels in Tibetan, whereas the compound linker *-S- emerged as a stage of morphological merging in West Gyalrongic with (an) obscure origin(s). These findings not only advance our understanding of the origins of Tangut tense vowels but also offer insights into Sino-Tibetan nominal morphology

Geography · Linguistics · Vowel · Vowel length · Communication · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Philosophy · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Psychology

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