Proto-Southwestern Tai: a New Reconstruction
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Sociolinguistic Survey of Mpi in Thailand
Sociolinguistic Survey of Mpi in Thailand Ramzi W. Nahhas SIL International 2007 SIL Electronic Survey Report 2007-016, August 2007 Copyright © 2007 Ramzi W. Nahhas and SIL International All rights reserved 2 Abstract Ramzi W. Nahhas, PhD Survey Unit, Department of Linguistics School of Graduate Studies Payap University/SIL International Chiang Mai, Thailand Mpi is a language spoken mainly in only two villages in Thailand, and possibly in one location in China, as well. Currently, Mpi does not have vernacular literature, and may not have sufficient language vitality to warrant the development of such literature. Since there are only two Mpi villages in Thailand, and they are surrounded by Northern Thai communities, it is reasonable to be concerned about the vitality of the Mpi language. The purposes of this study were to assess the need for vernacular literature development among the Mpi of Northern Thailand and to determine which (if any) Mpi varieties should be developed. This assessment focused on language vitality and bilingualism in Northern Thai. Additionally, lexicostatistics were used to measure lexical similarity between Mpi varieties. Acknowledgments This research was conducted under the auspices of the Payap University Linguistics Department, Chiang Mai, Thailand. The research team consisted of the author, Jenvit Suknaphasawat (SIL International), and Noel Mann (Technical Director, Survey Unit, Payap University Linguistics Department, and SIL International). The fieldwork would not have been possible without the assistance of the residents of Ban Dong (in Phrae Province) and Ban Sakoen (in Nan Province). A number of individuals gave many hours to help the researchers learn about the Mpi people and about their village, and to introduce us to others in their village. -
Gender and Social Inclusion Analysis (Gsia) Usaidlaos Legal Aid Support
GENDER AND SOCIAL INCLUSION ANALYSIS (GSIA) USAID LAOS LEGAL AID SUPPORT PROGRAM The Asia Foundation Vientiane, Lao PDR 26 July 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................... i Acronyms ......................................................................................................................................... iii 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................1 1.1 Background .......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The Laos Legal Aid Support Program................................................................................................... 1 1.2 This Report ........................................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Methodology and Coverage ................................................................................................................ 2 1.4 Limitations ........................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Contextual Analysis ........................................................................................................................3 2.1 Gender Equality .................................................................................................................................. -
"Brightening" and the Place of Xixia (Tangut)
1 "Briiighttteniiing" and ttthe plllace of Xiiixiiia (Tanguttt) iiin ttthe Qiiiangiiic branch of Tiiibettto-Burman* James A. Matisoff University of California, Berkeley 1.0 Introduction Xixia (Tangut) is an extinct Tibeto-Burman language, once spoken in the Qinghai/Gansu/Tibetan border region in far western China. Its complex logographic script, invented around A.D. 1036, was the vehicle for a considerable body of literature until it gradually fell out of use after the Mongol conquest in 1223 and the destruction of the Xixia kingdom.1 A very large percentage of the 6000+ characters have been semantically deciphered and phonologically reconstructed, thanks to a Xixia/Chinese glossary, Tibetan transcriptions, and monolingual Xixia dictionaries and rhyme-books. The f«anqi\e method of indicating the pronunciation of Xixia characters was used both via other Xixia characters (in the monolingual dictionaries) and via Chinese characters (in the bilingual glossary Pearl in the Palm, where Chinese characters are also glossed by one or more Xixia ones). Various reconstruction systems have been proposed by scholars, including M.V. Sofronov/K.B. Keping, T. Nishida, Li Fanwen, and Gong Hwang-cherng. This paper relies entirely on the reconstructions of Gong.2 After some initial speculations that Xixia might have belonged to the Loloish group of Tibeto-Burman languages, scholarly opinion has now coalesced behind the geographically plausible opinion that it was a member of the "Qiangic" subgroup of TB. The dozen or so Qiangic languages, spoken in Sichuan Province and adjacent parts of Yunnan, were once among the most obscure in the TB family, loosely lumped together as the languages of the Western Barbarians (Xifan = Hsifan). -
University of California Press (University of California, Office of the President)
University of California Press (University of California, Office of the President) Year Paper vol Handbook of Proto-Tibeto-Burman: System and Philosophy of Sino-Tibetan Reconstruction James A. Matisoff University of California, Berkeley This paper is posted at the eScholarship Repository, University of California. http://repositories.cdlib.org/ucpress/ucpl/vol 135 Copyright c 2003 by the author. Handbook of Proto-Tibeto-Burman: System and Philosophy of Sino-Tibetan Reconstruction Abstract This 800-page volume is a clear and readable presentation of the current state of research on the history of the Tibeto-Burman (TB) language family, a typologically diverse group of over 250 languages spoken in Southern China, the Himalayas, NE India, and peninsular Southeast Asia. The TB languages are the only proven relatives of Chinese, with which they form the great Sino-Tibetan family. The exposition is systematic, treating the reconstruction of all the elements of the TB proto-syllable in turn, including initial consonants (Ch. III), prefixes (Ch. IV), monophthongal and diphthongal rhymes (Ch. V), final nasals (Ch. VII), final stops (Ch. VIII), final liquids (Ch. IX), root-final *-s (Ch. X), suffixes (Ch. XI). Particular attention is paid to variational phenomena at all historical levels (e.g. Ch. XII “Allofamic variation in rhymes”). This Handbook builds on the best previous scholarship, and adds up-to-date material that has accumulated over the past 30 years. It contains reconstruc- tions of over a thousand Tibeto-Burman roots, as well as suggested comparisons with several hundred Chinese etyma. It is liberally indexed and cross-referenced for maximum accessibility and internal consistency. -
Languages of Myanmar
Ethnologue report for Myanmar Page 1 of 20 Languages of Myanmar [See also SIL publications on the languages of Myanmar.] Union of Myanmar, Pyeidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw. Formerly Burma. 42,720,196. Speakers of Tibeto-Burman languages: 28,877,000 or 78% of the population, Daic languages 2,778,900 or 9.6%, Austro- Asiatic languages 1,934,900 or 6.7%, Hmong-Mien languages 6,000 (1991 J. Matisoff). National or official language: Burmese. Literacy rate: 66% to 78%; 78.5% over 15 years old (1991). Also includes Eastern Tamang, Geman Deng, Iu Mien, Malay (21,000), Sylheti, Chinese (1,015,000), people from Bangladesh and India (500,000). Information mainly from F. Lebar, G. Hickey, J. Musgrave 1964; A. Hale 1982; B. Comrie 1987; R. B. Jones 1988; J. Matisoff et al. 1996; D. Bradley 1997; R. Burling ms. (1998). Blind population: 214,440. Deaf population: 2,684,514. Deaf institutions: 1. The number of languages listed for Myanmar is 109. Of those, 108 are living languages and 1 is extinct. Living languages Achang [acn] 1,700 in Myanmar (1983). West of the Irrawaddy River in Katha District, near Banmauk, scattered among the Lashi. Along the China border. Alternate names: Anchan, Chung, Atsang, Acang, Ngac'ang, Ngachang, Ngochang, Mönghsa, Tai Sa'. Dialects: Maingtha. Classification: Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto- Burman, Lolo-Burmese, Burmish, Northern More information. Akha [ahk] 200,000 in Myanmar (1991 UBS). Population total all countries: 449,261. Eastern part of Kengtung Shan State. Also spoken in China, Laos, Thailand, Viet Nam. Alternate names: Kaw, Ekaw, Ko, Aka, Ikaw, Ak'a, Ahka, Khako, Kha Ko, Khao Kha Ko, Ikor, Aini, Yani. -
Myanmar Languages | Ethnologue
7/24/2016 Myanmar Languages | Ethnologue Myanmar LANGUAGES Akeu [aeu] Shan State, Kengtung and Mongla townships. 1,000 in Myanmar (2004 E. Johnson). Status: 5 (Developing). Alternate Names: Akheu, Aki, Akui. Classi囕cation: Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Ngwi-Burmese, Ngwi, Southern. Comments: Non-indigenous. More Information Akha [ahk] Shan State, east Kengtung district. 200,000 in Myanmar (Bradley 2007a). Total users in all countries: 563,960. Status: 3 (Wider communication). Alternate Names: Ahka, Aini, Aka, Ak’a, Ekaw, Ikaw, Ikor, Kaw, Kha Ko, Khako, Khao Kha Ko, Ko, Yani. Dialects: Much dialectal variation; some do not understand each other. Classi囕cation: Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Ngwi-Burmese, Ngwi, Southern. More Information Anal [anm] Sagaing: Tamu town, 10 households. 50 in Myanmar (2010). Status: 6b (Threatened). Alternate Names: Namfau. Classi囕cation: Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Sal, Kuki-Chin-Naga, Kuki-Chin, Northern. Comments: Non- indigenous. Christian. More Information Anong [nun] Northern Kachin State, mainly Kawnglangphu township. 400 in Myanmar (2000 D. Bradley), decreasing. Ethnic population: 10,000 (Bradley 2007b). Total users in all countries: 450. Status: 7 (Shifting). Alternate Names: Anoong, Anu, Anung, Fuchve, Fuch’ye, Khingpang, Kwingsang, Kwinp’ang, Naw, Nawpha, Nu. Dialects: Slightly di㨽erent dialects of Anong spoken in China and Myanmar, although no reported diഡculty communicating with each other. Low inherent intelligibility with the Matwang variety of Rawang [raw]. Lexical similarity: 87%–89% with Anong in Myanmar and Anong in China, 73%–76% with T’rung [duu], 77%–83% with Matwang variety of Rawang [raw]. Classi囕cation: Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Central Tibeto-Burman, Nungish. Comments: Di㨽erent from Nung (Tai family) of Viet Nam, Laos, and China, and from Chinese Nung (Cantonese) of Viet Nam. -
Phonological Sketch of the Sida Language of Luang Namtha, Laos1
Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society JSEALS Vol. 10.1 (2017): 1-15 ISSN: 1836-6821, DOI: http://hdl.handle.net/10524/52394 University of Hawaiʼi Press eVols PHONOLOGICAL SKETCH OF THE SIDA LANGUAGE OF 1 LUANG NAMTHA, LAOS Nathan BADENOCH, Kyoto University The Center for Southeast Asian Studies [email protected] HAYASHI Norihiko Kobe City University of Foreign Studies [email protected] Abstract This paper describes the phonology of the Sida language, a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by approximately 3,900 people in Laos and Vietnam. The data presented here are the variety spoken in Luang Namtha province of northwestern Laos, and focuses on a synchronic description of the fundamentals of the Sida phonological systems. Several issues of diachronic interest are also discussed in the context of the diversity of the Southern Loloish group of languages, many of which are spoken in Laos and have not yet been described in detail. Keywords: Sida, Loloish, phonology, Laos ISO 639-3 codes: slt 1 Introduction This paper provides a first overview of the phonology of the Sida language [ISO: slt], a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Northern Laos and Northern Vietnam. The data presented here are representative of one dialect spoken in Luang Namtha province of Laos. 1.1 The Sida language and its speakers According to the 2015 census of Laos, there are 3,151 ethnic Sida people in Laos, and it is believed that all speak the Sida language. There are Sida speakers in Vietnam as well, and the total of speakers in both countries has been estimated at around 3,900 (Lewis 2014). -
The World Tree of Languages: How to Infer It from Data, and What It Is Good For
The world tree of languages: How to infer it from data, and what it is good for Gerhard Jäger Tübingen University Workshop Evolutionary Theory in the Humanities, Torun April 14, 2018 Gerhard Jäger (Tübingen) Words to trees Torun 1 / 42 Introduction Introduction Gerhard Jäger (Tübingen) Words to trees Torun 2 / 42 Introduction Language change and evolution “If we possessed a perfect pedigree of mankind, a genealogical arrangement of the races of man would afford the best classification of the various languages now spoken throughout the world; and if all extinct languages, and all intermediate and slowly changing dialects, had to be included, such an arrangement would, I think, be the only possible one. Yet it might be that some very ancient language had altered little, and had given rise to few new languages, whilst others (owing to the spreading and subsequent isolation and states of civilisation of the several races, descended from a common race) had altered much, and had given rise to many new languages and dialects. The various degrees of difference in the languages from the same stock, would have to be expressed by groups subordinate to groups; but the proper or even only possible arrangement would still be genealogical; and this would be strictly natural, as it would connect together all languages, extinct and modern, by the closest affinities, and would give the filiation and origin of each tongue.” (Darwin, The Origin of Species) Gerhard Jäger (Tübingen) Words to trees Torun 3 / 42 Introduction Language phylogeny Comparative method 1 -
An Introduction to Tai Laing Phonology, Orthography and Sociolinguistic Context
An Introduction to Tai Laing Phonology, Orthography and Sociolinguistic Context Wyn Owen Payap University Chiang Mai Diller (2008:7) Introduction. The Tai-Kadai Languages ed by Diller et al Previous References • Edmondson (2008) classed Tai Laing as ‘Northern Shan’ • Hosken (2011) had script accepted into Unicode Standard • Sai Kam Mong (2004) mentioned that Tai Leng script developed from Lik Hto Ngouk, the script used in Dehong Image from ‘Tai Peoples of Kachin State’ Ethnic Groups in Kachin State Tai Groups ‘Kachin’ Groups (Tibeto-Burman) Tai Laing Jingpho Tai Khamti Rawang Tai Le (Tai Nuea) Lachid Tai Lay Lhaovo ‘Tai Sa’ (Achang) Zaiwa Lisu Endangerment Status (EGIDS) Level Label Description The language is widely used between nations in trade, knowledge exchange, and 0 International international policy. The language is used in education, work, mass media, and government at the national 1 National level. The language is used in education, work, mass media, and government within major 2 Provincial administrative subdivisions of a nation. Wider The language is used in work and mass media without official status to transcend 3 Communication language differences across a region. The language is in vigorous use, with standardization and literature being sustained 4 Educational through a widespread system of institutionally supported education. The language is in vigorous use, with literature in a standardized form being used by 5 Developing some though this is not yet widespread or sustainable. The language is used for face-to-face communication by all generations and the 6a Vigorous situation is sustainable. The language is used for face-to-face communication within all generations, but it is 6b Threatened losing users. -
EM Language Hierarchy
§1. When Cambodia gained its independence from France, a concerted effort was made to replace French loan-words with ancient-sounding neologisms: new Cambodian words were coined through the combination of Pali parts.1 This reflects a tradition that can be traced back through several centuries of adapting the unfamiliar syllables of Pali and Sanskrit into more indigenous-sounding forms; it also reflects a unique era of optimism when European colonialism seemed to have come to its end—an optimism that proved to be painfully brief. In the past century, the ancient, dead language of Pali has had a rather lively role in mainland Southeast Asia: it has not only been used to expunge French words from Cambodian, but also to expunge Thai words from Lao, and Lao words from Thai. While Pali is an equally foreign language to all of the countries and cultures concerned, it has retained its status as a touchstone of cultural authenticity for all. This paper reflects on the basis of that sociolinguistic perception in more tangible relations of authority. §2. For a European audience I think it is quite necessary to clarify that groups of the same language family are not naturally inclined to peace, and language difference does not necessarily entail genocide. Recent studies by Volker Grabowsky2 have shown us just how bitterly various closely-related and overlapping ethnoi have contested their kingdoms' territories in Northern Laos (the Tai Neua and Tai Lue are an instructive example); when one of the main stakes of war is the enslavement and looting of the losing side, this antipathy is little wonder. -
Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Thai
DigitalResources Electronic Survey Report 2013-009 ® Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Thai Jennifer Herington, Margaret Potter, Amy Ryan, and Jennifer Simmons Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Thai Jennifer Herington, Margaret Potter, Amy Ryan, and Jennifer Simmons SIL International® 2013 SIL Electronic Survey Report 2013-009, April 2013 ©2013 Jennifer Herington, Margaret Potter, Amy Ryan, Jennifer Simmons, and SIL International® All rights reserved Abstract This paper presents the results of a sociolinguistic survey of the Northern Thai varieties spoken in six provinces of Northern Thailand. The purpose of this survey was to determine whether the variety of Northern Thai currently being used for literature development will be adequate for Northern Thai speakers in all of these six provinces, and if not, which varieties should be selected for further development. The researchers conducted brief sociolinguistic questionnaires and modified recorded text tests to investigate sociolinguistic attitudes. The data for this survey was collected in 12 randomly selected sub-districts in 6 provinces of Northern Thailand between December 2011 and February 2012. ii Acknowledgments This research was conducted under the auspices of Payap University Linguistics Institute, Chiang Mai, Thailand. The research team consisted of Jennifer Herington, Amy Ryan, and Jennifer Simmons, with assistance from Margaret Potter and Elizabeth Pisaniello. The report was consultant checked by Margaret Potter. The research team would like to thank the Northern Thai language development team—Ajaan Manop Panyo, Saisunee Nusak, and Pat Lew—for their aid in planning the survey and collecting stories for testing. The team would also like to acknowledge the hospitality and willing participation of the Northern Thai community. -
Conversion and Community Among Iu Mien Refugee Immigrants in the United States
Chapter 9 Conversion and Community among Iu Mien Refugee Immigrants in the United States Hjorleifur Jonsson The Iu Mien (Mien, Yao) have a long history in southern China, though anthropological work on their social forms, religious prac- tices, and the like has primarily drawn on research conducted in Thailand and Laos, and then among refugee immigrants in the United States (Habarad 1987; MacDonald 1997). Among the Iu Mien in Thailand and in the United States, there are some deep divides between Christian and non-Christian communities. But the issue of internal factions is more complex, where, for instance, Mien Christians in Thailand are divided by script, with one faction using the Thai alphabet and the other Romanization. It is equally impor- tant to insist that religious difference does not inevitably preclude shared interest or collaboration. There are, for instance, some families where one of the members maintains links to ancestor spirits while the other is Christian. My chapter attempts to situate Christian conversions among US Iu Mien within a longer history of religious dynamics and shifts, and as one of several means through which people have arrived at forms of community. The historical part of my case emphasizes diversity and specificity. One aspect of this is the difference between chiefs and commoners prior to the 1950s, and the multiple impact of the war in Laos during 1958–1975. Religious orientations and shifts are shaped in specific contexts, as unevenly situated people respond to the conditions of their lives—cultural practices and patterns are not transmitted in any stable way but are instead continually being con- structed and reconstructed (Sperber 2005).