DOCSLIB.ORG

The Kitan Language and Script Handbook of Oriental Studies Handbuch Der Orientalistik Section Eight Central Asia

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Kitan Language and Script Handbook of Oriental Studies Handbuch Der Orientalistik Section Eight Central Asia The Kitan Language and Script Handbook of Oriental Studies Handbuch der Orientalistik section eight Central Asia Edited by Denis Sinor Nicola Di Cosmo VOLUME 19 The Kitan Language and Script By Daniel Kane LEIDEN • BOSTON 2009 This book is printed on acid-free paper. ISSN 0169-8524 ISBN 978 90 04 16829 9 © Copyright 2009 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands CONTENTS Preface ……………………………………………………………………. ix Chapter One: Introduction.............................................................................. 1 1.1 Background ...................................................................................... 1 1.2 Kitan words in Chinese works.......................................................... 2 1.3 Creation of the Kitan scripts............................................................. 3 1.4 Use of the Kitan script under the Jin ................................................ 3 1.5 The Kitan inscriptions ...................................................................... 4 1.6 Name of the Liao State..................................................................... 4 1.7 The Yelü clan and the Xiao clan ...................................................... 5 1.8 Names of Liao emperors .................................................................. 5 1.9 Reign titles of Liao emperors ........................................................... 6 1.10 Reign titles of Jin emperors.............................................................. 6 1.11 The ten stems and twelve branches .................................................. 7 1.12 The five colours or the five elements ............................................... 7 1.13 Cyclical stems; the five elements; the five colours .......................... 7 1.14 The twelve animals........................................................................... 8 1.15 Sources ............................................................................................. 8 1.16 Early Chinese research ................................................................... 12 1.17 Arrangement of the small graphs to form words............................ 12 1.18 Japanese research ........................................................................... 14 1.19 Russian and other research............................................................. 15 1.20 The Kitan Small Script Research Group ........................................ 15 1.21 Research on Kitan words in Chinese sources................................. 19 1.22 Research since Research ................................................................ 20 1.23 Other research ................................................................................ 25 1.24 Transcription of the small Kitan script........................................... 26 1.25 Transcription of logographs ........................................................... 27 1.26 The dotted forms ............................................................................ 27 1.27 Similar and probably identical graphs............................................ 27 1.28 Probably miswritten graphs............................................................ 27 1.29 Similar but different graphs............................................................ 28 1.30 Phonograms.................................................................................... 28 1.31 Graphs only used to write Chinese................................................. 29 1.32 Symbols used for the Kitan vowels................................................ 29 1.33 Syllables of the VV type ................................................................ 29 vi CONTENTS 1.34 Syllables of the VC type................................................................. 30 1.35 Syllables of the C and CV type ...................................................... 30 1.36 Vowel harmony .............................................................................. 30 1.37 Inherent vowels .............................................................................. 32 1.38 Possible multiple readings of Kitan graphs.................................... 33 Chapter Two: Analysis of the Kitan small graphs........................................ 35 Chapter Three: English-Kitan glossary ........................................................ 83 Chapter Four: Morphology......................................................................... 131 4.1 Accusative-instrumental in А ‹er›................................................ 131 4.2 The genitive in ã ‹an› .................................................................. 132 4.3 The genitive in > ‹en› .................................................................. 132 4.4 The genitive in ë ‹in› ................................................................... 133 4.5 The genitive in Č ‹on› .................................................................. 134 4.6 The genitive in Θ ‹un›.................................................................. 134 4.7 The genitive in N ‹n›.................................................................... 135 4.8 The genitive in n ‹iń›................................................................... 135 4.9 The genitive in i ‹i›..................................................................... 136 4.10 The dative-locative in ╓ ‹de› ....................................................... 136 4.11 The dative-locative in ŏ ‹do› ....................................................... 137 4.12 The dative-locative in ĥ ‹dú›....................................................... 138 4.13 The dative-locative in _ ‹iú› ........................................................ 138 4.14 The prolative (ablative) in ╓i‹de.i›............................................. 138 4.15 The plural in d ‹d› ....................................................................... 138 4.16 The plural in t ‹t› ........................................................................ 140 4.17 The plural in ‚ ‹ad›...................................................................... 140 4.18 The plural in ê ‹od›...................................................................... 141 4.19 The plural in < ‹ud› ...................................................................... 141 4.20 The plural in s ‹se› ...................................................................... 141 4.21 Other plurals................................................................................. 142 4.22 Order of suffixes........................................................................... 142 4.23 Summary table of genitive, dative and plural suffixes ................. 142 4.24 Ordinal numbers used with masculine nouns............................... 143 4.25 Ordinal numbers used with feminine nouns................................. 143 4.26 Grammatical gender: past tense of verbs...................................... 144 4.27 Grammatical gender: the dotted forms......................................... 144 4.28 Verbal morphology....................................................................... 144 4.29 The past tense in ˛ ‹ar› ................................................................ 145 4.30 The past tense in А ‹er›................................................................ 145 CONTENTS vii 4.31 The past tense in ΄ ‹or›................................................................ 146 4.32 The past tense in ‹l.un› ................................................................. 146 4.33 The past tense in bn ‹bo.ń› ~ b¼ ‹b.ún› ~ Ψ ‹bun›................... 147 4.34 The causative/passive in lG ‹le.ha› ~ l╗ ‹le.ge›........................ 148 4.35 Causatives and passives in context............................................... 149 4.36 The converb in vowel + i.............................................................. 149 4.37 The converb in Ĕe ‹-s.ii› ............................................................ 150 4.38 Converbs in context...................................................................... 151 4.39 The converb in ∟ ‹al› ................................................................... 153 4.40 The converbs in c ‹ci› and Ć ‹ji›................................................. 153 4.41 Finite verbs and converbs in context............................................ 154 4.42 Verbal nouns in vowel + [n]......................................................... 155 4.43 Verbal nouns in bn ‹bo.ń› .......................................................... 155 4.44 Verbal nouns and adjectives in q ‹hu› g ‹gi› À ‹ho›.................. 155 4.45 Copula: pO ‹p.u› ~ bO ‹b.u› ‘to be’ (是) ................................... 156 4.46 Copula: I ‹ei› ‘to have, to exist’ (有) .......................................... 156 4.47 The copula: í ‹iú› ‘not to exist, to die (無).................................. 157 4.48 The
Load more

Recommended publications
  • On the Terms Concerning Longevity in Khitan and Jurchen Languages1
    John Tang Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu On the Terms Concerning Longevity in Khitan and Jurchen Languages1 Longevity is one of the predominant motifs in Chinese culture. The typical character for the word is 壽shòu, although it can also be represented by other expressions such as 萬歲wànsuì. The concept has had a deep influence on the neighboring Altaic peoples. The earliest native Altaic writing system to date—Khitan script—includes many mentions of longevity (either in Khitan documentation or in Chinese transliteration), as well as in the Jurchen writing system. 1. “Longevity” Recorded in Khitan Scripts The extant Khitan writing system includes two different types of scripts, both of which are Siniform (that is, the form of their characters are based on Chinese): the so-called Khitan macroscript (大字dàzì, literally “Large Script”) and the Khitan microscript (小字xiăozì, literally “Small Script”). The former style of writing is logo-syllabic, similar to Chinese logography; the latter is logo-phonetic, derived from the Uighur abjad spelling system, in which single components are called protoscript (原字yuánzì, literally “Primitive Script”). Although in Khitan scripts more undeciphered documentations exist than deciphered ones, native record- ings concerning longevity can be found in the Khitan writing systems. First of all, reign titles are recorded uniquely in two Khitan scripts. One of the Khitan-Liao reign titles refers directly to the concept of longevity as “Lon- gevity Prosperity” (壽昌Shòuchāng, 1095–1100).2 In the extant Khitan macro- script (Kma.) records, this reign title is written as (Liu 1998a: 221; EYQ 25, Liu 2006: 60). In the extant Khitan microscript (Kmi.) records, this reign title is written as (Chinggeltei 2002: 142–143) or (Chinggeltei 2002: 163).
    [Show full text]
  • Scanned Using Book Scancenter 5033
    Through Inner Mongolia In 1989 I received an invitation from the scholars of Inner Mongolia University. Accordingly, in October 1990,1 was able to spend two weeks there and saw many differ­ ent things. The Inner Mongolians described their region as “a large and beautiful country of wealth, ” which was made clear in one of their guide books. The Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region was established on May 1, 1947 as one of the provinces of the People’s Republic of China. It has an area of 1,200,000 square kilometers and has a population of over twenty million, including two and a half million Mongols. The region consists of eight aimags, four cities, and 101 khoshuu and settlements. More than ten nationalities live together in harmony, including Chinese, Mongols, Hui [Chinese Muslims], Manchus, Koreans, Dagur, Khorchin,' and others. In addition to high mountains, dense forests, wide steppes, deserts, and gobi [semi-deserts], there are the Khatan Gol or Yellow River, and lakes and ponds. The re­ gion produces fodder for livestock, grain, vegetables and fruit. It also contains great min­ eral wealth. The region is rich in iron ore, coal, and oil. Since I had not examined the detailed economic statistics of the region, my understanding of them was limited. As a consequence of the establishment of the autonomous region, I wimessed with my own eyes the revival of the culture, art, language, history and traditions of the Mongols and other races, and the development of their education and culture. For a few days I traveled by car around Hohhot and its surrounding area, the Ordos, and Baotou, which was the way I saw most things.
    [Show full text]
  • The Past Tenses of the Mongolian Verb Empirical Approaches to Linguistic Theory
    The Past Tenses of the Mongolian Verb Empirical Approaches to Linguistic Theory Managing Editor Brian D. Joseph The Ohio State University, USA Editorial Board Artemis Alexiadou, University of Stuttgart, Germany Harald Baayen, University of Alberta, Canada Pier Marco Bertinetto, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy Kirk Hazen, West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA Maria Polinsky, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA VOLUME 1 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.nl/ealt The Past Tenses of the Mongolian Verb Meaning and Use By Robert I. Binnick LEIDEN • BOSTON 2012 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Binnick, Robert I. The past tenses of the Mongolian verb : meaning and use / by Robert I. Binnick. p. cm. — (Empirical approaches to linguistic theory; 1) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-21429-3 (alk. paper) 1. Mongolian language—Verb. 2. Grammar, Comparative and general—Tense. I. Title. II. Series. PL473.B56 2012 494’.2356—dc23 2011035786 ISSN 2210-6243 ISBN 978 90 04 21429 3 Copyright 2012 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
    [Show full text]
  • Altaic Languages
    Altaic Languages Masaryk University Press Reviewed by Ivo T. Budil Václav Blažek in collaboration with Michal Schwarz and Ondřej Srba Altaic Languages History of research, survey, classification and a sketch of comparative grammar Masaryk University Press Brno 2019 Publication financed by the grant No. GA15-12215S of the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR) © 2019 Masaryk University Press ISBN 978-80-210-9321-8 ISBN 978-80-210-9322-5 (online : pdf) https://doi.org/10.5817/CZ.MUNI.M210-9322-2019 5 Analytical Contents 0. Preface .................................................................. 9 1. History of recognition of the Altaic languages ............................... 15 1.1. History of descriptive and comparative research of the Turkic languages ..........15 1.1.1. Beginning of description of the Turkic languages . .15 1.1.2. The beginning of Turkic comparative studies ...........................21 1.1.3. Old Turkic language and script – discovery and development of research .....22 1.1.4. Turkic etymological dictionaries .....................................23 1.1.5. Turkic comparative grammars .......................................24 1.1.6. Syntheses of grammatical descriptions of the Turkic languages .............25 1.2. History of descriptive and comparative research of the Mongolic languages .......28 1.2.0. Bibliographic survey of Mongolic linguistics ...........................28 1.2.1. Beginning of description of the Mongolic languages .....................28 1.2.2. Standard Mongolic grammars and dictionaries ..........................31 1.2.3. Mongolic comparative and etymological dictionaries .....................32 1.2.4. Mongolic comparative grammars and grammatical syntheses...............33 1.3. History of descriptive and comparative research of the Tungusic languages ........33 1.3.0. Bibliographic survey of the Tungusic linguistics.........................33 1.3.1. Beginning of description of the Tungusic languages ......................34 1.3.2.
    [Show full text]
  • Infrastructures of Language and Chinese Scripts in an Age of Global Information Revolution Ulug Kuzuoglu
    Codes of Modernity: Infrastructures of Language and Chinese Scripts In an Age of Global Information Revolution Ulug Kuzuoglu Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2018 ©2018 Ulug Kuzuoglu All rights reserved ABSTRACT Codes of Modernity: Infrastructures of Language and Chinese Scripts in an Age of Global Information Revolution Ulug Kuzuoglu This dissertation explores the global history of Chinese script reforms—the effort to phoneticize Chinese language and/or simplify the writing system—from its inception in the 1890s to its demise in the 1980s. These reforms took place at the intersection of industrialization, colonialism, and new information technologies, such as alphabet-based telegraphy and breakthroughs in printing technologies. As these social and technological transformations put unprecedented pressure on knowledge management and the use of mental and clerical labor, many Chinese intellectuals claimed that learning Chinese characters consumed too much time and mental energy. Chinese script reforms, this dissertation argues, were an effort to increase speed in producing, transmitting, and accessing information, and thus meet the demands of the industrializing knowledge economy. The industrializing knowledge economy that this dissertation explores was built on and sustained by a psychological understanding of the human subject as a knowledge machine, and it was part of a global moment in which the optimization of labor in knowledge production was a key concern for all modernizing economies. While Chinese intellectuals were inventing new signs of inscription, American behavioral psychologists, Soviet psycho-economists, and Central Asian and Ottoman technicians were all experimenting with new scripts in order to increase mental efficiency and productivity.
    [Show full text]
  • Source Mappings for Khitan Small Script in Unicode (Based on N4725R Table 6)
    Source Mappings for Khitan Small Script in Unicode (Based on N4725R Table 6) Ching- Ching- Ching- Jiruhe & Wu & Take- Liu & Aisin Code Unicode N4725R N4725R Jishi Jishi Kane Liu Liu N3820 N3918 geltei geltei geltei Wu Janhunen uchi Kang Gioro Point Glyph No. Glyph 1996 2012 2009 2009 2014 1985 2002 2010 2009 2010 2012 2014 2012 378 378 J-0449 J-0449 378 378 437 378 437 378 18B00 472 謀 恻 恻 1 1 J-0001 J-0001 1 001 001 1 001 1 1 18B01 1 小 小 謁 2 J-0002 J-0002 2 002 2 002 69 002 69 2 18B02 2 謂 孝 孝 J-0003 J-0003 381 8 383 8 18B03 3 謃 洵 洵 J-0004 J-0004 379 2 381 2 380 18B04 4 謄 悻 悻 补字 J-0005 J-0005 2 380 3 382 3 18B05 5 謅 浼 浼 3 J-0006 J-0006 3 003 3 003 119 003 119 3 18B06 6 謆 校 校 J-0007 J-0007 391 76 392 76 18B07 7 謇 浞 浞 Source Mappings for Khitan Small Script in Unicode Page 1 Ching- Ching- Ching- Jiruhe & Wu & Take- Liu & Aisin Code Unicode N4725R N4725R Jishi Jishi Kane Liu Liu N3820 N3918 geltei geltei geltei Wu Janhunen uchi Kang Gioro Point Glyph No. Glyph 1996 2012 2009 2009 2014 1985 2002 2010 2009 2010 2012 2014 2012 J-0008 J-0008 4 4 004 4 004 71 004 71 4 18B08 8 謈 肖 肖 J-0009 J-0009 5 5 005 5 005 72 005 72 5 18B09 9 謉 啸 啸 6 J-0010 J-0010 6 006 006 73 006 73 6 18B0A 10 笑 笑 謊 J-0011 J-0011 395 111 395 111 18B0B 11 謋 悖 悖 J-0012 J-0012 7 7 007 6 007 109 007 109 7 18B0C 12 謌 效 效 J-0013 J-0013 8 8 008 7 008 110 008 110 8 18B0D 13 謍 楔 楔 J-0014 J-0014 9 9 009 009 009 438 9 18B0E 14 謎 些 些 J-0015 J-0015 10 10 010 010 112 010 112 10 18B0F 15 謏 歇 歇 J-0016 J-0016 11 11 011 011 113 011 113 11 18B10 16 謐 蝎 蝎 12 J-0017 J-0017 12 012 8 012 6 012 6 12 18B11 17 謑 鞋 鞋 Source Mappings for Khitan Small Script in Unicode Page 2 Ching- Ching- Ching- Jiruhe & Wu & Take- Liu & Aisin Code Unicode N4725R N4725R Jishi Jishi Kane Liu Liu N3820 N3918 geltei geltei geltei Wu Janhunen uchi Kang Gioro Point Glyph No.
    [Show full text]
  • Monument to Independence Unveiled No Exploration Ceremony Held to Inaugurate ‘Independence Square’ Licenses Issued in 2011
    MONGOL Since 1991 the MESSENGER 500 ¥ No. 23,24 (1040, 1041) MONGOLIA’S FIRST ENGLISH WEEKLY PUBLISHED BY MONTSAME NEWS AGENCY Friday, June 10, 2011 Monument to Independence unveiled No exploration Ceremony held to inaugurate ‘Independence Square’ licenses issued in 2011 B. Ooluun Issuance of special licenses for exploration of mineral resources has been banned until December 31, 2011. When parliament discussed a Bill at its plenary meeting on prohibiting the issuance of the special license on the exploration of mineral resources, initiated by President Ts. Elbegdorj on June 3, 34 members out of 44 turnouts or 77.3 percent supported the bill. The law came into effect the day it was approved. In accordance with a recommendation by the National Security Council, the same law initiated by the President was approved by Parliament before and issuance of special exploration licenses was stopped from May, 2010 to December 31, 2010. However, the President submitted another proposal in 2011 and the issuance exploration licenses was cancelled until April 30, 2011 because it was considered that actions to be taken in the minerals sector and further purposes of the sector have not been determined in legal frames during that period. The period of prohibiting license issuance finished early in May and they are still not issuing licenses. At discussion about the new minerals law, President Elbegdorj said, “The National Security Council issued a recommendation on April 27, 2010, and gave instructions to the President to initiate a Bill on temporarily prohibiting the issuance of special licenses on minerals’ exploration and submitted it for discussion in parliament.
    [Show full text]
  • Pagodas, Polities, Period and Place: a Data Led
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses Repository PAGODAS, POLITIES, PERIOD AND PLACE: A DATA LED EXPLORATION OF THE REGIONAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL CONTEXT OF LIAO DYNASTY ARCHITECTURE by JONATHAN S. DUGDALE A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham January 2019 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract: The Liao dynasty (907-1125) was a dominant force in the political landscape of East Asia for a period of over two centuries. Despite this, when placed within the framework of Chinese history, the Liao polity and its associated architecture are forced to the periphery. This study aims to re-centre the Liao by exploring the pagodas constructed under this polity within a wider regional and chronological framework. To achieve this end, extant pagodas from China, North Korea, South Korea and Japan were recorded together in a database for the first time.
    [Show full text]
  • Bonan Grammatical Features in Wutun Mandarin
    Erika Sandman University of Helsinki Bonan Grammatical Features in Wutun Mandarin Introduction Wutun Mandarin is a small Sinitic language heavily influenced by Amdo Ti- betan. However, the language also exhibits clear signs of having been influ- enced by certain Mongolic languages of the Gansu-Qinghai region. The aim of this article is to give an overview of the morphosyntactic features that Wutun shares with Bonan. These features are not found in Mandarin Chinese or Amdo Tibetan, and thus they most probably represent neither genetically inherited Si- nitic features nor contact features acquired from Amdo Tibetan. Instead, the existence of these features suggests that Wutun has been in contact with certain Mongolic languages and has acquired some Mongolic features through language contact. Because the languages and dialects of the Gansu-Qinghai region form a Sprachbund, it is difficult, if not impossible to identify one single language as the actual source of borrowings or structural interference. Nonetheless, since both Wutun and Bonan are minority languages spoken at the local level and in the immediate vicinity of each other, the comparison of these two languages provides information on how Mongolic languages have influenced the develop- ment of local Sinitic languages of Gansu-Qinghai. 1. Cultural and geographical context Wutun Mandarin, or Wutun (Wutunhua 五屯话 in Standard Mandarin (SM), Seng ge gshong ge skad in Written Tibetan(WT)) is a little documented Sinitic language spoken by about 4,000 people in Wutun 五屯 (WT Seng ge gshong), a rural locality located a few kilometres north of Longwu 龙务 (WT Rong bo) town. Longwu town is the county centre of Tongren County (SM Tongren Xian 同仁县, WT Reb gong), Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Huangnan Zangzu Zizhizhou 黄南藏族自治州), Qinghai Province (Qinghai Sheng 青海省), People’s Republic of China.
    [Show full text]
  • Khitan Studies I. the Graphs of the Khitan Small Script
    Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hung. Volume 69 (2), 117 – 138 (2016) DOI: 10.1556/062.2016.69.2.1 KHITAN STUDIES I. THE GRAPHS OF THE KHITAN SMALL SCRIPT 1. GENERAL REMARKS, DOTTED GRAPHS, NUMERALS ANDRÁS RÓNA-TAS Department of Altaic Studies, University of Szeged H-6722 Szeged, Egyetem u 2, Hungary e-mail: [email protected] To the memory of Chinggeltei bagshi In the first part of this series of papers the author investigates the peculiarities and structure of the graphs of the Khitan Small Script. The graphs are polyvalent, and their phonetic values are based on and reflect the understanding of the Chinese phonetic system of the period. The list of graphs in- cludes allographs and variants, further graphs with the same phonetic value but having different form(s). Some graphs have dotted and nondotted pairs. The Romanisation of the graphs is a con- vention by modern Chinese and European scholars. In some cases the phonetic value of a given graph is unknown, but its meaning is known; these are called logographs. Dotted forms and the numeric system are also investigated. Key words: Khitan language, Khitan Small Script, graph, logogram, Old Mongolian, Proto Mongo- lian, Mongolic numeric system, gender in Khitan. Introduction1 The state-of-the-art of Khitan studies has been recently summarised by Chinggeltei (2002a, b), Kane (2009), Wu – Janhunen (2010), Janhunen (2012) and others. The broad 1 This work has been carried out within the framework of the Turkological Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the University of Szeged. I owe special thanks to Pro- fessor Juha Janhunen for his help.
    [Show full text]
  • Yasunori Takeuchi Otani University, Kyoto DIRECTION TERMS IN
    Yasunori Takeuchi Otani University, Kyoto DIRECTION TERMS IN KHITAN1 1. Introduction Khitan is a language which was once used by the Khitan people, who established the Liao Dynasty (907–1125) in Eastern Eurasia. The Khitan language is thought to be related to the Mongolic languages [Janhunen 2003] and its sources have been preserved in Chinese transcriptions and Khitan scripts, comprised of two distinct writing systems: Large Script and Small Script. With large numbers of Khitan epitaphs having been unearthed, significant progress has been made in deciphering them. However, the work is still far from complete. In this study, we examine direction terms in Khitan2. The previous studies presumed the readings of these word forms by referring to their equivalents in Mongolian3. However, Khitan has characteristics different from those of Mongolic languages and it is impractical to make direct assumptions about Khitan based on Mongolian. Therefore, it is important to reconstruct the word forms through a philological analysis, without a speculative reconstruction based on simple comparison. In addition, Khitan has several written forms capable of expressing the same directional meanings, but it is not fully understood whether they were differentiated and, if so, how. Accordingly, in this study, we begin by reconstructing the word forms. Then, on the basis of these word forms, we demonstrate that Khitan has a derivational suffix -d and discuss its possible cognate in Mongolian. 1 This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows (23-9506). 2 For the previous studies, see Toyoda [1992], Aisin Gioro [2004: 65–67], and Wu Yingzhe [2004].
    [Show full text]
  • The Grammatical Temporal System from Middle Mongolian to Modern Mongolian*
    LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS 14.6:1075-1103, 2013 2013-0-014-006-000239-1 The Grammatical Temporal System from Middle Mongolian to Modern Mongolian* Suying Hsiao Academia Sinica The paper traces the development of the Mongolian temporal system from Middle Mongolian to Modern Mongolian, and deals with questions of how and why languages change typologically. It is shown that Mongolian is undergoing analytic-synthetic cyclic changes. On the one hand, Mongolian is getting more analytic, encoding past time with a combination of a perfective verbal noun and the present tensed existential verb. Previously it employed a synthetic inflectional verb to denote past tense. On the other hand, the emergence of modern non-past suffixes -na/-ne shows that there is also a series of changes making Mongolian more synthetic. Symmetry and economy are two opposing motivations for changes in Mongolian verbal paradigms. Key words: Mongolian verb, typological change, analytic-synthetic cycle, symmetry & economy 1. Introduction The history of Mongolian is divided into Old Mongolian (~12th century AD), Middle Mongolian (13th to 16th centuries), Late Mongolian (17th to 19th centuries) and Modern Mongolian (20th century ~).1 Previous work on the Mongolian temporal system * I am very grateful to the Graduate Institute of Mongolian Languages and Scripts, Inner Mongolia University for making their Corpus of Modern Mongolian accessible to me. Thanks also go to Academia Sinica for partial financial support for field trips between 2003 to 2007. This study is part of a long-term investigation on the grammatical temporal system of Mongolian from historical and typological perspectives funded by Taiwan’s National Science Council to the author (NSC 92-2411-H-001-077, NSC 93-2411-H-001-088, NSC 95-2411-H-001-071, NSC 96-2411-H-001-072).
    [Show full text]