The Roots of Old Chinese
The phonology, morphology and lexicon of late Zhou Chinese are examined in this volume. It is argued that a proper understanding of Old Chinese morphology is essential in correctly reconstructing the phonology. Based on evidence from word-families, modern dialects and related words in neighboring languages, Old Chinese words are claimed to consist of a monosyllabic root, to which a variety of derivational affixes attached. This made Old Chinese typologically more like modern languages such as Khmer, Gyarong or Atayal, than like Middle and modern Chinese, where only faint traces of the old morphology remain.
In the first part of the book, the author proposes improvements to Baxter's system of reconstruction, regarding complex initials and rhymes, and then reviews in great detail the Old Chinese affixal morphology. New proposals on phonology and morphology are integrated into a coherent reconstruction system.
The second part of the book consists of etymological studies of important lexical items in Old Chinese. The author demonstrates in particular the role of proportional analogy in the formation of the system of personal pronouns. Special attention is paid to contact phenomena between Chinese and neighboring languages, and — unlike most literature on Sino-Tibetan — the author identifies numerous Chinese loanwords into Tibeto-Burman.
The book, which contains a lengthy list of reconstructions, an index of characters and a general index, is intended for linguists and cultural historians, as well as advanced students.
In the first part of the book, the author proposes improvements to Baxter's system of reconstruction, regarding complex initials and rhymes, and then reviews in great detail the Old Chinese affixal morphology. New proposals on phonology and morphology are integrated into a coherent reconstruction system.
The second part of the book consists of etymological studies of important lexical items in Old Chinese. The author demonstrates in particular the role of proportional analogy in the formation of the system of personal pronouns. Special attention is paid to contact phenomena between Chinese and neighboring languages, and — unlike most literature on Sino-Tibetan — the author identifies numerous Chinese loanwords into Tibeto-Burman.
The book, which contains a lengthy list of reconstructions, an index of characters and a general index, is intended for linguists and cultural historians, as well as advanced students.
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 184] 1999. xi, 255 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
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List of Tables | p. x
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Acknowledgements | p. xi
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Abbreviations | p. xi
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1. Introduction | p. 1
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1.1 The importance of word families in reconstructing Old Chinese
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1.2 Old Chinese
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1.3 Methodology of reconstruction
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1.4 Plan of this book
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2. Old Chinese Words and Roots | p. 13
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2.1 The Asian look of Old Chinese words
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2.2 Words, roots, word-families, affixes
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2.3 Chinese words and the Chinese script
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2.4 Root structure
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2.5 Place of insertion of the infix
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2.6 Working hypothesis: morphological nature of consonant clusters
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2.7 A/B distinction
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3. Root Segmentals | p. 24
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3.1 Initials
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3.2 Some controversial issues relating to Old Chinese root initials
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3.3 Medials
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3.4 Vowels, codas, rhymes
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4. Prefixe *s- | p. 63
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4.1 Clusters which include prefix *s- as their first element
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4.2 The functions of *s-
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5. Prefix *N- | p. 74
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6. Prefix *m- | p. 79
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6.1 The reconstruction of m-
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6.2 The functions of m-
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7. Prefix *p- | p. 87
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8. Prefix *t- | p. 90
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8.1 The reconstruction of *t-
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8.2 The functions of *t-
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9. Prefix *k- | p. 98
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9.1 The reconstruction of *k-
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9.2 The functions of *k-
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10. Other Prefixes | p. 108
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10.1 Prefix *q-
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10.2 Voiced stop prefixes
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11. Infix *-r- | p. 111
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11.1 Medial -r- as an infix in OC
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11.2 Infixed -l- in the Jin dialects
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11.3 Infixed -VI- in the Min dialects
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11.4 -l- insertion in modern dialects as the continuation of OC *-r- infixation
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12. Initial Clusters | p. 121
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12.1 Infixal clusters
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12.2 Prefixal clusters
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13. Suffixation | p. 131
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13.1 Chinese tones and OC suffixes
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13.2 Suffix *-ŋ ?
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13.3 Suffix *-n?
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14. Reduplication and Compounding | p. 137
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14.1 The die2 yun4 reduplications
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14.2 The shuang1 sheng1 compounds
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15. Etymologizing Old Chinese Words | p. 139
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16. Personal Pronouns | p. 142
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16.1 The first- and second-person pronouns
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16.2 The third-person pronoun
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17. Numerals
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17.1 Three
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18. Body Parts
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18.1 Blood
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18.2 Eye
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18.3 Head
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18.4 Hand
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19. The Physical World | p. 157
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19.1 Water, river
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19.2 Fire
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19.3 Moon, night
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20. Wild Animals | p. 161
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20.1 Deer
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20.2 Snake
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20.3 Dove
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21. Mankind and Kinship | p. 163
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21.1 Man (human being)
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21.2 Child (young human)
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21.3 Child (kinship term)
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21.4 Nephews and nieces; maternal uncle
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21.5 Brothers
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21.6 Wives and concubines
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21.7 Sons
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22. Agriculture: The Cereals | p. 176
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22.1 Millets
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22.2 Rice
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22.3 Wheat
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22.4 Field
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23. Other Cultivated Plants | p. 185
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23.1 Beans
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23.2 Tea
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24. Domesticated Animals | p. 190
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24.1 Dogs
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24.2 Pigs
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24.3 Fowl
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24.4 Horned cattle
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24.5 Goats and sheep
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24.6 Horses
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25. Food | p. 197
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25.1 Gruel
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25.2 Vegetables
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25.3 Meat
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26. Metals | p. 198
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26.1 Copper and bronze
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26.2 Iron
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26.3 Silver
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27. Transportation | p. 204
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27.1 Chariot
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27.2 Boat
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28. Commerce | p. 206
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28.1 Buy/sell I
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28.2 Buy/sell II
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28.3 Price
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28.4 Money coin
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29. Writing | p. 209
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29.1 To read
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29.2 To write
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29.3 Chinese character
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29.4 Writing brush
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29.5 Ink
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29.6 Book
-
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Appendix A: Chinese Chronology | p. 234
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Appendix B: List of Reconstructions | p. 235
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Index of Chinese Characters | p. 243
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General Index | p. 249
“[...] the scholarly community should be pleased to have the views and a wealth of etymological suggestions of this prominent sinologist available in the form of a book [...]”
Axel Schuessler in Language and Linguistics Vol.1:2
“[...] a major achievement in Chinese linguistics [...] Sagart's book belongs on the shelf of every serious Chinese historical linguist and many Asian language comparativists. It presents the best reconstruction of OC available [...]”
Marc Miyake in Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale, Vol. 30:2 2001
“[...] an invaluable abundance of information together with challenging and clever proposals.
[...] an ansolute pleasure to read and should interest not only Sinologists but also linguists concerned with the reconstruction of the internal history of languages.
”
Gonzalo Rubio, Ohio State University
“This is a truly significant book for East Asian historical linguistics and is necessary reading for all specialists in the field.”
Christopher I. Beckwith, Indiana University, in Anthropological Linguistics, December 2002
“This is easily the most important book on the Old Chinese lexicon since Karlgren's Word-Families [...] and the most challenging contribution on Old Chinese morphology ever written. It deserves to be taught and tested, applied or amended, by whoever reads Old Chinese texts.”
Wolfgang Behr
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