In this paper, we propose that in Stau (Rgyalrongic, Sino-Tibetan) there is a system of four vowel pairs (/i/-/ə/,
/e/-/ɛ/, /æ/-/ɑ/, /u/-/o/) that undergo regressive vowel harmony. This system of vowel harmony produces root morpheme forms such as [æCæ]
and [ɑCɑ], whereas forms like [æCɑ] or [ɑCæ] are remarkably absent. Vowel harmony is also observed when combining morphemes to create
complex words. Unambiguous cases show that the vowel of the first morpheme assimilates to the vowel of the second (e.g. /æCɑ/ → [ɑCɑ]), if
the vowels of the two morphemes belong to the same vowel pair set (e.g. /æ/-/ɑ/). At the same time, there are several situations where vowel
harmony is consistently not observed. Notable among these blocking mechanisms are lexemes that contain semantically-heavy first syllables.
In this situation, we observe the interplay of semantics and phonology. Analysis of the vowel harmony system in Stau yields a way to measure
the distance between morphemes.
2014The inflectional classes of the Rtau verb. Paper presented at the 16th International Morphology Meeting, Budapest, June 1, 2014.
Creissels, Denis
2009Construct forms of nouns in African languages. In Peter K. Austin, Oliver Bond, Monik Charette, David Nathan & Peter Sells (eds.). Proceedings of Conference on Language Documentation & Linguistic Theory 2, 73–82. London: SOAS. Date of access 14 May 2018. [URL]
Duoerji
1998Daofuyu Geshizhahua yanjiu道孚语格什扎话研究 (A study of Dge bshes tsa). Beijing: Zhongguo Zangxue chubanshe.
Evans, Jonathan & Chenglong Huang
2007A bottom-up approach to vowel systems: the case of Yadu Qiang. Cahiers de Linguistique – Asie Orientale 36(2): 147–186.
Gates, Jesse P.
2016/æ/ and /ɑ/ in Stau: phonology, diachronic sound change in Tibetan loan words, and dialect variation. Paper presented at the 4th Workshop on Sino-Tibetan Languages of Southwest China (STLS-2016), University of Washington, Seattle, September 10, 2016.
Gates, Jesse P.
2017 Verbal triplication morphology in Stau རྟའུ་ (Mazi Dialect). Transactions of the Philological Society 115(1): 14–26.
Gates, Jesse & Won Ho Kim
2016Vowel harmony in Stau. Paper presented at the 49th International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China, November 13, 2016.
Huang, Bufan
1991 Daofuyu 道孚语 (The Stau language). In Qingxia Dai, Bufan Huang, Ailan Fu, Renzeng Wangmu & Ju Liu (eds.), Zangmianyu shiwuzhong藏缅语十五种 (Fifteen Tibeto-Burman languages), 1–45. Beijing: Yanshan chubanshe 北京:燕山出版社.
Jacques, Guillaume
2004Phonologie et morphologie du japhug (Rgyalrong). Université Paris VII – Denis Diderot PhD dissertation.
Jacques, Guillaume
2012From denominal to incorporation. Lingua 122 (11): 1207–1231.
Jacques, Guillaume, Anton Antonov, Yunfan Lai & Lobsang Nima
2014Person marking in Stau. Himalayan Linguistics 13(1): 83–93.
Jacques, Guillaume, Anton Antonov, Yunfan Lai & Lobsang Nima
2017Stau (Ergong, Horpa). In Graham Thurgood & Randy J. LaPolla (eds), The Sino-Tibetan languages (2nd ed), 597–613. London: Routledge.
Lai, Yunfan
2017Grammaire du khroskyabs de Wobzi. Paris: Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3 PhD dissertation.
LaPolla, Randy J. & Chenglong Huang
2003A grammar of Qiang with annotated texts and glossary. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Matisoff, James A.
1988The dictionary of Lahu. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Sims, Nathaniel
2011Vowel harmony in Qiang: An optimality theoretic account. ROA-1182, Rutgers Optimality Archive. Date of access 3 Oct. 2017. [URL]
Sonam Lhundrop, Tunzhi
2017Language vitality and glottonyms in the Ethnic Corridor: The rTa’u language. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2017(245): 147–168. Date of access 9 Sep. 2017.
Sun, Jackson T.-S.
2000aParallelisms in the verb morphology of Sidaba rGyalrong and Lavrung in rGyalrongic. Language and Linguistics 1(1): 161–190.
Sun, Jackson T.-S.
2000bStem alternations in Puxi verb inflection: Toward validating the rGyalrongic subgroup in Qiangic. Language and Linguistics 1(2): 211–232.
Sun, Jackson T.-S.
2007Morphological causative formation in Shangzhai Horpa. Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics 1(2): 207–227.
Sun, Jackson T.-S. & Qianzi Tian
2013 Huoer Gexihua dongci duixie 霍爾語格西話動詞對協 (Verb Agreement in Gexi Horpa). Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics 7(2): 221–241.
Sun, Jackson T.-S., Qianzi Tian & Chiu Chenhao
2012 Puxi Huoeryu ruanehua de yuyin duili 蒲西霍爾語軟顎化的語音對立 (The phonetics of velarization contrast in Horpa Puxi). Yuyanxue Luncong語言學論叢 451: 187–195.
Sun, Jackson T.-S., Qianzi Tian & Chiu Chenhao
2017 Shang Donggu Huoeryu de fashengtai duili 上东谷霍尔语的发声态对立 (Contrastive phonation in Upper Donggu Horpa). Journal of Chinese Linguistics 45(1): 78–96.
Tian, Qianzi & Jackson T.-S. Sun
2016a Gexi Huoeryu dongci cigen chongdie xingshishu 格西霍尔语动词词干重叠形式数 (Verbal argument-number marking via stem reduplication in Gexi Horpa). The Journal of Yunnan Normal University (Philosophy and Social Science Edition)云南师范大学学报 (哲学社会科学版) 48(4): 15–21.
2020. Verb classes in Horpa. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area 43:2 ► pp. 255 ff.
Lai, Yunfan, Xun Gong, Jesse P. Gates & Guillaume Jacques
2020. Tangut as a West Gyalrongic language. Folia Linguistica 54:s41-s1 ► pp. 171 ff.
Sims, Nathaniel A.
2023. Vowel harmony in Rma: a diachronic perspective. Folia Linguistica 57:s44-s1 ► pp. 245 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.