Sinitic Languages

This study explores the range and diversity of the typological features
of Mandarin, the largest dialect group within the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan family. Feeding the typological data of 42 Sinitic varieties into the phylogenetic program NeighborNet, we obtained network diagrams suggesting a north-south divide in the Mandarin dialect group, where dialects within the Amdo Sprachbund cluster at one end and those in the Far Southern area cluster at the other end, highlighting the impact of language contact on the typological profiles of various Mandarin dialects.

It is well-known that Tai-Kadai languages have affected the typological profiles of Southern Sinitic varieties. For example, compared with their northern sisters, Southern Sinitic varieties display a stronger tendency towards head-initial structures, as in the N-N compounds for expressing the sex of animals and in post-verbal temporal adverbs. Given that the Tai-Kadai languages in China have been in contact with Sinitic for over two millennia, it is quite natural to find signs of Sinitic influence therein. Most remarkably, pre-verbal adjunct phrases and prenominal relative clauses, which are extremely atypical of VO languages but distinctive of Sinitic, are attested in some Tai-Kadai languages in Southern China. The prevalence of such typologically unusual traits among different linguistic groups in the Lingnan region of Southern China provides strong support for its status as a linguistic area. Devising and adopting a 'mutualist' approach, we analyse the typological data of over 280 language varieties, which we believe illustrates and strongly supports the idea that Western Lingnan qualifies as a linguistic area in its own right according to criteria widely recognized by areal linguists. The approach proposed in this study can be applied to other putative linguistic areas around the world to study the mechanisms and outcomes of contact-induced change under a specific set of ecological conditions.

Decades of works dedicated to the description of (previously) lesser-known Sinitic languages have effectively dispelled the common myth that these languages share a single "universal Chinese grammar". Yet, the underlying cause of their grammatical variation is still a matter for debate. This paper focuses on typological variation across Sinitic varieties. Through comparing the typological profiles of various Sinitic languages with those of their Altaic and Mainland Southeast Asian (MSEA) neighbors, we discuss to what extent the variation within the Sinitic branch can be attributed to areal diffusion. Taking into account over 360 language varieties of seven different genetic affiliations (Sinitic, Turkic, Mongolic, Tungusic, Hmong-Mien, Tai-Kadai, Austroasiatic) and 30 linguistic features, we conduct a typological survey with the aid of the phylogenetic program NeighborNet. Our results suggest that convergence towards their non-Sinitic neighbors has likely played a pivotal role in the typological diversity of Sinitic languages. Based primarily on their degree of Altaic/MSEA influence, the Sinitic varieties in our database are classified into four areal groups, namely 1) Northern, 2) Transitional, 3) Central Southeastern, 4) Far Southern. This classification scheme reflects the intricate interplay between areal convergence, regional innovations, and retention of archaic features.

This paper reviews a number of specific features typical of analytic languages, in an attempt to investigate whether Creole languages can indeed be grouped, at least structurally, with other languages of the analytic (or isolating) type. Based on Sybesma et al. (forthcoming), a study of the nature of analyticity, we select eight features which constitute rather obvious structural parallels between two unrelated groups, namely Sinitic and Kwa. In terms of Creole languages, these eight features can be also clearly located within the APiCS (Michaelis et al. 2013). Contrary to works like Bakker et al. (2011) which argue for the existence of a “Creole Prototype”, our results show that Creole languages do not cluster with each other against other non-Creole languages. Instead, various Creoles clearly owe their grammatical profile to the languages that dominate the typological environment in which they are formed.

The diachronic development of morphemes meaning ‘wait’ has not been well documented. This paper describes multiple functions of the ‘wait’ verb dang2 in Hong Kong Cantonese: (a) a verb meaning ‘be in need of’, (b) a permissive verb meaning ‘let’, (c) a causative verb meaning ‘cause’, (d) a temporal marker meaning ‘at, when’, (e) a particle for giving notice of a coming event, and (f) a subordinating conjunction signifying someone’s surprise. Four development paths are proposed to account for the multifunctionality: ‘wait’ > (a); ‘wait’ > (d); ‘wait’ > (b) > (e); and ‘wait’ > (c) > (f). This case draws attention to the potential of ‘wait’ morphemes to be employed to express various other abstract concepts and, furthermore, highlights the role of indirect sources in the theory of grammaticalization.

The first four sections of this paper provide an abridged historical synopsis of the main developments in linguistic thinking about the genetic relationships of Chinese and other languages of eastern Eurasia. The fifth and last section relates recent insights in Tibeto-Burman phylogeny to the discoveries of archaeologists in China and neighbouring countries. The dispersal of Neolithic cultural complexes is shown to correspond to the present-day distribution of Tibeto-Burman language communities when viewed in light of the new informed phylogeny.

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Using etymological methods, the present study has identified five Sinitic and Uralic shared etymologies. These five etymologies form a rhyme correspondence. This regular sound change validates the etymological connection between Sinitic and Uralic. The Finnic term for 'sky' is among these five etymologies. It is demonstrated that this word root should be aboriginal in Sino-Uralic languages.

Using etymological methods, the present study has identified seven Sinitic and Uralic shared etymologies (etyma). Three of them form a rhyme correspondence. Two of them form an onset correspondence. Four of them form another rhyme correspondence. These regular sound changes validate the genetic connection between Sinitic and Uralic. The Sino-Uralic etymology (etymon) for 'Jupiter, year' is among these etyma. It is demonstrated that this term should be aboriginal in Sino-Uralic languages.

This paper argues that long-standing problems in the analysis of Chinese, such as the question of word classes and grammatical relations, can be resolved, or actually done away with completely, if we take a constructionist approach in the analysis. This means the constructions are taken as basic, so we only need to look at the propositional functions of elements in the construction (referential, modifying, or predicative), and do not need to posit global categories such as word classes and grammatical relations.

Using etymological methods, the present study has researched four Sinitic and Germanic shared (Sino-Germanic) etymologies (etyma) and two Sinitic and Uralic shared (Sino-Uralic) etyma. Two of the Sino-Germanic etyma form a rhyme correspondence. Three of the Sino-Germanic etyma form an onset correspondence. Two of the Sino-Uralic etyma form another rhyme correspondence. These regular sound changes validate the etymological connections in question. The Sino-Germanic term for 'star' and Sino-Uralic term for 'star' are supported.

This article is an overview of issues in language classification, in particular in connection with three subgroups of the Tibeto-Burman language family: Tibetic, Sinitic and Qiangic. First, I discuss the practical application of currently prevalent classifications of Tibetic, Sinitic and Qiangic languages. Then, with reference to insights from classification practices in biology, I review alternatives for a practical classification in linguistics.

Using etymological methods, the present study has identified two Sinitic and Germanic shared (Sino-Germanic) etymologies (etyma):【南, 陰】. These two etyma form a rhyme correspondence. This regular sound change validates the etymological connection in question. The etymon【南】for 'southern sky' has been identified in Sinitic, Germanic, Baltic, Slavic, Celtic, Albanian, Hellenic, Anatolian, Armenian, Indo-Iranian, some Tibeto-Burman, some Uralic and Hungarian. The etymon【陰】for 'dark' has been identified in Sinitic, Germanic and Gyalrong. In words of Western linguistics, the Proto-Indo-European root *nebh- 'moist, water from it damp, mist, fog, cloud' is newly identified in Sinitic, some Tibeto-Burman, some Uralic and Hungarian; the Proto-Germanic root *ēbanþ-/ēbunþ- ‘evening’ is identified in Sinitic and Gyalrong.

The present paper reports the intensive controversy on Chinese historical phonology that broke out in 2002. After sorting through over 150 Chinese papers on the intensive controversy by the Sino-linguists' side and the descriptivists' side, the present study suggests that we should investigate a history of the new hypotheses, and discuss them in a logical order. The hypothesis of the liquid medial for division-2 in OC of the descriptivists' side is refuted with philological arguments and a negative control of comparative evidence. The hypothesis of the vocalic medial for division-2 in OC of the Sino-linguists' side is supported with Sino-Vietnamese and Sino-Uralic comparative evidence. Using etymological methods, the present study has identified nine (9) Sinitic and Uralic shared etymologies. Four (4) Shennong (Sino-Uralic) etymologies belong to a rhyme correspondence. Five (5) Shennong (Sino-Uralic) etymologies belong to another rhyme correspondence. These two (2) regular sound correspondences validate the etymological connections between Sinitic and Uralic.

The Suzhounese polar question exhibits intervention effects, manifested by the linearity constraint barring anti-topical expressions against c-commanding the polar particle. This paper proposes to derive the intervention pattern from two assumptions. Namely, the polar operator is interpreted higher than the C-domain Q operator, and topics project a secondary illocutionary act independently of the primary act associated with the topic sentences. I further show that the Suzhounese pattern is linked to linearity constraints elsewhere (e.g. in why-adjuncts) that crucially draw upon the exceptional wide scope of topics. I point out that the connections I draw motivate a novel class of scope effect that is distinct from the better understood focus-induced intervention.

This study provides a concise description of aspects of the phonology,
morphology and syntax of a little-studied Hui variety of Sinitic language, Tunxi Hui, with only about 70,000 speakers. Conducted within the framework of linguistic typology, this dissertation makes use of both spontaneous and elicited data, transcribed selectively based on fields of interest.

Phonologically, Tunxi Hui possesses twenty consonants, a rich inventory of vowels, especially diphthongs, and a very complex system of tone sandhi patterns. Morphologically, reduplication, affixation and compounding are the three major strategies of word formation of this conservative Sinitic language with high proportion of mono-morphemic words. In terms of syntax, a range of specific syntactic constructions of Tunxi Hui are examined, including the strong and weak personal pronouns, attributive modification and the categoriality of ‘adjectives’,
pronominal modification, verbal phrases including serial verb constructions, passive constructions and pretransitive structures, comparative constructions, adverbial modification, the issue of word order and topicalization, and last but not least, coordination and subordination.

Many of the above features of Tunxi Hui demonstrate characteristics
intermediate between the Northern Mandarin and Southern Sinitic languages (Hashimoto 1976, 1986, Norman 1988, Chappell 2015), which justifies the typological categorization of Tunxi Hui as a transitional type of Sinitic language - a ‘missing link’ between the Northern and Southern type.