The Sino-Tibetan LanguagesRandy J. LaPolla, Graham Thurgood There are more native speakers of Sino-Tibetan languages than of any other language family in the world. Records of these languages are among the oldest for any human language, and the amount of active research on them, both diachronic and synchronic, has multiplied in the last few decades. This volume includes overview articles as well as descriptions of individual languages and comments on the subgroups in which they occur. In addition to a number of modern languages, there are descriptions of several ancient languages. |
Contents
A subgrouping of the SinoTibetan languages the interaction between language contact change and inheritance | 3 |
2 SinoTibetan | 6 |
4 TibetoBurman | 7 |
Reference | 20 |
Overview of SinoTibetan morphosyntax | 22 |
2 Chinese | 29 |
Reference | 36 |
Word Order in SinoTibetan languages from a typological and geographical perspective | 43 |
2 Phonology | 388 |
3 Verbs | 390 |
4 Noun phrases | 391 |
5 Adverbs and reduplication | 397 |
7 Language contact and language maintenance | 399 |
References | 400 |
Jinghpo | 401 |
2 Grammar | 403 |
3 Chinese | 48 |
4 Conclusion | 54 |
OLD CHINESE AND CHINESE DIALECTS | 57 |
A sketch of late Zhou Chinese grammer | 59 |
3 Prediction | 60 |
4 Modification clause demotion and nominalization | 63 |
5 Basic constituent order | 66 |
6 Conclusion | 69 |
Additional abbreviations | 70 |
The Chinese dialects phonology | 72 |
References | 82 |
Chinese dialects grammar | 84 |
3 Sentence structure and word order | 94 |
4 Major Sentence types | 96 |
Further reading | 124 |
The characteristics of Mandarin Dialects | 126 |
2 Some characteristics of Mandarin dialects | 128 |
3 The regional characteristics of Mandarin dialects | 129 |
References | 130 |
Shanghai | 131 |
2 Shanghai morphology and syntax | 138 |
Reference | 145 |
Cantonese | 146 |
colloquial Cantonese vocabulary | 150 |
4 Grammar | 151 |
5 Conclusion | 154 |
Chinese writing | 156 |
2 Historical development | 160 |
3 Writing as evidence in historical reconstruction | 163 |
4 Relation to other languages | 164 |
Reference | 165 |
TIBETOBURMAN LANGUAGES AND DIALECTS | 167 |
The TibetoBurman languages of Northeastern India | 169 |
2 Typology | 173 |
4 The central area | 175 |
5 The northern area | 178 |
6 The eastern border area | 182 |
7 Conclusions | 189 |
LOLOBURMESE LANGUAGE | 193 |
Burmese | 195 |
2 Phonology | 197 |
3 Word classes | 200 |
Syntax constructions and particles | 202 |
Additional abbreviations | 206 |
Further reading | 207 |
Lahu | 208 |
2 Phonology | 209 |
3 Lahu vocabulary and word formation | 210 |
4 Clause structure | 211 |
5 Form classes | 212 |
7 The noun phrase | 214 |
8 The verb phrase | 217 |
9 Nominalization and relativization | 219 |
References | 220 |
Lisu | 222 |
2 Lisu phonology | 223 |
3 Lisu morphosyntax | 226 |
Reference | 235 |
Akha | 236 |
2 Phonology | 237 |
3 Word formation | 239 |
4 Syntax | 241 |
5 Sentence particles | 247 |
6 Noun incorporation | 249 |
7 Final particles | 251 |
BODISH LANGUAGE | 253 |
Classical Tibetan | 255 |
2 Phonology | 256 |
3 Word classes and inflections | 258 |
4 Word formation | 262 |
5 The noun phrase | 263 |
6 Clause and sentence | 265 |
References | 267 |
Lhasa Tibetan | 270 |
2 Nouns adjectives and nominal morphology | 273 |
3 The verb | 276 |
4 Word formation | 281 |
5 Syntax | 282 |
286 | |
TGTM LANGUAGES | 289 |
Tamang | 291 |
3 Typological summary | 293 |
5 The noun phrase | 297 |
6 The verb phrase | 300 |
7 Complex sentences | 302 |
9 Questions | 310 |
10 Information structure | 311 |
Additional abbreviations | 313 |
Chantyal | 315 |
3 Morphology | 318 |
4 Word formation | 327 |
5 Syntax | 329 |
Reference | 334 |
NarPhu | 336 |
2 Phonology | 337 |
3 Morphology | 340 |
4 Word formation | 347 |
5 Syntax | 348 |
References | 352 |
NEWAR DIALECTS | 353 |
Dolakha Newar | 355 |
2 Phonology | 356 |
3 Morphology | 357 |
4 Verbs | 359 |
5 Syntax | 361 |
6 Narrative text | 364 |
Additional abbreviations | 369 |
References | 370 |
Kathmandu Newar Nepal Bhasa | 371 |
2 Phonology | 372 |
3 Inflectional morphology | 373 |
4 Word formation | 377 |
5 Syntax | 378 |
Reference | 383 |
NORTHEASTERN INDIA | 385 |
Garo | 387 |
Hakha Lai | 409 |
3 Inflectional morphology | 410 |
4 Syntax | 419 |
References | 424 |
Further reading | 426 |
Meithei | 427 |
3 Morphology | 429 |
4 Major lexical categories | 431 |
5 Evidentiality | 432 |
6 Syntax | 433 |
References | 437 |
Further reading | 438 |
Tshangla | 439 |
3 Morphophonemics | 440 |
4 Noun phrase | 441 |
5 Syntactic roles | 443 |
6 Case marking | 444 |
7 Tenseaspect | 446 |
9 Mirativity | 447 |
10 Copular clauses | 448 |
12 Relative clauses | 450 |
13 Complementation | 451 |
14 Adverbial clauses | 452 |
16 Concatenation | 453 |
References | 455 |
Tani languages | 456 |
3 Morphology | 458 |
4 Syntax | 462 |
Additional abbreviations | 465 |
References | 466 |
GYALRONG LANGUAGES | 467 |
Cogtse Gyarong | 469 |
2 Outline of phonology | 470 |
3 Morphology and morphosyntax | 471 |
References | 489 |
Caodeng rGyalrong | 490 |
3 Morphology | 491 |
4 Syntax | 497 |
Additional abbreviations | 502 |
Kiranti languages | 503 |
Kiranti languages an overview | 505 |
3 Genetic and areal groupings | 516 |
Additional abbreviations | 517 |
Hayu | 518 |
3 Morphophonology | 519 |
4 Verb morphology | 520 |
5 Nonverbal morphology and word classes | 523 |
6 Syntax | 524 |
7 Information structure and discourse particles | 530 |
Additional abbreviations | 531 |
References | 532 |
Camling | 533 |
3 Nominals | 534 |
4 The verb | 537 |
5 Syntax | 542 |
Additional abbreviations | 545 |
Belhare | 546 |
3 Inflectional morphology | 548 |
4 Derivational morphology and compounding | 559 |
5 Syntax | 561 |
Additional abbreviations | 569 |
QIANGIC LANGUAGES | 571 |
Qiang | 573 |
2 The noun phrase | 575 |
3 Nominal relational morphology | 577 |
4 The verb complex | 579 |
5 Adverbials | 583 |
6 The clause | 584 |
586 | |
Prinmi | 588 |
3 Morphology | 591 |
4 Syntax | 594 |
601 | |
Tangut | 602 |
3 Morphology | 606 |
4 Word formation | 610 |
5 Syntax | 612 |
619 | |
KAREN LANGUAGES | 621 |
Eastern Kayah Li | 623 |
2 Phonology | 624 |
3 Word formation | 625 |
4 Syntax | 626 |
631 | |
Pwo Karen | 632 |
2 Sounds | 633 |
3 Parts of speech | 634 |
4 Morphology | 637 |
5 Syntax | 639 |
Additional abbreviations | 647 |
648 | |
OTHER LANGUAGES | 649 |
Yunnan Bai | 651 |
2 Phonology | 654 |
3 Word classes | 661 |
4 Word formation processes | 666 |
5 Syntax | 669 |
References | 672 |
Dulong | 674 |
3 Morphosyntax | 675 |
682 | |
Kham | 683 |
2 Phonology | 685 |
3 Inflectional morphology | 688 |
4 Adjectives and adjectivals | 699 |
5 Noun phrase syntax | 700 |
6 Nominalizations | 701 |
7 Clause chains and switch reference | 702 |
703 | |
Lepcha | 705 |
3 Nominal morphology | 707 |
4 Verbal morphology | 712 |
5 Text | 715 |
716 | |
717 | |
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Common terms and phrases
able action addition adjectives adverbial alternation appear argument aspect Cantonese causative Central Chapter characters Chinese classifier clause close combination common comparative complement complex compounds consists consonant construction contrast demonstrative derived dialects direct distinction elements English ergative example expressed final function genitive give grammar head indicates inflection initial interrogative intransitive Kiranti languages lexical Linguistics locative major Mandarin marked marker meaning modifiers morphemes morphology names nasal negative nominal Northern noun object occur particle past pattern perfective person phonology phrase plural position possessive precede predicate prefix present pronouns question reference relative clause represented result root semantic sentence Southern speakers spoken stem stop structure Studies subgroup subordinate suffix syllable Table third Tibetan Tibeto-Burman tone topic transitive University usually verb verbal voiced vowel word order