The Tangwang Language: An Interdisciplinary Case Study in Northwest China

by Dan Xu

Overview

This book studies the Tangwang language, providing the first comprehensive grammar in English of this Chinese variety, with detailed analysis of its phonology, morphology, and syntax. This fills a gap in the literature, as previously only a few articles on this language were available. The book takes an interdisciplinary approach, examining genetic data to determine historical patterns of population migration, as well as linguistic data that focus on the influence of the Dongxiang (Santa) language as a consequence of language contact on the Silk Road. The concluding chapter argues that Tangwang has not yet become a mixed language, and that syntactic borrowing has a stronger impact than lexical borrowing on languages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783319592282
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	08/25/2017
Edition description:	1st ed. 2017
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dan Xu, Ph.D. is Exceptional Category Professor (Professeur de classe exceptionnelle) at the INALCO (Institut des Langues et Civilisations Orientales) in France. In 2009 she was elected Senior Member at IUF (University Institute of France). Her research interests focus on syntax in Chinese, language typology and language contacts. Her major works include: 1996/2010. (second printing) Initiation à la syntaxe chinoise [Introduction to Chinese Syntax] Paris: l'Asiathèque. 2006/2014 (Reprinted in China by World Publishing Corporation). Typological change in Chinese Syntax, Oxford University Press. 2014. Tangwang hua yanjiu [Studies of the Tangwang language] Beijing: Minzu chubanshe. 2017 (To appear) Chuanshi wenxian yu chutu wenxian de lishi jufa yanjiu. [Studies on diachronic syntax based on transmitted and excavated texts] Beijing: Shangwu yinshuguan [Commercial Press] (To appear). Project leader of the ACI (03 3 26) Space and its representations in East Asia’s languages (2003–2007), the ANR (ANR-06-BLAN0259) Quantification and Plurality (2006-2011), the ANR (ANR-12-BSH2-0004-01) Is there a correlation between languages and genes?-Studies in the Northwest area in China (2012 -2016).

Table of Contents

Preface.- List of Abbreviations.- Introduction.- 1. Language Admixture and Replacement in Northwestern China.- 2. Historical, Religious and Genetic Contexts of Tangwang.- 3. The Tangwang Language Phonology.- 4. Tangwang Morphology.- 5. Tangwang Syntax.- 6. About “mixed language”.- Annex.- Story in Tangwang.- Index