| Author(s) |
Delancey, Scott
|
| Publication Date |
2013
|
| Abstract |
A persistent problem in Sino-Tibetan linguistics is that Chinese is characterized by a mix of lexical, phonological, and syntactic features, some of which link it to the Tibeto-Burman languages, others to the Tai-Kadai, Hmong-Mien, and Mon-Khmer families of Southeast Asia. It has always been recognized that this must reflect intense language contact. This paper develops a hypothesis about the nature of that contact. The language of Shang was a highly-creolized lingua franca based on languages of the Southeast Asian type. Sinitic is a result of the imposition of the Sino-Tibetan language of the Zhou on a population speaking this lingua franca, resulting in a language with substantially Sino-Tibetan lexicon and relict morphology, but Southeast Asian basic syntax.
|
| Citation |
Increased Empiricism: Recent advances in Chinese Linguistics, p. 73-99
|
| ISBN |
9789027201812
9789027271419
|
| Link | |
| Language |
en
|
| Publisher |
John Benjamins Publishing Company
|
| Series |
Studies in Chinese Language and Discourse
|
| Edition |
1
|
| Title |
The origins of Sinitic
|
| Type of document |
Book Chapter
|
| Entity Type |
Publication
|
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