Home

16.9.25.23:45: THREE TANGUT MEATS

I used to think Tangut

5865 1soq1 'three' (Tibetan transcriptions gsoH x 14, gso x 4, so x 2)

was from *k-sum (cf. Japhug rGyalrong χsɯm and Written Tibetan gsum) with a *k- that weakened to *x- and assimilated to the following *s- which conditioned vowel tension (written as -q):

*k-s- > *xs- > *ss- > s-q

The Tibetan transcriptions with g- may reflect a dialect retaining preinitial *k-.

Guillaume Jacques (2014: 197) proposed a pre-Tangut form *sə-svm (whose *v = any vowel but *i) with reduplication like Tagalog ta-tlo < Proto-Austronesian *telu.

(Might the retroflexion of Tangut

2005 21lyr' < *rliXH 'four'

be from a reduplicated *l- that merged with the preinitial *r- that conditioned vowel retroflexion written as -r? Retroflex vowels are so common in Tangut that I suspect they had sources other than *r-.)

But if *k-s- became s- + tension - and *k-obstruent sequences which became aspirates - then how can I account for the aspirate in

3465 1chhi3 'meat' (Tibetan transcription: chi)

whose root had initial *sj- (cf. Written Tibetan sha, Written Burmese sāḥ)?

Maybe *k-s- and *k-sj- had different reflexes:

*k-s > *x-s- > *s-s- > s-q

*k-sj- > *kʂʰ- > chh- [tʂʰ-]

But I doubt that was the case. There is no external support for *k- in 'meat'.

Perhaps the preinitial of 'meat' was *t- (cf. Japhug tɯ-ɕa), and *t-sj- fused into aspirated chh-. That proposal is not without problems, as we'lll see next time.


Tangut fonts by Mojikyo.org
Tangut radical and Khitan fonts by Andrew West
Jurchen font by Jason Glavy
All other content copyright © 2002-2015 Amritavision