The Phonological Reconstruction of Tangut through Examination of Phonological Alternations
摘要
The study of phonological alternations in Tangut is a field which has not yet been well explored. This paper presents 27 sets of phonological alternations (consisting of 96 pairs of examples) and tries to interpret them in terms of regular morphological and syntactical processes. These phonological alternations are accordingly classified in three categories, each connected with a rule in Tangut morphology and syntax. Since these alternations are viewed as morphological and syntactic phenomena, which are supposed to be rule-governed, they can be used as criteria for evaluating different phonetic reconstructions. Various reconstructions of the Tangut language which have been put forward up to now are tested to see whether they can reveal regularities in Tangut Grammar. At the end of the paper, a revision of the reconstruction of some rhymes is offered, purporting to explain all the related facts: foreign transcriptions, the order of rhymes in the rhyme dictionary, morphological and syntactic rules. The paper also purposes to provide a basis for a comparative study in the Sino-Tibetan linguistics and tries to offer an explanation how the complicated Tangut vowel system can evolve Out of a simple vowel system of the Sino-Tibetan common language.