Table of Contents
Forward.......................................................................................................................... i
1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
The ḥP’ags-pa script, its nature and genealogy ................................................ 1
The phonology of the MGZY ........................................................................... 6
The interference of foreign phonology ............................................................. 9
The interpretations and interfaces .................................................................. 12
The arrangement of the book ......................................................................... 15
2. The Study of the Chinese ḥP’ags-pa Materials ................................................... 19
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
Pre-modern studies before the 19th century .................................................... 19
2.1.1 The Gujin Yunhui Juyao 古今韻會舉要 (GYJ) ................................. 19
2.1.2 The Tongkao (TK) .............................................................................. 20
2.1.3 The Sisheng Tongjie 四聲通解 (SSTJ) by Ch'oe Se-jin 崔世珍 ........ 21
The script period (1830 - 1930) ...................................................................... 27
The MGZY period (1946 to present) ............................................................. 28
2.3.1 Shiroo Hattori’s study ........................................................................ 29
2.3.2 Miyoko Nakano’s study ..................................................................... 30
2.3.3 Mantaro Hashimoto’s study ............................................................... 31
2.3.4 Cheng Tsai-fa’s study ......................................................................... 32
2.3.5 Yang’s study ....................................................................................... 33
2.3.6 Li Licheng’s study .............................................................................. 34
The other rhyme dictionaries with ḥP’ags-pa script ....................................... 35
2.4.1 The Huaxia Tongyin 華夏同音 .......................................................... 36
2.4.2 The Menggu Yunbian 蒙古韻編 (MGYB) ......................................... 36
2.4.3 The Menggu Yunlue 蒙古韻略 (MGYL) ........................................... 36
3. The ḥP’ags-pa Script ............................................................................................. 37
3.1
3.2
The dual purpose of the script ........................................................................ 38
The ḥP’ags-pa letters ...................................................................................... 39
3.2.1 The phonetic values of the Chinese equivalents ................................. 42
3.2.2 The ḥP’ags-pa letters and the Tibetan letters ..................................... 44
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3.2.3
3.2.4
3.2.5
The Tibetan ḥP’ags-pa materials ....................................................... 45
The earliest usage of the ḥP’ags-pa script ......................................... 46
Lack of variations ............................................................................. 48
4. The MGZY ............................................................................................................. 51
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
4.10
4.11
4.12
4.13
4.14
4.15
iv
The orthographic nature of the MGZY ......................................................... 53
The MGZY and the MGYL .......................................................................... 54
The content of the MGZY ............................................................................. 55
The title of the MGZY .................................................................................. 56
The phonetic information .............................................................................. 56
The discrepancy between the phonological system and phonetic
transcription .................................................................................................. 57
Its phonological framework and its phonetic transcription ........................... 58
The QYY ...................................................................................................... 58
The XKYL .................................................................................................... 61
The spelling block ......................................................................................... 62
The phonological contrasts cannot be reflected in the ḥP’ags-pa
transcription .................................................................................................. 64
Transcription of the initials............................................................................ 65
A different phonology or a conservative approach ....................................... 67
The transcription of finals ............................................................................. 67
The contents .................................................................................................. 68
4.15.1 The covers ...................................................................................... 69
4.15.2 The prefatory pages ........................................................................ 69
4.15.3 The prefaces ................................................................................... 70
4.15.4 The errata ....................................................................................... 71
4.15.5 The circular diagram ...................................................................... 75
4.15.6 Zimu 字母: lists of letters ............................................................... 78
4.15.7 Zhuan Zimu 篆字母: the letters in the style of the seal script ........ 78
4.15.8 Zongmu 總目: the 15 rhyme groups ............................................... 79
4.15.9 The missing parts of the MGZY ..................................................... 80
4.15.10 The euphemist characters ............................................................... 82
5. The Orthography/Phonology Interface ............................................................... 83
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
ḥP’ags-pa syllable structure .......................................................................... 83
5.1.1 The immediate constituents of the syllables in ḥP’ags-pa script ..... 83
5.1.2 Structural slots ................................................................................. 84
The inventory of ḥP’ags-pa letters ................................................................ 85
The spelling rules of ḥP’ags-pa script ........................................................... 85
5.3.1 Spelling rules ................................................................................... 86
5.3.2 Length constraints ............................................................................ 87
5.3.3 The maximum number and its spelling limits ................................. 89
5.3.4 The hierarchical relationship of the segments ................................. 90
The initials letters .......................................................................................... 90
5.4.1 The bilabials b p B m ..................................................................... 92
5.4.2 The labiodentals f v w ................................................................. 92
5.4.2.1 Does w represent [w]? ...................................................... 97
5.4.3 The alveolar stops d t D n .......................................................... 101
5.4.4 The alveolar affricates and fricatives z c Z s S ......................... 102
5.4.5 The lateral l ................................................................................... 103
5.4.6 The retroflexes j q J N x X r ................................................... 103
5.4.6.1 Retroflexes or palatals ................................................... 104
5.4.6.2 The phonetic values of letters X and r ........................... 105
5.4.6.3 The contrast between letters N and n ............................. 106
5.4.7 The velars g k G M ....................................................................... 109
5.4.8 The guttural fricatives and zero initials h H C y L a K ............. 111
5.4.9 The flip-flop of the voiceless and voiced stops and affricates ....... 112
5.4.10 The ordering of the initial letters ................................................... 116
The glide letters .......................................................................................... 117
5.5.1 The l glide letter for [w] ................................................................ 117
5.5.2 The glide letter for [j] .................................................................... 118
5.5.3 Is letter [ a glide? .......................................................................... 119
5.5.4 Initial-Glide combinations (IG) ..................................................... 124
The letters for nuclei ................................................................................... 125
5.6.1 The default vowel a ....................................................................... 125
5.6.2 The nucleus letters i, u, e and > .................................................. 126
The FT letters .............................................................................................. 127
5.7.1 The letter [ ...................................................................................... 127
5.7.1.1 Acoustic data of Tibetan vowels .................................... 128
5.7.1.2 The phonological contrast of letters e and [ ................... 129
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5.7.2 The vocalic h ................................................................................. 131
The coda letters ........................................................................................... 131
5.8.1 The graphic variant of coda n ........................................................ 134
5.9 The tones ..................................................................................................... 137
5.10 The spelling groups (SG) ............................................................................ 139
5.11 The two types of rhyme groups and the order of SGs ................................. 141
5.11.1 The Dong rhyme group: type A, (2:42) uM }uM .......................... 142
5.11.2 The Geng rhyme group: type A, (7:55) iM hiM \uM \iM
\iM YuM \iM .................................................................................. 144
5.11.2.1 The repeated Geng3 \uM ............................................... 144
5.11.2.2 Geng4 (\iM), Geng5 (YiM), and Geng7 (\iM or {iM) .... 143
5.11.2.3 Geng6 y?uM .................................................................. 148
5.11.3 The Yang rhyme group: type B, (6:59) M \M ?M hM oM Y|M ....... 149
5.11.3.1 Yang6 h?\M ................................................................... 149
5.11.3.2 The intrinsic palatal glide in syllables j_M q_M J_M
x_M X_M ........................................................................... 150
5.11.3.3 Yang4 h_M ....................................................................... 154
5.11.4 The Zhi rhyme group: type A, (7:82) i hi \i ue \ue \ue
Yi ................................................................................................... 155
5.11.5 The Yu rhyme group: type A, (2:46) u \u U .............................. 157
5.11.6 The Jia rhyme group: type A and B, (5:51) K WK {K hiK
iK .................................................................................................. 158
5.11.7 The Zhen rhyme group: type A, (6:73) in un \un hin
\in Yin ......................................................................................... 159
5.11.8 The Han rhyme group: type B, (4:57) n {P;} o; Y_n {n ............... 160
5.11.9 The Xian rhyme group: type B, (5:54) en \n Y|n [o; [en ........ 161
5.11.10 The Xiao rhyme group: type B, (6:78(79)) w ew \w ?w {w Y|w .... 163
5.11.11 The You rhyme group: type A, (5:51) iw uw hiw [iw ow ........... 165
5.11.12 The Tan rhyme group: type B, (5:54) m em \m {m [em ................... 167
5.11.13 The Qin rhyme group: type A, im him [im ................................... 167
5.11.14 The Ge rhyme group: type B, (2:34) > Y> .................................... 168
5.11.15 The Ma rhyme group: type B, (7:92) [ Y { Y} Ye e (a) ............... 168
5.11.16 Summary of the 15 rhyme groups ................................................. 169
5.12 The vowel systems in type A and type B rhyme groups ............................. 171
5.12.1 The Dong, Geng, and Yang rhyme groups (-) ............................. 171
5.12.2 The Zhi, Yu, Ge, and Ma rhyme groups (-Ø) ................................ 172
5.12.3 The Zhi and Jia rhyme groups (-j) ................................................. 173
5.12.4 The Zhen, Han, and Xian rhyme groups (-n) ................................. 173
5.8
vi
5.12.5 The Xiao and You rhyme groups (-w) ........................................... 174
5.12.6 The Tan and Qin rhyme groups (-m) ............................................. 175
5.12.7 Summary ........................................................................................ 175
5.13 The major and minor GNCs ........................................................................ 176
5.14 The total number of syllables ...................................................................... 176
5.15 Summary ..................................................................................................... 176
6. The Zero Initials .................................................................................................. 177
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6
The phonological basis for the initial splits ................................................ 177
6.1.1 The chongniu syllables .................................................................. 179
6.1.2 The syllables of the 清 Qing1 and the 幽 You2 rhymes ................ 179
6.1.3 The syllables with the Yu initials .................................................. 179
The syllables that lost the MC 疑 yi initial (-) .......................................... 180
The significance of the initial splits ............................................................ 182
6.3.1 The ying initial letters in the type A rhyme groups ....................... 182
6.3.2 The ying initials in the type B rhyme groups ................................. 184
6.3.3 The yu initial letters ....................................................................... 185
6.3.4 The unexpected nasal initial .......................................................... 186
The existing proposals for phonetic transcriptions ..................................... 186
6.4.1 The inter-pair difference ................................................................ 187
6.4.2 Tone registers ................................................................................ 188
6.4.3 The intra-pair difference ................................................................ 189
6.4.4 The phonetic problem of the intra-pair difference ......................... 190
The three initial-less syllables ..................................................................... 191
Conclusion .................................................................................................. 194
7. The Phonetic Value of Letter [ ........................................................................... 195
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6
7.7
The internal evidence from the MGZY ....................................................... 197
Evidence from other Chinese ḥP’ags-pa materials ..................................... 199
The distribution of letter e in the ḥP’ags-pa materials for Mongolian ........ 199
The umlaut in Tibetan ................................................................................. 201
Acoustic data of modern Lhasa ................................................................... 203
A uniform solution for letter [ ..................................................................... 207
The phonetic contrast of MC divisions III and IV ...................................... 208
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8. The Vocalic h ....................................................................................................... 213
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4
8.5
8.6
The distribution and interpretation of -hi spelling ...................................... 213
The distribution and interpretation of the -h(a) spelling ............................. 215
The issues of interpretation ......................................................................... 218
8.3.1 The languages involved ................................................................. 218
8.3.2 Understanding the reconstructed forms ......................................... 219
8.3.3 Four possible interpretations ......................................................... 220
8.3.4 The issues of interpreting the -hi spellings .................................... 220
8.3.5 The issues of -h(a) spellings .......................................................... 222
The issues of explanation ............................................................................ 223
8.4.1 An acoustic explanation of the -hi spellings .................................. 224
8.4.2 The transliteration of Chinese in Old Tibetan ............................... 227
8.4.3 The effects of /h/ on the following vowels .................................... 229
The spelling -hi after guttural fricatives ...................................................... 231
8.5.1 Displacement of the syllables with a guttural fricative
and vowel -hi ................................................................................ 231
8.5.2 What causes such displacements ................................................... 233
Conclusion .................................................................................................. 235
9. The Chongniu Contrast ....................................................................................... 237
9.1
9.2
9.3
9.4
9.5
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Phonological notations ................................................................................ 237
The chongniu contrast in type A rhyme groups .......................................... 238
9.2.1 The 支 Zhi rhyme group ................................................................ 238
9.2.2 The 侵 Qin rhyme group ................................................................ 241
9.2.3 The 真 Zhen rhyme group ............................................................. 242
9.2.4 The 庚 Geng rhyme group ............................................................. 244
9.2.5 The 尤 You rhyme group ............................................................... 246
9.2.6 Summary of type A rhyme groups ................................................. 246
The chongniu contrast in type B rhyme groups .......................................... 247
9.3.1 The 蕭 Xiao rhyme group .............................................................. 247
9.3.2 The 覃 Tan rhyme group ............................................................... 248
9.3.3 The 先 Xian rhyme group .............................................................. 249
9.3.4 Summary of type B rhyme groups ................................................. 251
The chongniu reflexes in the MGZY .......................................................... 252
Explanations of the chongniu contrast ........................................................ 253
9.5.1 The yin syllables ............................................................................ 255
9.6
9.5.2 The yang syllables ......................................................................... 257
9.5.3 The ru syllables ............................................................................. 258
9.5.4 The syllables with zero initials ...................................................... 259
Conclusion .................................................................................................. 260
10. The Patterns of the Ru Reflexes ....................................................................... 261
10.1
10.2
10.3
10.4
The mergers of ru and yin rhymes .............................................................. 262
The number of ru rhymes ........................................................................... 263
Finding a common denominator, an exemplary case .................................. 264
All the major patterns of MC ru rhymes ..................................................... 267
10.4.1 Pattern I, II, and III ........................................................................ 267
10.4.2 Pattern IV, V, VI, and VII ............................................................. 270
10.4.3 Pattern VIII, IX, X, and XI ............................................................ 273
10.5 The four ru syllables dominant finals ......................................................... 275
10.6 The glottal stop ........................................................................................... 276
10.7 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 277
11. Yang and Ru rhymes ......................................................................................... 279
11.1
11.2
11.3
11.4
11.5
11.6
11.7
The unparallel changes of the parallel yang and ru rhymes ........................ 279
The parallel and unparallel developments of the MC yang/ru pairs ........... 281
The historical distinctions ........................................................................... 282
The type A and type B rhymes ................................................................... 284
The four types of initials ............................................................................. 285
The MC rhymes with -m/-p codas .............................................................. 285
The MC rhymes with -n/-t codas ................................................................ 287
11.7.1 Type A rhymes .............................................................................. 288
11.7.2 Type B rhymes .............................................................................. 290
11.8 The MC rhymes with -/-k codas ............................................................... 293
11.8.1 The type A rhymes ........................................................................ 294
11.8.2 The type B rhymes ......................................................................... 300
11.8.3 The off-glide of the ru rhymes ...................................................... 302
11.9 The final system of yang and ru syllables ................................................... 304
11.9.1 The reduction of nuclei in front of - ............................................ 305
11.9.2 The contrasts of nuclei in front of -n and -m ................................. 307
11.10 Summary ..................................................................................................... 308
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12. The Kaihe Contrast ............................................................................................ 309
12.1
12.2
12.3
12.4
12.5
12.6
The phonetic property of the kaihe contrast .............................................. 310
The kaihe contrast in the syllables with labial initials ............................... 312
The kaihe contrast in the yin rhymes ......................................................... 314
12.3.1 The kaihe contrast in the yin rhymes with -j ................................. 314
12.3.2 The kaihe contrast in the yin rhymes with coda -Ø ....................... 317
12.3.3 The merger of the hekou syllables from the Zhi and Xie
rhyme groups ................................................................................ 320
The kaihe contrast in the rhymes with codas -t/-n ...................................... 322
12.4.1 The type A rhymes ........................................................................ 322
12.4.2 The kaihe contrast in type B -n/-t rhymes ..................................... 324
The kaihe contrast of the rhymes with codas -k/-..................................... 326
12.5.1 Type A1 and A2 ............................................................................ 326
12.5.2 Type A3 ........................................................................................ 327
12.5.3 Type B syllables ........................................................................... 329
Conclusion ................................................................................................. 330
References ................................................................................................................ 333
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