| The Qiang (Chiang, Ch'iang) language (Sino-Tibetan: Tibeto-Burman: Qiangic) is spoken by about 150,000 people in Northern Sichuan province, China (103 to 104 degrees East, 31 to 32 degrees North). Although sketchy articles and wordlists have been published as early as 1853, the awakening of Qiang linguistics may be traced to the publication of Professor Sun Hongkai's Qiangyu Jianzhi in 1981, the first book-length treatment of this important Tibeto-Burman language.;This dissertation undertakes to present the "state of the art" of Qiang linguistic studies as of 1999, summarizing the synchronic and diachronic works that have been written, and providing basic demographic data (Chapter I). Following the introduction, I present phonological inventories of five key dialects (Chapter II). Focussing on the Southern dialects, I examine the diachronic relationships of three key varieties, reconstructing the Proto-Southern Qiang phonological inventory (Chapter III) and lexicon (Chapter III, Appendix A). Tones in Southern Qiang appear to have arisen through a process quite different from the manner which has generally been observed. In Chapter IV I propose an origin for the tone and pitch accent systems found in contemporary Southern Qiang dialects. I close with a summary of remaining problems and suggestions for further research (Chapter V). To assist in those advances, I have included a glossary of the two Southern dialects on which I have done fieldwork (Appendix B). |
