The six vowel hypothesis of Old Chinese in comparative context

Hill, Nathan W.

Abstract

Gong Hwang-Cherng in two papers (1980, 1995) collected a number of cognate sets among Chinese, Tibetan, and Burmese. This paper reexamines these cognate sets (base on Gong 1995) using a six vowel version of Old Chinese, specifically the Baxter-Sagart system. In light of six vowel theory it is possible both to be more confident about some cognate sets and possible to reject or revise others.

Citation

Hill, N. W. (2012). The six vowel hypothesis of Old Chinese in comparative context. Bulletin of Chinese linguistics, 6(2), 1-69. https://doi.org/10.1163/2405478X-90000100

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2012
• Deposit Date: Apr 4, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 12, 2025
• Journal: Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics
• Print ISSN: 1933-6985
• Electronic ISSN: 2405-478X
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 1-69
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/2405478X-90000100
• Keywords: Old Chinese, Old Burmese, Old Tibetan, vowels
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