Using Chinese Character Formation Graphs to Test Proposals in Chinese Historical Phonology

Hill, Nathan W.; List, Johann-Mattis

Abstract

This paper proposes the use of network techniques in the exploration of Old Chinese phonology as reflected in the phonophoric determinatives of xiéshēng 諧聲 characters. We use the approach to examine five specific proposals in Chinese historical phonology, and whether the distinctions suggested by these proposals can be said to be recoverable on the basis of phonophoric choice. The major finding is that the type A versus type B distinction is in some cases encoded in the choice of phonophoric determinative, while other distinctions are only spuriously if at all reflected in the phonophoric subseries.

Citation

Hill, N. W., & List, J.-M. (2019). Using Chinese Character Formation Graphs to Test Proposals in Chinese Historical Phonology. Bulletin of Chinese linguistics, 12(2), 186-200. https://doi.org/10.1163/2405478X-01202008

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 1, 2019
• Online Publication Date: May 27, 2020
• Publication Date: Dec 30, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jun 2, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 2, 2020
• Journal: Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics
• Print ISSN: 1933-6985
• Electronic ISSN: 2405-478X
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 186-200
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/2405478X-01202008
• Keywords: network approaches – Historical Chinese Phonology – Chinese character formation – reconstruction of Old Chinese phonology