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Article published In: International Journal of Chinese Linguistics
Vol. 7:1 (2020) ► pp.113–139

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Northwest Mandarin, Standard Chinese, and Tibetan elements in Wutun lexicon

 | Czech Academy of Sciences, Oriental Institute
Published online: 30 June 2020
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ijchl.19015.cab
Abstract
Wutun is a distinct form of Northwest Mandarin spoken by approximately 4000 people in a rural area called Seng ge gshong (‘the valley of the lion’) in the Wutun language, or Wutun 五屯 in Standard Chinese, located a few kilometers from Rong bo (Long wu 龙务), the county seat of Reb gong (Tongren 同仁), in the Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai province, People’s Republic of China. This article analyzes some features of basic and cultural Wutun vocabulary (Northwest Mandarin, Standard Chinese, and Tibetan items, as well as hybrid and idiosyncratic words) exploring prospects for lexical borrowing in an intense language contact situation, as well as the impact of the environment, cultural influences, and linguistic prestige in the development of the lexicon of a small language community.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction: Lexicon and language contact
  • 2.The language and the data
  • 3.The Wutun lexicon: NWM and SC elements
    • 3.1Adjectives
    • 3.2Numerals
    • 3.3Verbs
    • 3.4Nouns
      • 3.4.1Fruits and vegetables
      • 3.4.2Fauna
      • 3.4.3Anatomy
      • 3.4.4Kinship terms
    • 3.5SC borrowings
  • 4.Tibetan vocabulary
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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