Khitan studies I. The graphs of the Khitan Small Script. 2. The vowels

In the second part of this series of papers the author investigates the way how the Khitan Small Script rendered the vowels of the Khitan language. The graphic system was tailored to the contemporary Chinese language, nevertheless, it is possible to make conclusions concerning the system of vowels....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 2017-06, Vol.70 (2), p.135-188
Main Author: Róna-Tas, András
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cultural history
Historical Linguistics
Linguistic research
Mongolian language
Philology
Phonetics / Phonology
Theoretical Linguistics
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Summary:In the second part of this series of papers the author investigates the way how the Khitan Small Script rendered the vowels of the Khitan language. The graphic system was tailored to the contemporary Chinese language, nevertheless, it is possible to make conclusions concerning the system of vowels. Three illabial vowels /a/, /e/ and /i/ can be identified, the back vocalic /ï/ can only be supposed. The vowel /o/ is dominant, for traces of /ö/ no sure data can be given. The phoneme /u/ can be clearly detected, the phoneme /ü/ can be supposed. The former opinion that the Khitan had a front:back vowel harmony can be confirmed. The paper presents a few newly deciphered Khitan words. The system of the Khitan word formation is emerging and a few earlier readings have been corrected.
ISSN:0001-6446
1588-2667
DOI:10.1556/062.2017.70.2.2