The System of Consonant Clusters and Rhymes as Reflected by the Different Turns in Tangut Rhyme Dictionaries (西夏韻書分轉所反映的複聲母與韻母系統)

Abstract

The reconstruction of Tangut pronunciation has been advanced by several scholars. Gong Hwang-cherng’s reconstruction is even more outstanding. His remarkable insight is that the third and the fourth class (děng) belonging to different rhymes have the same reconstruction. However, his Tangut reconstruction, with few consonant clusters, resembles Loloish rather than Qiangic. The present study puts forward that the Tangut rhyme dictionaries with 105 rhymes were made by simulating Chinese rhyme dictionaries. The six monophthongs “i, ɯ, u, e, a, o” and the two diphthongs “eu, ou” form eight broad rhyme groups (she). The first class has no (or -0) medial; the second class the -r medial; the third and the fourth classes the -j medial. A class is divided into four turns (zhuǎn): the first turn (R1-60) has the zero, nasal or w- pre-initial; the second turn (R61-75) has the l-, s- or x- pre-initial; the third turn (R76-98) has the r- pre-initial (similar to M. V. Sofronov’s proposal); the fourth turn (R99-105) is for further supplements. The author reconstructs phonetic values for the rhymes of each turn. Hereby, the system of the consonant clusters in Tangut can be regularly reconstructed according to the phonological records in the rhyme dictionaries. This solution is further supported by observations on some languages related to Qiangic. When we compare several cognates and morphological changes in the Horpa language, we can see some items similar to the present reconstruction.西夏文擬音經海內外諸家研究已經取得很大成就，龔煌城先生的系統更為出色，三四等不同韻而擬音相同尤為高見。惜複輔音擬得太少，以致面貌不像羌語支語言而像彝語。本文提出西夏韻書分105韻乃依傍漢語等韻，本六元音i、ɯ、u、e、a、o加eu、ou合為八攝，依聲母墊尾性質分一等 -∅、二等 -r、三四等 -j，各攝元音重複迴環再分為四轉。分轉所據不是韻母元音本身區別，乃兼顧前接聲母的冠音區別：1轉（R1-60）為∅- 冠、鼻冠、w- 冠，2轉（R61-75）為l-、s-、x- 冠，3轉（R76-98）為r- 冠（蘇敏也曾提r-），4轉（R99-105擴至七韻）補遺特讀。並為每轉各韻具體擬音。據此西夏語複輔音系統可按韻書音韻地位有規律恢復。此乃觀察羌語支近緣語言所得結果，試比較西夏近緣的道孚等語言同源詞與語法變化，可看到與以上擬音相近似的變化。(This article is in Chinese.)