Periodic Reporting for period 2 - TRAM (Tracing language and population mixing in the Gansu-Qinghai area)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-07-01 do 2023-12-31
The Project is studying language mixture and language replacement in the Gansu-Qinghai area by quantifying linguistic data, then modeling it, to better understand the mechanism of language mixing and the rate of preservation or loss in intense language contact. Quantified criteria will be established to determine at which degree one can confirm that a language has become a “mixed language”. Moreover, the Elite Dominance and Cultural Dominance models will be studied on a larger scale.
Western and Eastern Yugur languages, endangered languages spoken by about 14,000 people, as well as languages used in Gangou, Wutun, Hanjizhen and Xiahe have been selected. Western and Eastern Yugur populations, while self-identifying as one ethnic group, speak two different languages: Turkic language for Western Yugurs and Mongolic language for Eastern Yugurs. They have lived side by side for ages but their languages have not mixed. In contrast, languages practiced by Han populations in the Gansu-Qinghai area tend to be strongly colored by non-Han languages spoken by nomadic populations in the past. A few studies have been done in Gangou, Wutun, and Xiahe. The linguistic situation in Hanjizhen remains unclear, but a similar scenario could be expected as the Gansu-Qinghai area is geographically a demarcation between Han farmers and nonHan nomadic pastoralists. The Project will study these languages in depth in order to understand borrowing tendencies attested in this zone: Sinitic languages tend to copy syntactic means from non-Han languages, while non-Han languages tend towards lexical borrowing from Sinitic languages (Xu Dan 2017, 2018).
The Project will identify different layers of languages and populations in the Gansu-Qinghai area by exploiting interdisciplinary approaches. Genetic and archeological research results offer a reliable framework. Our investigations will refer to their timescales to trace back corresponding historical events and language changes. Comparing language distance in light of genetic distance will help us reconstruct different historical periods during which diverse populations spread their languages and cultures. This comparison consists of understanding why language-gene divergence displays a mismatch in this region while language-gene correlation is rather well attested on most other parts of the planet.
As a long-term impact, the Project will offer a global vision of language and population mixing in the Gansu-Qinghai region, which is where the West (Central Asians, Western Asians) met the East (Chinese people). Farming populations and nomadic populations should have contributed differently to language shaping. Their two competing patterns will be explored in depth. These living samples in the Gansu-Qinghai area may offer valuable clues to the studies of Indo-European language origins founded on farming advance versus those based on steppe migration to Europe, studies of Bantu-speaking-farmers versus hunter-gatherer populations in Africa. Finally, digitized, quantified data on language mixing will benefit the linguistic community.
Western and Eastern Yugur languages, endangered languages spoken by about 14,000 people, as well as languages used in Gangou, Wutun, Hanjizhen and Xiahe have been selected. Western and Eastern Yugur populations, while self-identifying as one ethnic group, speak two different languages: Turkic language for Western Yugurs and Mongolic language for Eastern Yugurs. They have lived side by side for ages but their languages have not mixed. In contrast, languages practiced by Han populations in the Gansu-Qinghai area tend to be strongly colored by non-Han languages spoken by nomadic populations in the past. A few studies have been done in Gangou, Wutun, and Xiahe. The linguistic situation in Hanjizhen remains unclear, but a similar scenario could be expected as the Gansu-Qinghai area is geographically a demarcation between Han farmers and nonHan nomadic pastoralists. The Project will study these languages in depth in order to understand borrowing tendencies attested in this zone: Sinitic languages tend to copy syntactic means from non-Han languages, while non-Han languages tend towards lexical borrowing from Sinitic languages (Xu Dan 2017, 2018).
The Project will identify different layers of languages and populations in the Gansu-Qinghai area by exploiting interdisciplinary approaches. Genetic and archeological research results offer a reliable framework. Our investigations will refer to their timescales to trace back corresponding historical events and language changes. Comparing language distance in light of genetic distance will help us reconstruct different historical periods during which diverse populations spread their languages and cultures. This comparison consists of understanding why language-gene divergence displays a mismatch in this region while language-gene correlation is rather well attested on most other parts of the planet.
As a long-term impact, the Project will offer a global vision of language and population mixing in the Gansu-Qinghai region, which is where the West (Central Asians, Western Asians) met the East (Chinese people). Farming populations and nomadic populations should have contributed differently to language shaping. Their two competing patterns will be explored in depth. These living samples in the Gansu-Qinghai area may offer valuable clues to the studies of Indo-European language origins founded on farming advance versus those based on steppe migration to Europe, studies of Bantu-speaking-farmers versus hunter-gatherer populations in Africa. Finally, digitized, quantified data on language mixing will benefit the linguistic community.
1. Wang Chuanchao et al. Genomic insights into the formation of human populations in East Asia[J]. Nature, 2021, 591(7850): 413-419.
This research focuses on the ancestry shares among hunter-gatherers from Northern East Asia, the Yamnaya Steppe pastoralists, and Mongolic and Tungstic-speaking population, solving the admixture history and population structure in the interaction area of East Asia and Central Asia especially and fixing the lack of ancient DNA data and sparse sampling of present-day people and the deep population history of East Asia remains. These ancient East Asians’ genetic contributions have also influenced the formation of neighboring Mongolian and Turkic populations. The Yellow River Neolithic farmers’ contribution to Northwest China is very significant.
2. Wen SQ et al. Ancient Genome of Empress Ashina reveals the Northeast Asian origin of Göktürk Khanate [J]. Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 2023. 01.
The Turkic-speaking population originating from the Mongolian Plateau exerted a substantial influence during the past. The paper found that Ashina exhibited the highest genetic resemblance to Tungsic and Mongolic Steppe pastoralist populations in Northeast Asia, such as Rouran, Xianbei, Khitan, and Heshui Mohe, during the post-Iron Age period. However, the impact of the Ashina individual on the present-day population in the Gansu and Qinghai regions is relatively minor with a limited genetic relationship. This case of the Ashina clan of the ancient Turkic royal family likely suggests the Turkic language as a cultural transmission rather than a demic one.
3. Baihui Wu, Hanzhi Zhang and Menghan Zhang. Phylogenetic insight into the origin of tones [J]. Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences, 2023, 290: 20230606.
This study used phylogenetic comparative analyses to assess the likelihood of different hypotheses of tonogenetic mechanisms across Sino-Tibetan languages, of which approximately 70% are tonal. The results showed that the presence of tones has a strong phylogenetic pattern and that Proto-Sino-Tibetan languages were most likely non-tonal. The findings identified that tonal origin was strongly associated with the evolution of specific phonological structures, such as the loss of syllable-final consonants and voice quality on vowels. Furthermore, the study found that tonal origin probably did not influence the diversification rates of Sino-Tibetan languages. These findings enabled us to better understand that tone arose as a compensatory mechanism for the structural organization and evolution of languages.
4. Dan Xu. Intertwined model of syntactic borrowing in the Gansu-Qinghai linguistic area [J]. Himalayan Linguistics, vol. 20(3), 146-168.
Accusative-dative, a syncretic case largely attested in Sinitic languages, is also found in Bao’an and Tu, even if in very limited use. The Sinitic languages have acquired this syncretic case marking through pattern reduplication due to language contact, while Bao’an and Tu have this innovation owing to the internal mechanisms of their language. Linxia City should be the spreading center of these new syntactic devices, and Muslim populations speaking different languages may form a spreading net.
5. Dan Xu. Dongci ‘you’ de mouxie yongfa zai beifang hanyu li de lishi yanbian [Evolution of the verb ‘to have’ in Northern Chinese]. Dangdai Yuyanxue [Contemporary Linguistics][J] . 2022. 6, 796-815.
Through the evolution of the verb ‘to have’, the paper analyzes why the influence of the Mongolian language on both the northwestern and central regions of China during the 13th century has had such different consequences. The Chinese dialects of Gansu and Qinghai have been affected not merely by a single language, or even by a single group of languages, but rather by the interaction of multiple languages of different families. The non-Han populations inhabiting the Central Plain have been fully Sinicized while both the Han and non-Han populations of the Northwest have been mutually influenced by bidirectional or even multidirectional assimilation.
For more details, please read the section Publications.
This research focuses on the ancestry shares among hunter-gatherers from Northern East Asia, the Yamnaya Steppe pastoralists, and Mongolic and Tungstic-speaking population, solving the admixture history and population structure in the interaction area of East Asia and Central Asia especially and fixing the lack of ancient DNA data and sparse sampling of present-day people and the deep population history of East Asia remains. These ancient East Asians’ genetic contributions have also influenced the formation of neighboring Mongolian and Turkic populations. The Yellow River Neolithic farmers’ contribution to Northwest China is very significant.
2. Wen SQ et al. Ancient Genome of Empress Ashina reveals the Northeast Asian origin of Göktürk Khanate [J]. Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 2023. 01.
The Turkic-speaking population originating from the Mongolian Plateau exerted a substantial influence during the past. The paper found that Ashina exhibited the highest genetic resemblance to Tungsic and Mongolic Steppe pastoralist populations in Northeast Asia, such as Rouran, Xianbei, Khitan, and Heshui Mohe, during the post-Iron Age period. However, the impact of the Ashina individual on the present-day population in the Gansu and Qinghai regions is relatively minor with a limited genetic relationship. This case of the Ashina clan of the ancient Turkic royal family likely suggests the Turkic language as a cultural transmission rather than a demic one.
3. Baihui Wu, Hanzhi Zhang and Menghan Zhang. Phylogenetic insight into the origin of tones [J]. Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences, 2023, 290: 20230606.
This study used phylogenetic comparative analyses to assess the likelihood of different hypotheses of tonogenetic mechanisms across Sino-Tibetan languages, of which approximately 70% are tonal. The results showed that the presence of tones has a strong phylogenetic pattern and that Proto-Sino-Tibetan languages were most likely non-tonal. The findings identified that tonal origin was strongly associated with the evolution of specific phonological structures, such as the loss of syllable-final consonants and voice quality on vowels. Furthermore, the study found that tonal origin probably did not influence the diversification rates of Sino-Tibetan languages. These findings enabled us to better understand that tone arose as a compensatory mechanism for the structural organization and evolution of languages.
4. Dan Xu. Intertwined model of syntactic borrowing in the Gansu-Qinghai linguistic area [J]. Himalayan Linguistics, vol. 20(3), 146-168.
Accusative-dative, a syncretic case largely attested in Sinitic languages, is also found in Bao’an and Tu, even if in very limited use. The Sinitic languages have acquired this syncretic case marking through pattern reduplication due to language contact, while Bao’an and Tu have this innovation owing to the internal mechanisms of their language. Linxia City should be the spreading center of these new syntactic devices, and Muslim populations speaking different languages may form a spreading net.
5. Dan Xu. Dongci ‘you’ de mouxie yongfa zai beifang hanyu li de lishi yanbian [Evolution of the verb ‘to have’ in Northern Chinese]. Dangdai Yuyanxue [Contemporary Linguistics][J] . 2022. 6, 796-815.
Through the evolution of the verb ‘to have’, the paper analyzes why the influence of the Mongolian language on both the northwestern and central regions of China during the 13th century has had such different consequences. The Chinese dialects of Gansu and Qinghai have been affected not merely by a single language, or even by a single group of languages, but rather by the interaction of multiple languages of different families. The non-Han populations inhabiting the Central Plain have been fully Sinicized while both the Han and non-Han populations of the Northwest have been mutually influenced by bidirectional or even multidirectional assimilation.
For more details, please read the section Publications.
1.The Project will for the first time offer a global vision of language and population mixing in the Gansu and Qinghai region in which the West (Central Asia, Western Asia) met the East (Chinese people).
2. The Project will compare different impacts on language loss or preservation through nomadic and agriculturist lifestyles. The study of these contemporary society models will offer valuable clues to the studies of Indo-European language origins founded on farming advance versus those based on steppe migration to Europe, studies of Bantu-speaking-farmers versus hunter-gatherer populations in Africa, and studies of sedentary agriculturist who speak Indo-Iranian languages versus nomadic populations who speak Turkic languages in Central Asia.
3. Assessing the Elite Dominance model (Renfrew 1987) and the Cultural Dominance model (Xu Dan and Wen Shaoqing 2017a) triggering language mixing and replacement.
4.Tracing back the Western Yugur language which belongs to the Easternmost Turkic language group, will shed light on Old Uyghur and Old Turkic.
5. Digitized data on language mixing and mixed languages with quantified criteria, will significantly contribute to research on language contact.
2. The Project will compare different impacts on language loss or preservation through nomadic and agriculturist lifestyles. The study of these contemporary society models will offer valuable clues to the studies of Indo-European language origins founded on farming advance versus those based on steppe migration to Europe, studies of Bantu-speaking-farmers versus hunter-gatherer populations in Africa, and studies of sedentary agriculturist who speak Indo-Iranian languages versus nomadic populations who speak Turkic languages in Central Asia.
3. Assessing the Elite Dominance model (Renfrew 1987) and the Cultural Dominance model (Xu Dan and Wen Shaoqing 2017a) triggering language mixing and replacement.
4.Tracing back the Western Yugur language which belongs to the Easternmost Turkic language group, will shed light on Old Uyghur and Old Turkic.
5. Digitized data on language mixing and mixed languages with quantified criteria, will significantly contribute to research on language contact.