The Tense Vowels in Tangut and Their Origins

Hwang-cherng Gong

Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica

    This paper investigates the phonological alternations between lax and tense vowels from various points of view and studies the functions of these alternations. The study reveals that the tense vowels, which are always short, not only alternate with short and long lax vowels but also with short and long retroflex vowels. This is interpreted as indicating the secondary nature of the tense vowels.

    Another important phenomenon observed is that aspirated voiceless initial consonants alternate with unaspirated voiceless consonants. This is interpreted as the aspirated consonants having lost their aspirations due to the influence of the lost prefix when the lax vowels become tense. It is argued that there was a sort of prefix in Pre-Tangut which was dropped after it had exerted its influence on the following consonants. The comparative study of Tangut and other Tibeto-Burman languages, especially Written Tibetan, reveals that the lost prefix was *s-.

Keywords: Tangut, tense vowels, internal reconstruction, historical comparative study