Papers by Ruiqing Shen
Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale, 2025
By examining the reflexes of the Old Chinese *-ɨ rhyme in Proto-Northern-Min and Proto-Coastal-Mi... more By examining the reflexes of the Old Chinese *-ɨ rhyme in Proto-Northern-Min and Proto-Coastal-Min, this paper argues that Proto-Min reflects an undifferentiated oc *-ɨ, prior to the split into the zhi (之) and hai (咍) rhyme groups in Middle Chinese. We demonstrate that the distinctions between the Northern and Coastal branches arose from divergent developments conditioned by the initial consonants. Building on this analysis, we propose a new reconstruction of the Proto-Min central vowels. Furthermore,
our data reveals a significant proximity between the Chuqu dialect of Wu and Coastal Min. These findings challenge the prevailing hypothesis that modern Wu and Min dialects descend from the Southern Dynasties Wu dialect, providing instead evidence for an earlier divergence of the Min branches.
汉语历史音韵学手册, 2024
本文首先从源头追溯“等”跟“等韵”两个概念的关系以及从“等”到“等韵”的概念演变（第二部分），然后评述这两个概念跟中古音构拟的关系（第三部分），总结“等韵”在汉语方言中的表现（第四部分），最后介... more 本文首先从源头追溯“等”跟“等韵”两个概念的关系以及从“等”到“等韵”的概念演变（第二部分），然后评述这两个概念跟中古音构拟的关系（第三部分），总结“等韵”在汉语方言中的表现（第四部分），最后介绍“等韵”在上古音构拟中的共识与争议（第五部分）。
方言, 2024
The paper describes the phonological system of the Huangkeng dialect in Jianyang district in Nanp... more The paper describes the phonological system of the Huangkeng dialect in Jianyang district in Nanping city, Fujian province, distributed in the Jianyang sub-cluster of Northern Min cluster of Min dialect, and lists the homophony syllabary.
Grammatical Phenomena of Sino-Tibetan Languages 6, 2024
The hypothesis that "modern Wu, Min dialects are both derived from Wu dialect of the Southern dyn... more The hypothesis that "modern Wu, Min dialects are both derived from Wu dialect of the Southern dynasties or Jiangdong Fangyan" has received wide acceptance since it was proposed by Norman (1983) and Ding (1988). However, the hypothesis is largely based on evidences of shared retention rather than shared innovation. While the previous evidence can demonstrate that modern Wu, Min dialects are closely related to Wu dialect of the Southern dynasties, they are not sufficient to portray the exact genetic relationship among them. In this paper, we reexamined the hypothesis according to some linguistic innovations attested in Wu dialect of the Southern dynasties, namely the lexical replacement in the pronoun system involving 'he/she', 'Plural for Personal Pronoun', 'That', 'How (heavy)', and 'What'. It is found that while the innovative pronoun forms are attested in modern Wu dialect as well as in the Coastal subgroup of Min dialect (Coastal Min), they are totally absent in the Inland subgroup of Min dialect (Inland Min). Furthermore, the unique forms attested in Inland Min can be traced to a very early stage and cannot be explained by later influence from its linguistic neighbor, namely Gan dialect. Based on the new evidence, we propose a new model on the genetic relationship among modern Wu, Min dialects and Wu dialect of Southern dynasties. While modern Wu and Coastal Min are derived from Wu dialect of the Southern dynasties, Inland Min is rather a sister branch of Wu dialect of the Southern dynasties which has diverged at an earlier stage. Also, the new hypothesis is supported by the following migration patterns in Fujian: 1) The coastal and inland areas of Fujian have developed separately before the Tang dynasty. 2) The inland area of Fujian has developed much earlier than the coastal area (see Bielenstein 1959, Wu 2009 among others).
语言学论丛, 2024
This paper discusses the sound change of the word ‘big’ in Chinese. Section 1 focuses on the rele... more This paper discusses the sound change of the word ‘big’ in Chinese. Section 1 focuses on the relevant texts that refl ex the pronunciation of ‘big’ before the Tang dynasty. The following facts have been observed:
(1) There is no evidence in rhyming or textual materials to support the association of ‘big’ with the Ge (歌) rhyme before Qin-Han period. (2) The character ‘杕’ for the word ‘ruddle’ was created based on the Huainan dialect in the Han dynasty. (3) In terms of sound glosses, ‘big’ was classifi ed to the Ge (歌) rhyme by Guo Pu and Liu Chang zong. (4) The *a rhyme of ‘big’ in the translation of Dirghagama-sutra is due to its pronunciation in the Northwestern dialect in the the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Section 2 analyzes the three sound types of ‘big’ in Chinese dialects, namely (1) with non-Thai (泰) rhyme, (2) with Thai (泰) rhyme but not Ge (歌) rhyme, and (3) either with Thai (泰) rhyme or Ge (歌) rhyme. Based on the discussion in Sections 1 and 2, Section 3 proposes the relationship between texts and dialects in terms of the pronunciation of ‘big’: (1) The pronunciation of ‘big’ in Min, Hakka, and Yue is likely to be related to the Huainan dialect in the Han dynasty; (2) The pronunciation of ‘big’ in Xiang and Gan is related to the lingua franca before the Tang-Song period; (3) The pronunciation of ‘big’ in Mandarin is related to the lingua franca after the Yuan dynasty. A hypothesis that the Ge (歌) rhyme pronunciation of ‘big’ originated from
pseudo-literary pronunciation has also been proposed. Section 4 concludes with a discussion of related theoretical issues.
Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics 16(1), 2023
Both Chuqu Wu and Min have preserved a distinction in Old Chinese between Ge Rhyme group and Zhi ... more Both Chuqu Wu and Min have preserved a distinction in Old Chinese between Ge Rhyme group and Zhi Rhyme group (merged as Zhi Yun in Middle Chinese). Furthermore, in both Chuqu Wu and Min, some words of Ge Rhyme group merge into Wei Rhyme group, a phenomenon named as “Ge Kai San Ru Wei” in this paper. This paper is organized as follows. Firstly, “Ge Kai San Ru Wei” in Chuqu Wu, Coastal Min and Inland Min have been examined in details. It is found that although “Ge Kai San Ru Wei” exist in both, Chuqu Wu and Min differ in terms of Initial consonant. Secondly, the “Ge Kai San Ru Wei” in ancient text has been examined. Both the evidence of rhyming and characters based on dialect pronounciation indicate that this is a phenomenon in Ancient Chu dialect. In conclusion, I propose that the “Ge Kai San Ru Wei” with K type Initials is a shared innovation by modern Wu dialect and Ancient Chu dialect, while the “Ge Kai San Ru Wei” with P type Initials in Min dialect is another unrelated innovation. Therefore, this paper challenges the well-received hypothesis that both Wu and Min are descendents of Ancient Wu in the Southern Dynasties.
Language & Linguistics, 2023
The paper aims to provide a better explanation for denasalization in Southern Min. Firstly, this ... more The paper aims to provide a better explanation for denasalization in Southern Min. Firstly, this paper illustrates that the lexical conditions of denasalization is correlated with the lexical conditions of tonal bipartition in Southern Min. The correlations can only be explained by a stage when both voiceless vs. voiced nasal consonants exist; in other words, denasalization occurs before the merger of voiceless and voiced nasals. Secondly, this paper proposes that denasalization in Southern Min follows the general pattern of denasalization sound change: it occurs after the appearance of nasalized vowels, and devoicing of the voiced stops. The condition and relative order of some related sound changes have also been worked out. Lastly, this paper concludes with a list of morphemes which can be reconstructed as voiceless sonorants in Proto-Coastal-Min and discusses its relationship with Hakka.
The Palgrave Handbook of Chinese Language Studies, 2021
This chapter discusses interaction between Min and other Sinitic languages, with a focus on genet... more This chapter discusses interaction between Min and other Sinitic languages, with a focus on genetic inheritance and areal patterns. The first section is a general introduction to the Min group and its internal classification. The second section reviews studies on interactions between Min and four other Sinitic groupings, namely, Wu, Hakka, Waxiang, and Gan. It is demonstrated that while all four share certain lexical and/or phonological features with Min, these commonalities are of different kinds. The interaction between Min and Gan involves contactinduced areal patterns. In the other cases, while genetic inheritance is a factor, features shared between Min andWaxiang are most likely due to shared retention, while those shared between Min and Southwestern Wu and between Min and Hakka include some shared innovations as well. The last section discusses implications for the linguistic history of Min and directions for future studies.
Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics, 2019
Based on materials collected during recent field trips, this paper presents a detailed descriptio... more Based on materials collected during recent field trips, this paper presents a detailed description of the variety spoken in Huangkeng Town, Jianyang County, Fujian Province, China. Although the synchronic phonology of Huangkeng is quite different from other Northern Min varieties, this study shows that the genetic position of Huangkeng belongs to Northern Min. After a thorough comparison between Huangkeng and Proto-Northern-Min and a careful distinction between innovations and retentions, this study argues that Huangkeng is the earliest descendant of Northern Min, and bears a sister relationship with Proto-Northern-Min (PNM), ancestor of all other known Northern Min
varieties. Then, the reconstruction of Early-Northern-Min (ENM), which is the ancestor of both Huangkeng and PNM, and a comparison between the phonological structure of ENM with that of PNM are presented. After a brief discussion on the nature of Huangkeng vocabulary, this paper concludes with a discussion on how the case study of Huangkeng shed some new lights on the methodological issue in Chinese dialectology.
Journal of Language Relationship, 2019
The invention of the Ancient Chinese Writing System (henceforth ACWS) is a significant event in w... more The invention of the Ancient Chinese Writing System (henceforth ACWS) is a significant event in world history. In this paper I put forward a hypothesis on the co-evolution of the Old Chinese language and its writing system (ACWS). I argue that the invention of ACWS bears a strong correlation with the linguistic evolution, more specifically, the monosyllabicization, of Old Chinese. In other words, ACWS might never be invented if monosyllabicization had not occurred in Chinese. The paper is organized in the following way. First, we discuss the reason why a subsyllabic writing system was not invented for Old Chinese (section 2). Next, we discuss the nature of the rebus principle in ACWS (section 3), and its correlation with morphological alternations (section 4). Then I argue that monosyllabicization of Old Chinese is a precondition for the rebus principle, which is crucial for the birth of ACWS (section 5). Lastly, I discuss the implication of the hypothesis for the study of Old Chinese (section 6).
语言研究集刊（第二十一輯）, 2019
[Abstract] Shaojiang dialects, spoken at Futun River valley and Jin River valley in Fujian, China... more [Abstract] Shaojiang dialects, spoken at Futun River valley and Jin River valley in Fujian, China, have many characteristics that differ from other Chinese dialects. One of the characteristics is the complex tonal pattern.
Based on internal comparison betwee four Shaojiang varieties, and typological pattern of tonal splits from other languages, this paper argues that: (1) The complex tonal pattern of Shaojiang dialects could not be explained by morphological tones or language contact. (2) It could only be expained by historical tonal splits similar to those occur in Kra-Dai and Hmong-Mien languages. Both voiced and voiceless sonorants need to be reconstructed for Early Shaojiang. (3) Shaojiang dialects belong to the Inland subgroup of Min dialects. The two series of sonorants (voiced and voiceless) of Early Shaojiang were inherited from Common Min.
Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics , 2016
This paper has confirmed five falling contours in the Jianyang variety of Northern Min, {62, 52, ... more This paper has confirmed five falling contours in the Jianyang variety of Northern Min, {62, 52, 54, 43, 32}, which are typologically identified as High-Falling in Rg U, High-Falling in Rg M, Slight-Falling-H, Slight-Falling-L, and Pure Low Tone. The finding of this extreme case of falling contours has enriched the universal tonal inventory by adding two falling tonotypes: High-Falling in Rg U and Slight-Falling-L.
Old Chinese Writing and Comparative Historical Linguistics. Shanghai: Fudan Press., 2017
Whether Middle Chinese (here forth MC) *j- has more than one origin has been a highly controversi... more Whether Middle Chinese (here forth MC) *j- has more than one origin has been a highly controversial question in the field of Chinese historical phonology. Recently, Baxter-Sagart's new Old Chinese reconstruction (Baxter & Sagart 2014, here forth B&S) has brought this question into attention again by proposing two distinct origins for MC *j, one from Old Chinese lateral **l- (alternates with MC *d-) and another from Old Chinese uvular **ɢ- (alternates with MC *k-) respectively.
In this paper, I aim to approach this question based on writing evidences from excavated texts. After examining several minimal pairs between Old Chines **l- and **ɢ- proposed by B&S, I observe that evidences from Old Chinese writing do not support the separation of these two categories. Rather, direct alternations between MC*d- and MC *k- are also found for certain words, usually also involves MC *j-. Putting these evidences together, the writing evidences from excavated texts suggest that there may be only one single origin of MC *j-, and they form a large category together with some words of MC *d-, *k-. However, the issue of reconstruction needs further studies.
Děng 等 ‘rank’, ‘division’ is a central concept in Chinese historical phonology. However, the inte... more Děng 等 ‘rank’, ‘division’ is a central concept in Chinese historical phonology. However, the interpretation of rank and the reconstruction of division remain major points of controversy. The former is part of the broader debate on the place of Chinese rime tables in Chinese linguistic history, and the latter is part of the ongoing enterprise of reconstructing Middle Chinese and Old Chinese phonology.
Fang Yan, 2014
This paper provides the first acoustic description of the tonal system of Shibei Min, a Northern ... more This paper provides the first acoustic description of the tonal system of Shibei Min, a Northern Min Chinese variety. Shibei Min has an extremely complex tonal system with nine non-stopped tones. Theses nine tones fall into two natural classes and could be represented better in the RL model. In previous studies, some tonal contrast was described as voicing contrast of initial consonants. Based on acoustic results, we argue that the main phonetic difference is not voicing, but syllable-level phonation-type contrast in word-initial position, and consonant closure duration in word-medial position.
高山流水：郑张尚芳教授八十寿诞庆祝文集, Jul 31, 2014
The reconstruction of the syllable Chi 翅 has long been a puzzle to students of Chinese historica... more The reconstruction of the syllable Chi 翅 has long been a puzzle to students of Chinese historical phonology. The character was used in early Chinese transliterations to transcribe an Indic form with initial *k-, while it was recorded with initial <S>- in Middle Chinese. In this paper, I have proposed a hypothesis that the graph Chi翅 was initially invented for a word for ‘wing’ with initial *k-. When this word was replaced by another word with initial <S>-, the graph remained the same. Therefore, a mismatch between word and character prevents us from recognizing the early form, which is retained as a literary reading of the graph ji 翨. Furthermore, the early form still exists in modern Chinese dialects such as Northern Guangdong Tu Vernacular 粤北土话 and Northern Wu 北部吴语. The modern forms with initial t- are also derived from a further palatalized form of the etymon for ‘wing’ with initial *k-.
第十八届国际粤方言研讨会论文集, Sep 2015
This paper focuses on the phonetic nature and path of evolution of Cantonese short-long stopped t... more This paper focuses on the phonetic nature and path of evolution of Cantonese short-long stopped tones. Firstly, the phonetic nature of Cantonese stopped tones is explored in light of recent tonal acoustic studies. Secondly, drawing on examples from other Southeast Asian languages, an asymmetry of pitch differences is shown to exist in languages with both short and long stopped tones: the ‘short-high VS long-low’ pattern is much more common than the ‘short-low VS long-high’ one. An evolutionary perspective on this synchronic asymmetry is proposed, in light of (i) Ohala's (1981) listener-based perspective on sound change and hypercorrections, and (ii) facts pointing to an evolutionary path from ‘short VS long’ to ‘high VS low’. Finally, the dating of pitch splitting of Cantonese Yin Ru tone is discussed, as well as the issue to what extent the similarity of the stopped tone between Cantonese and Tai languages is due to substratum, recent influence, or parallel evolution.
[Keywords] long and short vowel, stopped tones, tonal evolution, hyper-correction
Exploring Phonetic Properties of Northern Min: A Case Study of Shibei
This study seeks to describe and analyze the phonetic properties of Shibei variety of Northern Mi... more This study seeks to describe and analyze the phonetic properties of Shibei variety of Northern Min Chinese, and demonstrate how an acoustic analysis may be done to the tonal system and segmental phonology of a Chinese dialect. The study gives a detailed analysis of the complex tonal system in Shibei, with its nine non-stopped tones contrasting in pitch contour, duration and phonation type. An investigation into the segmental phonemes includes measurement of VOT, plotting of vowel charts and discussion on typologically unusual variations and contrasts.
Conference Presentations by Ruiqing Shen
Poster presented at the 4th International Workshop on Sound Change (WSC-4), the University of Edi... more Poster presented at the 4th International Workshop on Sound Change (WSC-4), the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, 20-22, Apr. 2017.
poster presented at the 17th Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology, 2018
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Papers by Ruiqing Shen
our data reveals a significant proximity between the Chuqu dialect of Wu and Coastal Min. These findings challenge the prevailing hypothesis that modern Wu and Min dialects descend from the Southern Dynasties Wu dialect, providing instead evidence for an earlier divergence of the Min branches.
(1) There is no evidence in rhyming or textual materials to support the association of ‘big’ with the Ge (歌) rhyme before Qin-Han period. (2) The character ‘杕’ for the word ‘ruddle’ was created based on the Huainan dialect in the Han dynasty. (3) In terms of sound glosses, ‘big’ was classifi ed to the Ge (歌) rhyme by Guo Pu and Liu Chang zong. (4) The *a rhyme of ‘big’ in the translation of Dirghagama-sutra is due to its pronunciation in the Northwestern dialect in the the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Section 2 analyzes the three sound types of ‘big’ in Chinese dialects, namely (1) with non-Thai (泰) rhyme, (2) with Thai (泰) rhyme but not Ge (歌) rhyme, and (3) either with Thai (泰) rhyme or Ge (歌) rhyme. Based on the discussion in Sections 1 and 2, Section 3 proposes the relationship between texts and dialects in terms of the pronunciation of ‘big’: (1) The pronunciation of ‘big’ in Min, Hakka, and Yue is likely to be related to the Huainan dialect in the Han dynasty; (2) The pronunciation of ‘big’ in Xiang and Gan is related to the lingua franca before the Tang-Song period; (3) The pronunciation of ‘big’ in Mandarin is related to the lingua franca after the Yuan dynasty. A hypothesis that the Ge (歌) rhyme pronunciation of ‘big’ originated from
pseudo-literary pronunciation has also been proposed. Section 4 concludes with a discussion of related theoretical issues.
varieties. Then, the reconstruction of Early-Northern-Min (ENM), which is the ancestor of both Huangkeng and PNM, and a comparison between the phonological structure of ENM with that of PNM are presented. After a brief discussion on the nature of Huangkeng vocabulary, this paper concludes with a discussion on how the case study of Huangkeng shed some new lights on the methodological issue in Chinese dialectology.
Based on internal comparison betwee four Shaojiang varieties, and typological pattern of tonal splits from other languages, this paper argues that: (1) The complex tonal pattern of Shaojiang dialects could not be explained by morphological tones or language contact. (2) It could only be expained by historical tonal splits similar to those occur in Kra-Dai and Hmong-Mien languages. Both voiced and voiceless sonorants need to be reconstructed for Early Shaojiang. (3) Shaojiang dialects belong to the Inland subgroup of Min dialects. The two series of sonorants (voiced and voiceless) of Early Shaojiang were inherited from Common Min.
In this paper, I aim to approach this question based on writing evidences from excavated texts. After examining several minimal pairs between Old Chines **l- and **ɢ- proposed by B&S, I observe that evidences from Old Chinese writing do not support the separation of these two categories. Rather, direct alternations between MC*d- and MC *k- are also found for certain words, usually also involves MC *j-. Putting these evidences together, the writing evidences from excavated texts suggest that there may be only one single origin of MC *j-, and they form a large category together with some words of MC *d-, *k-. However, the issue of reconstruction needs further studies.
[Keywords] long and short vowel, stopped tones, tonal evolution, hyper-correction
Conference Presentations by Ruiqing Shen