Thoughts on the Etyma for ‘Corpse’ in Gyalrongic Languages

This paper studies the four distinct native terms for ‘corpse’ attested in Gyalrongic languages. Through comparative analysis, it establishes the sound correspondences among cognates and proposes preliminary reconstructions. In a second step, it hypothesises on the origins of the etyma by examining potential cognates in other Sino‐Tibetan languages. Two shared innovations can be found in the etyma for ‘corpse’. First, the Situ form *m‐g[á]m is an innovated compound meaning ‘a person that is killed’; and second, the etymon *rə̆.quʶ is a shared innovation of Horpa and Tangut. By analysing the etymologies above, this paper aims to enhance our understanding of sound correspondences and changes within the Sino‐Tibetan language family. Furthermore, it seeks to demonstrate the crucial role that etymological studies play in historical linguistics and language subgrouping. Despite their importance, such studies have not yet received sufficient attention from scholars specialising in Sino‐Tibetan languages. 本文主要研究嘉绒语组中存在的四个不同的表示“尸体”的本土词汇。通过比较分析，本文确立了同源词之间的语音对应关系，并提出了初步的构拟方案。本文又通过考察其他汉藏语系语言中的潜在同源词，推测这些词根的起源。在表示“尸体”的词汇中，可以发现两个共同创新。首先，四土话形式m‐g[á]m 是一个创新的复合词，意思是“被杀的人”；其次，词根rə̆.quʶ 是霍尔语和西夏语的共同创新。通过分析上述词源，本文旨在加深我们对汉藏语系内部语音对应和变化的理解。此外，本文还希望展示词源研究在历史语言学和语言分群中的关键作用。尽管这些研究至关重要，但尚未受到专门研究汉藏语系的学者们的足够关注。 [Chinese]