Japhug language

Japhug
IPA: [kɯrɯ skɤt]
Pronunciation	IPA: [tɕɤpʰɯ]
Native to	China
Region	Sichuan
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Qiangic Rgyalrongic rGyalrong Japhug
Language codes
ISO 639-3	(included in jya)
Glottolog	japh1234

Japhug is a Rgyalrong language spoken in Barkam County, Rngaba, Sichuan, China, in the three townships of Gdong-brgyad (Chinese: 龙尔甲; pinyin: Lóng'rjiǎ, Japhug IPA: [ʁdɯrɟɤt]), Gsar-rdzong (Chinese: 沙尔宗; pinyin: Shā'rzōng, Japhug IPA: [sarndzu]) and Da-tshang (Chinese: 大藏; pinyin: Dàzàng, Japhug IPA: [tatsʰi]).

The endonym of the Japhug language is IPA: [kɯrɯ skɤt]. The name Japhug IPA: [tɕɤpʰɯ] (Chinese: 茶堡; pinyin: Chábǎo) refers in Japhug to the area comprising Gsar-rdzong and Da-tshang, while that of Gdong-brgyad is also known as IPA: [sɤŋu] (Jacques 2004), but speakers of Situ Rgyalrong use this name to refer to the whole Japhug-speaking area.

Phonology

Japhug is the only toneless Rgyalrong language. It has 49 consonants and seven vowels.

Consonants

		Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Retroflex	Alveopalatal	Palatal	Velar	Uvular
Occlusive	nasal	m	n				ɲ	ŋ
	prenasalized	mb	nd	ndz	ndʐ	ndʑ	ɲɟ	ŋg	ɴɢ
	voiced	b	d	dz	dʐ	dʑ	ɟ	g
	voiceless	p	t	ts	tʂ	tɕ	c	k	q
	aspirated	pʰ	tʰ	tsʰ	tʂʰ	tɕʰ	cʰ	kʰ	qʰ
Continuant	voiced	w	l	z	r	ʑ	j	ɣ	ʁ
	voiceless		ɬ	s	ʂ	ɕ		x	χ

The phoneme /w/ has the allophones [β] and [f].

The phoneme /ʁ/ is realized as an epiglottal fricative in the coda or preceding another consonant.

The prenasalized consonants are analyzed as units for two reasons. First, there is a phoneme /ɴɢ/, as in /ɴɢoɕna/ "large spider", but neither /ɴ/ nor /ɢ/ exist as independent phonemes. Second, there are clusters of fricatives and prenasalized voiced stops, as in /ʑmbri/ "willow", but never clusters of fricatives and prenasalized voiceless stops.

Japhug distinguishes between palatal plosives and velar plosive + j sequences, as in /co/ "valley" vs. /kjo/ "drag". These both contrast with alveolo-palatal affricates.

There are at least 339 consonant clusters in Japhug (Jacques 2008:29), more than in Old Tibetan or in most Indo-European languages. Some of these clusters are typologically unusual: in addition to the previously mentioned clusters of fricatives and prenasalized stops, there are clusters where the first element as a semivowel, as in /jla/ "hybrid of a yak and a cow".

Vowels

Japhug has eight vowel phonemes: a, o, u, ɤ, ɯ, y, e and i. The vowel y is attested in only one native word (/qaɟy/ "fish") and its derivatives, but appears in Chinese loanwords.

Grammar

Jacques (2008) is a short grammar and Jacques and Chen (2010) a text collection with interlinear glosses. Other studies on morphosyntax include Jacques (2010) on Direct–inverse marking, Jacques (2012a) on valency (passive, antipassive, anticausative, lability etc.), Jacques (2012b) on incorporation and Jacques (2013) on associated motion.

References

• Jacques, Guillaume, 2004, Phonologie et morphologie du Japhug (rGyalrong), thèse de doctorat, Université Paris VII.
• Jacques, Guillaume, 2007, La réduplication partielle en japhug, révélatrice des structures syllabiques, Faits de langues 29:9-21.
• Jacques, Guillaume, Chen Zhen 陈珍, 2007, « 茶堡话的不及物前缀及相关问题 » [Le suffixe intransitif du japhug et autres problèmes apparentés], Language and Linguistics, 8.4:883-912.
• Jacques, Guillaume, 向柏霖, 2008, 《嘉绒语研究》[A study on the rGyalrong language], Pékin, Minzu chubanshe.
• Jacques, Guillaume 向柏霖 2012. Argument demotion in Japhug Rgyalrong in Gilles Authier, Katharina Haude (eds) Ergativity, Valency and Voice. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 199–225. 2012
• Jacques, Guillaume, Chen Zhen 陈珍, 2010. Une version Rgyalrong de l'épopée de Gesar. Osaka : National Museum of Ethnology.
• Lin Youjing, Luoerwu 2003, « 茶堡嘉戎语大藏话的趋向前缀与动词词干的变化 », 民族語文, 2003.4.