Linguistic Mysteries of Ethnonyms in Inner Asia
Linguistic Mysteries of Ethnonyms in Inner Asia

Author: Penglin Wang

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2018-03-28

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1498535283

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In Linguistic Mysteries of Ethnonyms in Inner Asia, Penglin Wang focuses on semantics as a central theme in onomastics and strives to unravel the origin and meaning of a series of influential ethnonyms such as Xianbei, Rouran, Tabγač, Tatar, Shiwei, Mongol, Merkid, Nüzhen, Jušen, and Nikan. Since much of modern research has dealt with issues of Inner Asian ethnonyms within a regional framework, Wang’s exploration of the early Indo-European and Altaic influence on the ethnonymic designations of Mongol-Tungusic and Turkic groups opens up a new horizon for transcontinental approaches, which represent an important thrust in Inner Asian and Eurasian studies. Wang has based this comprehensive study on textual, cross-linguistic, and patterned analysis of the ethnonyms found primarily in ancient Chinese sources.

Ancient Texts and Languages of Ethnic Groups Along the Silk Road
Ancient Texts and Languages of Ethnic Groups Along the Silk Road

Author: Johannes Reckel

Publisher: Universitätsverlag Göttingen

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 3863954890

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Central Asia has been dominated by Mongolian and Turkic speaking nations for the past 1300 years. Uyghurs and Uzbeks were the most important traders on the Central Asian Silk Roads. Earlier Sogdians and Tokharians and other ethnic groups speaking Indo-Germanic (Indo-Iranian) languages were active on these ancient trade routes. In the 18th and 19th century a Tungus language, Manchu, became important for Sinkiang, Mongolia and the whole of China. Expansion policy of different realms, comprehensive commercial activities and the spread of religious ideas facilitated the exchange of (cultural) knowledge along the Silk Road. Texts and scripts tell us not only about the different groups that were in contact, but also reflect details of diplomatic, religious, and economic ambitions and the languages that were used for these different forms of communication. Several examples of contact induced language change or specific linguistic influence as a result of contacts along the Silk Road invite us to understand more about the frequency, intensity and intention of contacts that took place in very different regions connected by the Silk Road.

The Role of the Romanies
The Role of the Romanies

Author: Nicholas Saul

Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Published: 2005-01-01

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9780853236894

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Since the arrival of the "Gypsies," or Romanies, in Europe at the beginning of the eleventh century, Europeans have simultaneously feared and romanticized them. That ambiguity has contributed to centuries of confusion over the origins, culture, and identity of the Romanies, a confusion that too often has resulted in marginalization, persecution, and scapegoating. The Role of the Romaniesbrings together international experts on Romany culture from the fields of history, sociology, linguistics, and anthropology to address the many questions and problems raised by the vexed relationship between Romany and European cultures. The book's first section considers the genesis, development, and scope of the field of Romany studies, while the second part expands from there to consider constructions of Romany culture and identity. Part three focuses on twentieth-century literary representations of Romany life, while the final part considers how the role of the Romanies will ultimately be remembered and recorded. Together, the essays provide an absorbing portrait of a frequently misunderstood people.

Indo-European Language and Culture
Indo-European Language and Culture

Author: Benjamin W. Fortson, IV

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-09-07

Total Pages: 570

ISBN-13: 1444359681

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This revised and expanded edition provides a comprehensive overview of comparative Indo-European linguistics and the branches of the Indo-European language family, covering both linguistic and cultural material. Now offering even greater coverage than the first edition, it is the definitive introduction to the field. Updated, corrected, and expanded edition, containing new illustrations of selected texts and inscriptions, and text samples with translations and etymological commentary Extensively covers individual histories of both ancient and modern languages of the Indo-European family Provides an overview of Proto-Indo-European culture, society, and language Designed for use in courses, with exercises and suggestions for further reading included in each chapter Includes maps, a glossary, a bibliography, and comprehensive word and subject indexes

Advances in Proto-Basque Reconstruction with Evidence for the Proto-Indo-European-Euskarian Hypothesis
Advances in Proto-Basque Reconstruction with Evidence for the Proto-Indo-European-Euskarian Hypothesis

Author: Juliette Blevins

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-09-03

Total Pages: 444

ISBN-13: 042900026X

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This book presents a new reconstruction of Proto-Basque, the mother language of modern Basque varieties, historical Basque, and Aquitanian, grounded in traditional methods of historical linguistics. Building on a long tradition of Basque scholarship, the comparative method and internal reconstruction, informed by the phonetic bases of sound change and phonological typology, are used to explain previously underappreciated alternations and asymmetries in Basque sound patterns, resulting in a radically new view of the proto-language. The comparative method is then used to compare this new Proto-Basque with Proto-Indo-European, revealing regular sound correspondences in basic vocabulary and grammatical formatives. Evaluation of these results supports a distant genetic relationship between Proto-Basque and Proto-Indo-European, and offers new insights into specific linguistic properties of these two ancient languages. This comprehensive volume, which includes a detailed appendix including Proto-Basque/Proto-Indo-European cognate sets, will be of general interest to linguists, archeologists, historians, and geneticists, and of particular interest to scholars in historical linguistics, phonetics and phonology, language change, and Basque and Indo-European studies. Errata for the book can be found at: https://julietteblevins.ws.gc.cuny.edu/proto-basque/

Islamization and Native Religion in the Golden Horde
Islamization and Native Religion in the Golden Horde

Author: Devin DeWeese

Publisher: Penn State Press

Published: 2010-11-01

Total Pages: 661

ISBN-13: 0271044454

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This book is the first substantial study of Islamization in any part of Inner Asia from any perspective and the first to emphasize conversion narratives as important sources for understanding the dynamics of Islamization. Challenging the prevailing notions of the nature of Islam in Inner Asia, it explores how conversion to Islam was woven together with indigenous Inner Asian religious values and thereby incorporated as a central and defining element in popular discourse about communal origins and identity. The book traces the many echoes of a single conversion narrative through six centuries, the previously unknown recounting of the dramatic &"contest&" in which the khan &Özbek adopted Islam at the behest of a Sufi saint named Baba T&ükles. DeWeese provides the English-language translation of this and another text as well as translations and analyses of a wide range of passages from historical sources and epic and folkloric materials. Not only does this study deepen our understanding of the peoples of Central Asia, involved in so much turmoil today, but it also provides a model for other scholars to emulate in looking at the process of Islamization and communal religious conversion in general as it occurred elsewhere in the world.

Studies in Medieval Inner Asia
Studies in Medieval Inner Asia

Author: Denis Sinor

Publisher: Variorum Publishing

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13:

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This latest collection of studies by Denis Sinor well illustrates the author's expertise in dealing with the vast scope of Inner Asian history, drawing on sources from Chinese to Latin, and ranging widely in time and place. The first section focuses on the eastern sphere, in particular the history of the Türk Empire, and also includes a hitherto unpublished study of the Uighur Empire of Mongolia; the following one is concerned with the impact of the steppe peoples to the West, in Europe, and with Latin sources for Inner Asia. The final group of papers looks at aspects of the customs and civilisation of these 'greedy Barbarians'; on the one hand, for instance, their diplomatic practices and use of interpreters, on the other, the custom of scalping.