Erjie: Difference between revisions

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'''Erjie''' is an [[w:Indo-European|Indo-European]] language spoken by the Erjie people, who mainly live in the provinces of [[w:Qinghai|Qinghai]] and [[w:Gansu|Gansu]] in Northwestern [[w:China|China]]. It is the sole extant member of the [[w:Tocharian Languages|Tocharian]] branch of [[w:Indo-European|Indo-European]]. The Erjie number about 3200 people, about 2000 (2023) speak the Erjie language; around 800 are primarily monolingual, while many speak Mandarin and/or Amdo Tibetan to a degree of fluency. While a pinyin-based writing system has been devised, Erjie is not often written by speakers and primarily exists as a spoken language.

According to Erjie tradition, the Erjie are the descendants of the [[w:Tocharians|Tocharian speaking tribes]] of the [[w:Tarim Basin|Tarim Basin]]. During periods of the [[w:Uyghur Khaganate|Uyghur Khaganate]] and [[w:Tang Dynasty|Tang dynasty]], these tribesmen migrated from the Tarim Basin and dwelt within China's borders and since then have lived within the Qinghai-Gansu border region. Erjie has considerable influence, both grammatical and lexical, from [[w:Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin Chinese]] and [[w:Amdo Tibetan|Amdo Tibetan]].

According to Erjie tradition, the Erjie are the descendants of the [[w:Tocharians|Tocharian speaking tribes]] of the [[w:Tarim Basin|Tarim Basin]]. During periods of the [[w:Uyghur Khaganate|Uyghur Khaganate]] and [[w:Tang Dynasty|Tang dynasty]], these tribesmen migrated from the Tarim Basin and dwelt within China's borders and since then have lived within the Qinghai-Gansu border region. Erjie has considerable influence, both grammatical and lexical, from [[w:Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin Chinese]] and [[w:Amdo Tibetan|Amdo Tibetan]]. It is also a part of the broader [[w:Qinghai–Gansu_sprachbund|Qinghai-Gansu/Amdo sprachbund]], characterized by many features that differ greatly from surrounding languages, such as [[w:Subject–object–verb_word_order|SOV word order]], [[w:Grammatical_case|case marking]] and a lack of [[w:w:Tone_(linguistics)|lexical tone]].

==Phonology==

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|}

== Grammar ==

===Morphology===

Erjie is [[w:Agglutination|agglutinative]] and mainly [[w:Suffix|suffixing]], although there are a small number of [[w:Prefix|prefixes]]. Erjie has lost a significant portion of its [[w:Inflection|inflectional morphology]] which was present in the [[w:Tocharian_languages|Tocharian languages]], likely due to contact-induced [[w:Morphological leveling|leveling]]. For example, verbs no longer conjugate for [[w:Grammatical_person|person]] or the [[w:Subjunctive_mood|subjunctive]], [[w:Grammatical_gender|gender]] in nouns has been lost, and thus adjectives no longer inflect for [[w:Grammatical_gender|gender]] or even [[w:Grammatical_case|case]]. That being said, Erjie has innovated certain morphological features, such as a future tense suffix and verbal negative suffix which were not present in Tocharian. [[w:Stress_(linguistics)|Lexical stress]] is phonemic, although it is in the process of being replaced by a [[w:Pitch-accent_language|pitch-accent]] system, especially among younger speakers.

===Nouns and Case Marking===

Erjie has seven cases: [[w:nominative_case|nominative]] (unmarked), [[w:Genitive_case|genitive]]-[[w:accusative_case|accusative]], [[w:dative_case|dative]]-[[w:locative_case|locative]], [[w:ablative_case|ablative]], [[w:comitative_case|comitative]], [[w:allative_case|allative]] and [[w:perlative_case|perlative]]-[[w:instrumental_case|instrumental]]. [[w:Object_(grammar)|Direct objects]] are typically marked in the genitive-accusative if they are [[w:Definiteness|definite]], while if they are [[w:Definiteness|indefinite]] they are marked in the nominative combined with the [[w:Article_(grammar)|indefinite article]] ''she''. In addition to case, numerous postpositions exist which may govern any number of cases. There are also limited prepositions which typically exclusively govern the nominative.

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|+Erjie noun cases

|-

! Case !! Suffix !! English preposition

!Example !! Translation

|-

| [[w:nominative_case|nominative]] || – || –

| yeghu || horse

|-

| [[w:Genitive_case|genitive]]-[[w:accusative_case|accusative]] || -ze || (direct object); of

| yeghuze || the horse (as direct object); of (the) horse/(the) horse's

|-

| [[w:dative_case|dative]]-[[w:locative_case|locative]] || -ne || at, in, on, to

| yeghune || on/in (the) horse; to (the) horse (as a recipient/indirect object)

|-

| [[w:ablative_case|ablative]] || -men || from

| yeghumen || from (the) horse

|-

| [[w:comitative_case|comitative]] || -ba || with

| yeghuba || with (e.g. alongside the) horse

|-

| [[w:allative_case|allative]] || -xi || to, toward, into, onto

| yeghuxi || toward/onto (the) horse

|-

| [[w:perlative_case|perlative]]-[[w:instrumental_case|instrumental]] || -za || through, with, via, using, by, over

| yeghuza || with (e.g. by means of the) horse; by horse

|}

==Syntax==

Erjie has a primarily [[w:Subject–object–verb_word_order|SOV]] word order, although it is relatively flexible and may be modified to add emphasis or topic focus.

[[Category:Erjie]]

[[Category:Languages]]

[[Category:Conlangs]]

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 '''Erjie''' is an [[w:Indo-European|Indo-European]] language spoken by the Erjie people, who mainly live in the provinces of [[w:Qinghai|Qinghai]] and [[w:Gansu|Gansu]] in Northwestern [[w:China|China]]. It is the sole extant member of the [[w:Tocharian Languages|Tocharian]] branch of [[w:Indo-European|Indo-European]]. The Erjie number about 3200 people, about 2000 (2023) speak the Erjie language; around 800 are primarily monolingual, while many speak Mandarin and/or Amdo Tibetan to a degree of fluency. While a pinyin-based writing system has been devised, Erjie is not often written by speakers and primarily exists as a spoken language.
-According to Erjie tradition, the Erjie are the descendants of the [[w:Tocharians|Tocharian speaking tribes]] of the [[w:Tarim Basin|Tarim Basin]]. During periods of the [[w:Uyghur Khaganate|Uyghur Khaganate]] and [[w:Tang Dynasty|Tang dynasty]], these tribesmen migrated from the Tarim Basin and dwelt within China's borders and since then have lived within the Qinghai-Gansu border region. Erjie has considerable influence, both grammatical and lexical, from [[w:Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin Chinese]] and [[w:Amdo Tibetan|Amdo Tibetan]].
+According to Erjie tradition, the Erjie are the descendants of the [[w:Tocharians|Tocharian speaking tribes]] of the [[w:Tarim Basin|Tarim Basin]]. During periods of the [[w:Uyghur Khaganate|Uyghur Khaganate]] and [[w:Tang Dynasty|Tang dynasty]], these tribesmen migrated from the Tarim Basin and dwelt within China's borders and since then have lived within the Qinghai-Gansu border region. Erjie has considerable influence, both grammatical and lexical, from [[w:Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin Chinese]] and [[w:Amdo Tibetan|Amdo Tibetan]]. It is also a part of the broader [[w:Qinghai–Gansu_sprachbund|Qinghai-Gansu/Amdo sprachbund]], characterized by many features that differ greatly from surrounding languages, such as [[w:Subject–object–verb_word_order|SOV word order]], [[w:Grammatical_case|case marking]] and a lack of [[w:w:Tone_(linguistics)|lexical tone]].
 ==Phonology==
@@ Line 271: / Line 271: @@
 |}
+== Grammar ==
+===Morphology===
+Erjie is [[w:Agglutination|agglutinative]] and mainly [[w:Suffix|suffixing]], although there are a small number of [[w:Prefix|prefixes]]. Erjie has lost a significant portion of its [[w:Inflection|inflectional morphology]] which was present in the [[w:Tocharian_languages|Tocharian languages]], likely due to contact-induced [[w:Morphological leveling|leveling]]. For example, verbs no longer conjugate for [[w:Grammatical_person|person]] or the [[w:Subjunctive_mood|subjunctive]], [[w:Grammatical_gender|gender]] in nouns has been lost, and thus adjectives no longer inflect for [[w:Grammatical_gender|gender]] or even [[w:Grammatical_case|case]]. That being said, Erjie has innovated certain morphological features, such as a future tense suffix and verbal negative suffix which were not present in Tocharian. [[w:Stress_(linguistics)|Lexical stress]] is phonemic, although it is in the process of being replaced by a [[w:Pitch-accent_language|pitch-accent]] system, especially among younger speakers.
+===Nouns and Case Marking===
+Erjie has seven cases: [[w:nominative_case|nominative]] (unmarked), [[w:Genitive_case|genitive]]-[[w:accusative_case|accusative]], [[w:dative_case|dative]]-[[w:locative_case|locative]], [[w:ablative_case|ablative]], [[w:comitative_case|comitative]], [[w:allative_case|allative]] and [[w:perlative_case|perlative]]-[[w:instrumental_case|instrumental]]. [[w:Object_(grammar)|Direct objects]] are typically marked in the genitive-accusative if they are [[w:Definiteness|definite]], while if they are [[w:Definiteness|indefinite]] they are marked in the nominative combined with the [[w:Article_(grammar)|indefinite article]] ''she''. In addition to case, numerous postpositions exist which may govern any number of cases. There are also limited prepositions which typically exclusively govern the nominative.
+{| class="wikitable"
+|-
+|+Erjie noun cases
+|-
+! Case !! Suffix !! English preposition
+!Example !! Translation
+|-
+| [[w:nominative_case|nominative]] || – || –
+| yeghu || horse
+|-
+| [[w:Genitive_case|genitive]]-[[w:accusative_case|accusative]] || -ze || (direct object); of
+| yeghuze || the horse (as direct object); of (the) horse/(the) horse's
+|-
+| [[w:dative_case|dative]]-[[w:locative_case|locative]] || -ne || at, in, on, to
+| yeghune || on/in (the) horse; to (the) horse (as a recipient/indirect object)
+|-
+| [[w:ablative_case|ablative]] || -men || from
+| yeghumen || from (the) horse
+|-
+| [[w:comitative_case|comitative]] || -ba || with
+| yeghuba || with (e.g. alongside the) horse
+|-
+| [[w:allative_case|allative]] || -xi || to, toward, into, onto
+| yeghuxi || toward/onto (the) horse
+|-
+| [[w:perlative_case|perlative]]-[[w:instrumental_case|instrumental]] || -za || through, with, via, using, by, over
+| yeghuza || with (e.g. by means of the) horse; by horse
+|}
+==Syntax==
+Erjie has a primarily [[w:Subject–object–verb_word_order|SOV]] word order, although it is relatively flexible and may be modified to add emphasis or topic focus.
 [[Category:Erjie]]
 [[Category:Languages]]
 [[Category:Conlangs]]