[PLing] Recent Advances in Digital Historical Phonology

[Hannes A. Fellner]

Dear colleagues,

The Department of Linguistics <https://linguistik.univie.ac.at/>, the
Department
of Comparative Literature and Language Studies
<https://evsl.univie.ac.at/en/>, and the Linguistic Society of Vienna
<https://wsg.univie.ac.at/> cordially invite you to the special
International Workers’ Day Workshop

*Recent Advances in Digital Historical Phonology*

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May 1, 15:00-18:00
Department of Linguistics, Lecture Hall 1
Sensengasse 3a
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*The Gandhari source dialect of the early Chinese Buddhist translations *
Dr. Julien Baley, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of
London

Abstract: In recent decades, scholars have increasingly agreed that the
source language of the earliest Chinese Buddhist translations was not
Sanskrit, but rather most likely Gandhari. However, the Gandhari corpus
shows clear signs of dialectal variation, complicating the identification
of a singular “source dialect.” To better understand the phonological
characteristics of the Chinese translations, it is essential to first
explore the Gandhari dialectal landscape and determine which dialect was
the most probable source for these texts. In this study, I apply
computational techniques to identify sound changes in Gandhari, cluster
Gandhari texts into pseudo-dialects based on shared phonological features,
and establish transcription correspondences between these dialects and
their Chinese counterparts. Finally, I identify the Gandhari dialect most
likely used in the Buddhist translations, examine its phonological
characteristics, and explore the implications of these findings for
understanding the timing of certain Chinese sound changes.

*What a Proto-Germanic to Old English transducer teaches us about Germanic
historical phonology*
Prof. Nathan W. Hill, Trinity College Dublin, Head of the School of
Linguistic, Speech and Communication Sciences, Director of the Trinity
Centre for Asian Studies

This paper presents two cases in which implementing a Proto-Germanic to Old
English transducer led to substantive historical-phonological conclusions,
rather than merely illustrating known sound laws. The first is *stefn*/
*stemn* ‘voice’. The Old English evidence points to a local pre-OE input *
*stebn*-, yielding early stebn and then *stefn*, while late West Saxon
stemn is secondary. This does not by itself solve the Proto-Germanic
reconstruction, since the wider Germanic evidence points in different
directions: Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *stebnō, Kroonen gives *stimnō and
discusses *stamnjo, and the daughter languages divide between *-bn-, *-mn-,
and *-mm-. The transducer therefore forces a useful distinction between a
daughter-language transponent and a cross-branch reconstruction. The second
case is *cræft* and *stæf*. Here the Old English outcome adjudicates
between competing stem-class analyses. An *i*-stem input would trigger
*i*-umlaut
and predict *creft*, *stefe*; a *u*-stem input would trigger *a*-restoration
and predict craft; only an *a*-stem input gives the attested *cræft*, *stæf*.
The broader claim is that formal derivation can sharpen reconstruction: Old
English phonology can sometimes decide between otherwise plausible
Proto-Germanic analyses.

Cheers,

HAF

--
Prof. Dr. Hannes A. Fellner <https://homepage.univie.ac.at/hannes.fellner/>

Digital Philology
Department of Comparative Literature and Language Studies
University of Vienna
Universitätsring 1, 1010 Wien

Historical Linguistics
Department of Linguistics
University of Vienna
Sensengasse 3a, 1090 Wien

Data Science @ Uni Vienna
University of Vienna
Kolingasse 14-16, 1090 Wien
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