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Japhug
IPA: [kɯrɯ skɤt]
PronunciationIPA: [tɕɤpʰɯ]
Native to China
Region Sichuan
Language codes
ISO 639-3(included in Jiarong [jya])
Glottolog japh1234

Japhug is a Gyalrong 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]; Tibetan: ja phug; Chinese: 茶堡; pinyin: Chápù) 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 Gyalrong use this name to refer to the whole Japhug-speaking area.

Phonology

Japhug is the only toneless Gyalrong 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 ᶯɖʐ ᶮdʑ ᶮɟ ᵑɡ ᶰɢ
voiced b d dz ɟ ɡ
voiceless p t ts c k q
aspirated tsʰ tʂʰ tɕʰ
Continuant voiced w l z ʐ ʑ j ɣ ʁ
voiceless ɬ s ʂ ɕ x χ
Trill r

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 is 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