Books available for review in Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area

BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW IN LTBA

Richard S. Cook

Classical Chinese Combinatorics: Derivation of the Book of Changes Hexagram Sequence

STEDT Monograph 5 (ISBN: 0-944613-44-6), US$100. Publication Date: 2006.

The first and most enigmatic of the Chinese classics is the Book of Changes, and the reasoning behind its binary hexagram sequence remained an unsolved mystery for some 3,000 years (according to the tradition ascribing it to King Wen of Zhou, d. -11th c.). STEDT Monograph 5: Classical Chinese Combinatorics: Derivation of the Book of Changes Hexagram Sequence, by Richard S. Cook, resolves the classical enigma. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the hexagram sequence, showing that its classification of binary sequences demonstrates knowledge of the convergence of certain linear recurrence sequences (LRS; Pingala -5th c.?, Fibonacci 1202) to division in extreme and mean ratio (DEMR, the “Golden Section” irrational; Pythagoras -6th c.?, Euclid -4th c.). It is shown that the complex hexagram sequence encapsulates a careful and ingenious demonstration of the LRS/DEMR relation, that this knowledge results from general combinatorial analysis, and is reflected in elements emphasized in ancient Chinese and Western mathematical traditions. This copiously illustrated 656-page volume presents a detailed introduction of the classical problem, an overview and in-depth derivation of the solution, an extensive terminological glossary, and computer source code formalizing all aspects of the derivations. The conclusion of this work situates the major findings in a larger historical context.

James A Matisoff

Handbook of Proto-Tibeto-Burman: System and Philosophy of Sino-Tibetan Reconstruction

The University of California Press, UC Publications in Linguistics, 135 (ISBN: 0520098439), Cloth $95, £63. Publication Date: July 2003.

This 800-page volume is a clear and readable presentation of the current state of research on the history of the Tibeto-Burman (TB) language family. The exposition is systematic, treating the reconstruction of all the elements of the TB proto-syllable in turn, including initial consonants (Ch. III), prefixes (Ch. IV), monophthongal and diphthongal rhymes (Ch. V), final nasals (Ch. VII), final stops (Ch. VIII), final liquids (Ch. IX), root-final *-s (Ch. X), suffixes (Ch. XI). Particular attention is paid to variational phenomena at all historical levels (e.g. Ch. XII; "Allofamic variation in rhymes"). This Handbook contains reconstructions of over a thousand Tibeto-Burman roots, as well as suggested comparisons with several hundred Chinese etyma. It is liberally indexed and cross-referenced for maximum accessibility and internal consistency. Emphasis is placed on the special theoretical issues involved in historical reconstruction in the East/Southeast Asian linguistic area.

Laurent Sagart

The Roots of Old Chinese

Benjamins, Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 184 , xii, 272 pp., Cloth US$132, EUR 110. Publication Date: 1999.

The phonology, morphology and lexicon of late Zhou Chinese are examined in this volume. It is argued that a proper understanding of Old Chinese morphology is essential in correctly reconstructing the phonology. Based on evidence from word-families, modern dialects and related words in neighboring languages, Old Chinese words are claimed to consist of a monosyllabic root, to which a variety of derivational affixes attached. This made Old Chinese typologically more like modern languages such as Khmer, Gyarong or Atayal, than like Middle and modern Chinese, where only faint traces of the old morphology remain. In the first part of the book, the author proposes improvements to Baxter's system of reconstruction, regarding complex initials and rhymes, and then reviews in great detail the Old Chinese affixal morphology. New proposals on phonology and morphology are integrated into a coherent reconstruction system. The second part of the book consists of etymological studies of important lexical items in Old Chinese. The author demonstrates in particular the role of proportional analogy in the formation of the system of personal pronouns. Special attention is paid to contact phenomena between Chinese and neighboring languages, and — unlike most literature on Sino-Tibetan — the author identifies numerous Chinese loanwords into Tibeto-Burman. The book, which contains a lengthy list of reconstructions, an index of characters and a general index, is intended for linguists and cultural historians, as well as advanced students.