Comparative phonology of Guangxi Yue dialects By Nobuhisa Tsuji (review)

BOOK NOTICES 243 Ugrian collections cited. Next, BN deals with deliberate word deformation, applying phonetic change in order to 'mislead the bear'. The third section is devoted to word formation; here BN contends that the secret vocabulary of the cult contains no new coinages, but that partially changed words, introduced by special suffixes used only in the context of bear-related events, form a large part of the taboo vocabulary. Diminutive suffixes frequently carry the semantic function which ties a particular word to the cult. Nominal or verbal suffixes perform the same task, adding a metaphoric or métonymie charge to the word; thus they cause a change in meaning . Subsequently, BN discusses semantic change, claiming that the number of words which undergo no change is quite low; she shows that the transfer of meaning affects not only individual words, but also compounds and paraphrases. She attributes these changes to linguistic conservatism as well as to innovation. Based on the work of S. Ullmann (Principles of semantics, 1957), BN groups innovations as caused by (a) 'transfer of names', (b) 'transfer of senses', and (c) 'composite changes'. Of these, the majority—approximately 75% of the entire 'special' vocabulary—are ascribed to the transfer of names. A short chapter is devoted to loan words; BN states that although these frequently appear within the different branches ofOb-Ugrian, they are not found in the general vocabulary, since their information content is limited to the bear cult. While Zyrian and Tatar borrowings occur in the vocabulary of the bear cult, Russian is conspicuously absent. Summarizing her findings , BN concludes that the special vocabulary points to an active bear cult of common ObUgrian origin, reflecting the period ofVogul and Ostyak unity. A brief but useful bibliography refers the reader to the most important literature in this somewhat esoteric field of linguistic research . [MariannaD. Birnbaum, UCLA.] 84-item vocabulary) of Shughni, the main member of the Shughni-Roshani dialect cluster within the Pamir group of Southeast Iranian languages. Shughni has an estimated 40,000 speakers, divided almost equally between the USSR and Afghanistan; Nawata's description is based on work with a single speaker from Sar Chashma (Afghanistan) in 1966. Soviet scholars have not yet published a monograph description of Shughni proper (D. Karam äoev, Badzuvskij dialekt Sugnanskogo jazyka , Dushanbe, 1963, deals with the Bajui subdialect, which N does not include in Shughni). However, grammar sketches of the ShughniRoshani cluster, comparable in scope to N's, exist (V. S. Sokolova, 'Sugnano-ruäanskaja jazykovaja gruppa', in Jazyki narodov SSSR, vol. 1, Moscow, 1966; T. N. Paxalina, Pamirskie jazyki, Moscow, 1969, pp. 12-57), as well as a collection of texts with a substantial Shughni-Russian dictionary (I. I. Zarubin, Sugnanskie teksty i slovar' , Moscow & Leningrad , 1960). N does not mention these in his list ofprevious works (pp. 2-3). Comparison ofN's data with Soviet sources shows agreement down to fine details on some points, e.g. the consonant system and the morphology of irregular verbs. But there are also some discrepancies: N gives a five-vowel system, without phonemic length, whereas the Soviet sources give seven long-vowel phonemes and three short-vowel phonemes, including such minimal pairs as sêr 'satisfied' vs. ser 'creep!' and nur 'today' vs. nur 'ray of light'. The Soviet sources also list comparative adjective forms and participial forms of verbs, while N does not. One would have preferred N to comment explicitly on these apparent regional differences. His sketch does, however, stand as the only recent account of Shughni grammar in English. [Bernard Comme , USC] Shughni. By Tetsuo Nawata. (Asian and African grammatical manual 17s.) Tokyo: Bunpo Kyodo Kenkyu Project, Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, 1979. Pp. 42. This is a descriptive sketch (phonetics, morphology , some syntax, two brief texts, and an Comparative phonology of Guangxi Yue dialects. By Nobuhisa Tsuji. Tokyo: Kazama Shobo, 1980. Pp. xii, 273. ¥ 15,500. In this revision of his 1977 Cornell dissertation , Tsuji updates Proto-Yue to accommodate the Yue dialects ofGuangxi province, on which he did fieldwork in Hong Kong during 1971-72. He considers this effort a continuation of...