Keith Dede | Lewis & Clark College (original) (raw)
Papers by Keith Dede
Linguistics of the TIbeto-Burman Area, 1999
... and Wang corpus of material on Tibetan dialects recently published in China is unavailable in... more ... and Wang corpus of material on Tibetan dialects recently published in China is unavailable in Western languages and therefore difficult for foreign linguists and ... in Qinghai and Gansu provinces for over thirty years, and drawing on our own fieldwork conducted among ...
The first perspective is diachronic, a look at the Chinese language in Qinghai over time. Because... more The first perspective is diachronic, a look at the Chinese language in Qinghai over time. Because there are no sources that provide information about the early stages of the language, I will focus on the questions of when the Chinese language came to be spoken in Qinghai, and from what period the present variety of Chinese used in Qinghai descended. Because these are primarily historical questions, their answers are necessarily derived from historical sources. The second section takes a synchronic perspective, a view of the Chinese language in Qinghai through social and geographic space at the present time. This section will deal with the questions of what kind of Chinese is the Chinese in Qinghai, who uses it, and along what ethnic, geographic and social lines the intemal variations in the language are most strongly associatcd. These are more clearly linguistic and sociolinguistic questions, and the sources with which they are answered, primarily my own research along with essays f...
Báilán, of the Tŭyùhún Kingdom, is an extremely important place name in the ethnic history of anc... more Báilán, of the Tŭyùhún Kingdom, is an extremely important place name in the ethnic history of ancient China. Throughout the more than 900 year medieval period of Chinese history–the Wèi, Jìn, Northern and Southern dynasties, Táng, Sòng, and Yuán eras (third to thirteenthcenturies)–the name Báilán remained in historical materials, demonstrating the name's historical significance. Scholars have discussed the geographic position of Báilán since the 1920s, but no consensus has emerged. In this paper we undertake a comprehensive investigation of the issue. We carried out related field work in Dūlán County and the Qaidam (Cháidámù) area of Hăixī Prefecture, Qīnghăi Province and interviewed knowledgeable elders of the region. We also consulted the results of recent archeological excavations. We advance explanations for the terms 'Báilán Qiāng' and 'Báilán Mountains', and suggest a location of the ancient city of Báilán.
This book contains three novellas originally written in Chinese by the Qinghai author Jing Shi. T... more This book contains three novellas originally written in Chinese by the Qinghai author Jing Shi. The novellas provide a finely textured portrayal of Qinghai rural life in the twentieth century. An introduction and transcribed interview provide context to the stories and their author. From the introduction by Keith Dede: "The wide appeal of Jing Shi's fiction is certainly something he welcomes. As he sees it, literature, at one level, should be entertaining. Stories are a way for people to derive pleasure, enjoy a laugh, and while away some time. But stories are also about communication, about communicating ideas concerning the ironies of life and the trajectory of the human condition. Jing Shi thinks deeply about the people of rural Qinghai, their culture, their predicaments, their hopes, and their tragedies, and his stories communicate his thoughts about these things, but also his deep affection for the people and culture that raised him."
L'A. examine la langue chinoise parlee dans la province de Qinghai selon une perspective diac... more L'A. examine la langue chinoise parlee dans la province de Qinghai selon une perspective diachronique et une perspective synchronique. Il montre ensuite que les dialectes chinois de Qinghai ont ete fortement influences par les langues non-chinoises de la region et tente de determiner la maniere dont cette influence s'est exercee
In the course of offering a review of Zhāng Chéngcái's Ways, this paper describes the syntax ... more In the course of offering a review of Zhāng Chéngcái's Ways, this paper describes the syntax of noun phrases in the Chinese dialect of Huángshuĭ, in Qīnghăi Province. Unlike other Chinese dialects, this dialect employs several postpositions for indicating syntactic nominal relationships. The origin of this phenomenon in contact with non-Sinitic languages in the region and its significance are also explored.
Language and Linguistics, 2015
Negative markers precede the element they negate in the majority of Chinese dialects, including M... more Negative markers precede the element they negate in the majority of Chinese dialects, including Modern Standard Mandarin (MSM). In the Xīníng dialect of Qīnghǎi Province, in addition to negative structures similar to MSM, the negative markers pv ̩ 21 iɔ 13 不要, pv ̩ 21 sɿ 13 不是, and mɔ 21 iɯ 13 沒有 occur at the end of the sentence, negating constituents that occur earlier in the sentence. Moreover, Xīníng negatives have very little freedom of movement; they must come directly beside the predicate nucleus. Xīníng negatives cannot change position and thereby expand the scope and focus of negation as they do in MSM. These word order features are consistent with those of the SOV languages spoken in the same region, suggesting their development in Xīníng is due to language contact.
Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 2006
Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, is an especially valuable location for observing the spr... more Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, is an especially valuable location for observing the spread and influence of Standard Chinese, orPutonghua, for at least two reasons. First, the dialect’s history of contact with non-Sinitic languages, mostly Tibetan and Mongolic languages, created an older linguistic stratum that differs markedly from other Mandarin dialects, indeed with most all Chinese dialects, in clearly identifiable ways, so that comparisons between Standard Chinese and variations within the Xining dialect reflect unambiguous cases of standardcumdialect language contact. Second, the demographic history of the region, including large-scale migrations of Chinese-speaking people from other provinces, created a socio-cultural context in which the promotion of Standard Chinese would likely find fertile ground.This paper will show that the combination of these two factors has created a situation in which the old Xining dialect is rapidly disappearing. In its place is not Stan...
International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2012
Mongghul is a Mongolic language spoken in northwestern China. Though the precise number of speake... more Mongghul is a Mongolic language spoken in northwestern China. Though the precise number of speakers is unknown, estimates are that around 50,000 people currently speak it. Most speakers of Mongghul are also bilingual in the local dialect of Chinese. We argue that the current contact between Mongghul and Chinese is best understood as a form of "massive borrowing" within Thomason and Kaufman's (1988) framework. Moreover, the borrowing is leading to the endangerment of the language in part because the government has failed to help it adapt to changing socioeconomic conditions. Evidence that the language is failing to adapt is presented in lists of loanwords and a transcribed conversation. The government's failure to assist the language is evidenced by its withdrawal of support for the language's writing system. We apply a UNESCO assessment and conclude that while it is not in imminent danger of extinction, the language is endangered.
This study describes the full range of meanings associated with the morpheme [xa] 哈 as it is used... more This study describes the full range of meanings associated with the morpheme [xa] 哈 as it is used in the Huangshui 湟水 dialect of Qinghai province. Identifying its key feature as marking something like the “anti-ergative” in Tibeto-Burman languages, the paper argues that the morpheme entered the dialect as a result of contact with Amdo Tibetan. Further, it is argued that the mechanism by which it entered the dialect involved a complex accommodation negotiated among several features in those languages, including verb-final word order, the pǎ 把 pretransitive structure, and intonation unit (IU) marking. These findings suggest the possibility of reconstructing a detailed history of an individual language in a complex ecology, an ecology that is often referred to as a Sprachbund or “linguistic area.” Finally, the use of a topic-marker of similar phonetic form in the dialect, and variations of that form within the dialect, suggest further work is needed on the historical development of thi...
Asian Folklore Studies, 1999
Following up ethnographic observations that indicated residents of Xining in Qinghai Province gen... more Following up ethnographic observations that indicated residents of Xining in Qinghai Province generally had low regard for the local dialect, this study is a quantitative investigation of the attitudes of Xining residents towards the Qinghai dialect. Residents responded to a questionnaire designed to measure the affective, cognitive, and behavioral components of their attitude towards their local dialect and Standard Chinese.
Language Variation and Change, 1999
Hybrid syntactic patterns in Qinghai Chinese dialects
In the course of offering a review of Zhāng Chéngcái's Ways, this paper describes the syntax of n... more In the course of offering a review of Zhāng Chéngcái's Ways, this paper describes the syntax of noun phrases in the Chinese dialect of Huángshuĭ, in Qīnghăi Province. Unlike other Chinese dialects, this dialect employs several postpositions for indicating syntactic nominal relationships. The origin of this phenomenon in contact with non-Sinitic languages in the region and its significance are also explored.
Linguistics of the TIbeto-Burman Area, 1999
... and Wang corpus of material on Tibetan dialects recently published in China is unavailable in... more ... and Wang corpus of material on Tibetan dialects recently published in China is unavailable in Western languages and therefore difficult for foreign linguists and ... in Qinghai and Gansu provinces for over thirty years, and drawing on our own fieldwork conducted among ...
The first perspective is diachronic, a look at the Chinese language in Qinghai over time. Because... more The first perspective is diachronic, a look at the Chinese language in Qinghai over time. Because there are no sources that provide information about the early stages of the language, I will focus on the questions of when the Chinese language came to be spoken in Qinghai, and from what period the present variety of Chinese used in Qinghai descended. Because these are primarily historical questions, their answers are necessarily derived from historical sources. The second section takes a synchronic perspective, a view of the Chinese language in Qinghai through social and geographic space at the present time. This section will deal with the questions of what kind of Chinese is the Chinese in Qinghai, who uses it, and along what ethnic, geographic and social lines the intemal variations in the language are most strongly associatcd. These are more clearly linguistic and sociolinguistic questions, and the sources with which they are answered, primarily my own research along with essays f...
Báilán, of the Tŭyùhún Kingdom, is an extremely important place name in the ethnic history of anc... more Báilán, of the Tŭyùhún Kingdom, is an extremely important place name in the ethnic history of ancient China. Throughout the more than 900 year medieval period of Chinese history–the Wèi, Jìn, Northern and Southern dynasties, Táng, Sòng, and Yuán eras (third to thirteenthcenturies)–the name Báilán remained in historical materials, demonstrating the name's historical significance. Scholars have discussed the geographic position of Báilán since the 1920s, but no consensus has emerged. In this paper we undertake a comprehensive investigation of the issue. We carried out related field work in Dūlán County and the Qaidam (Cháidámù) area of Hăixī Prefecture, Qīnghăi Province and interviewed knowledgeable elders of the region. We also consulted the results of recent archeological excavations. We advance explanations for the terms 'Báilán Qiāng' and 'Báilán Mountains', and suggest a location of the ancient city of Báilán.
This book contains three novellas originally written in Chinese by the Qinghai author Jing Shi. T... more This book contains three novellas originally written in Chinese by the Qinghai author Jing Shi. The novellas provide a finely textured portrayal of Qinghai rural life in the twentieth century. An introduction and transcribed interview provide context to the stories and their author. From the introduction by Keith Dede: "The wide appeal of Jing Shi's fiction is certainly something he welcomes. As he sees it, literature, at one level, should be entertaining. Stories are a way for people to derive pleasure, enjoy a laugh, and while away some time. But stories are also about communication, about communicating ideas concerning the ironies of life and the trajectory of the human condition. Jing Shi thinks deeply about the people of rural Qinghai, their culture, their predicaments, their hopes, and their tragedies, and his stories communicate his thoughts about these things, but also his deep affection for the people and culture that raised him."
L'A. examine la langue chinoise parlee dans la province de Qinghai selon une perspective diac... more L'A. examine la langue chinoise parlee dans la province de Qinghai selon une perspective diachronique et une perspective synchronique. Il montre ensuite que les dialectes chinois de Qinghai ont ete fortement influences par les langues non-chinoises de la region et tente de determiner la maniere dont cette influence s'est exercee
In the course of offering a review of Zhāng Chéngcái's Ways, this paper describes the syntax ... more In the course of offering a review of Zhāng Chéngcái's Ways, this paper describes the syntax of noun phrases in the Chinese dialect of Huángshuĭ, in Qīnghăi Province. Unlike other Chinese dialects, this dialect employs several postpositions for indicating syntactic nominal relationships. The origin of this phenomenon in contact with non-Sinitic languages in the region and its significance are also explored.
Language and Linguistics, 2015
Negative markers precede the element they negate in the majority of Chinese dialects, including M... more Negative markers precede the element they negate in the majority of Chinese dialects, including Modern Standard Mandarin (MSM). In the Xīníng dialect of Qīnghǎi Province, in addition to negative structures similar to MSM, the negative markers pv ̩ 21 iɔ 13 不要, pv ̩ 21 sɿ 13 不是, and mɔ 21 iɯ 13 沒有 occur at the end of the sentence, negating constituents that occur earlier in the sentence. Moreover, Xīníng negatives have very little freedom of movement; they must come directly beside the predicate nucleus. Xīníng negatives cannot change position and thereby expand the scope and focus of negation as they do in MSM. These word order features are consistent with those of the SOV languages spoken in the same region, suggesting their development in Xīníng is due to language contact.
Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 2006
Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, is an especially valuable location for observing the spr... more Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, is an especially valuable location for observing the spread and influence of Standard Chinese, orPutonghua, for at least two reasons. First, the dialect’s history of contact with non-Sinitic languages, mostly Tibetan and Mongolic languages, created an older linguistic stratum that differs markedly from other Mandarin dialects, indeed with most all Chinese dialects, in clearly identifiable ways, so that comparisons between Standard Chinese and variations within the Xining dialect reflect unambiguous cases of standardcumdialect language contact. Second, the demographic history of the region, including large-scale migrations of Chinese-speaking people from other provinces, created a socio-cultural context in which the promotion of Standard Chinese would likely find fertile ground.This paper will show that the combination of these two factors has created a situation in which the old Xining dialect is rapidly disappearing. In its place is not Stan...
International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2012
Mongghul is a Mongolic language spoken in northwestern China. Though the precise number of speake... more Mongghul is a Mongolic language spoken in northwestern China. Though the precise number of speakers is unknown, estimates are that around 50,000 people currently speak it. Most speakers of Mongghul are also bilingual in the local dialect of Chinese. We argue that the current contact between Mongghul and Chinese is best understood as a form of "massive borrowing" within Thomason and Kaufman's (1988) framework. Moreover, the borrowing is leading to the endangerment of the language in part because the government has failed to help it adapt to changing socioeconomic conditions. Evidence that the language is failing to adapt is presented in lists of loanwords and a transcribed conversation. The government's failure to assist the language is evidenced by its withdrawal of support for the language's writing system. We apply a UNESCO assessment and conclude that while it is not in imminent danger of extinction, the language is endangered.
This study describes the full range of meanings associated with the morpheme [xa] 哈 as it is used... more This study describes the full range of meanings associated with the morpheme [xa] 哈 as it is used in the Huangshui 湟水 dialect of Qinghai province. Identifying its key feature as marking something like the “anti-ergative” in Tibeto-Burman languages, the paper argues that the morpheme entered the dialect as a result of contact with Amdo Tibetan. Further, it is argued that the mechanism by which it entered the dialect involved a complex accommodation negotiated among several features in those languages, including verb-final word order, the pǎ 把 pretransitive structure, and intonation unit (IU) marking. These findings suggest the possibility of reconstructing a detailed history of an individual language in a complex ecology, an ecology that is often referred to as a Sprachbund or “linguistic area.” Finally, the use of a topic-marker of similar phonetic form in the dialect, and variations of that form within the dialect, suggest further work is needed on the historical development of thi...
Asian Folklore Studies, 1999
Following up ethnographic observations that indicated residents of Xining in Qinghai Province gen... more Following up ethnographic observations that indicated residents of Xining in Qinghai Province generally had low regard for the local dialect, this study is a quantitative investigation of the attitudes of Xining residents towards the Qinghai dialect. Residents responded to a questionnaire designed to measure the affective, cognitive, and behavioral components of their attitude towards their local dialect and Standard Chinese.
Language Variation and Change, 1999
Hybrid syntactic patterns in Qinghai Chinese dialects
In the course of offering a review of Zhāng Chéngcái's Ways, this paper describes the syntax of n... more In the course of offering a review of Zhāng Chéngcái's Ways, this paper describes the syntax of noun phrases in the Chinese dialect of Huángshuĭ, in Qīnghăi Province. Unlike other Chinese dialects, this dialect employs several postpositions for indicating syntactic nominal relationships. The origin of this phenomenon in contact with non-Sinitic languages in the region and its significance are also explored.