Georg Orlandi | Osaka University (original) (raw)
Book Reviews by Georg Orlandi
International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics, 2021
Review of Alexander Vovin. The Footprints of the Buddha. The Text and the Language, Languages of ... more Review of Alexander Vovin. The Footprints of the Buddha. The Text and the Language, Languages of Asia Series 25. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2021. xviii, 190 pp. ISBN 978-90-04-44977-0 (hardback).
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 2020
Journal of Japanese Linguistics, 2020
Reviewed publication: Mark Irwin and Matthew Zisk. Japanese linguistics, The Japanese language I.... more Reviewed publication:
Mark Irwin and Matthew Zisk. Japanese linguistics, The Japanese language I. Tokyo: Asakura Publishing. 2019, x, 311 pp, 5,280 JPY (hardcover). ISBN: 978-4-254-51681-4
Concentric: Studies in Linguistics, 2020
The book under review serves as a significant contribution to the field of Trans-Himalayan lingui... more The book under review serves as a significant contribution to the field of Trans-Himalayan linguistics. Designed as a vade mecum for readers with little linguistic background in these three languages, Nathan W. Hill’s work attempts, on the one hand, a systematic exploration of the shared history of Burmese, Tibetan and Chinese, and, on the other, a general introduction to the reader interested in obtaining an overall understanding of the state of the art of the historical phonology of these three languages. Whilst it is acknowledged that the book in question has the potential to be a solid contribution to the field, it is also felt that few minor issues can be also addressed.
Papers by Georg Orlandi
Lingua Posnaniensis, Dec 28, 2023
Acta orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae (Print), Mar 17, 2023
This paper analyzes the collapse of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) through the lens of the Structur... more This paper analyzes the collapse of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) through the lens of the Structural Demographic Theory (SDT), a general framework for understanding the drivers of socio-political instability in state-level societies. Although a number of competing ideas for the collapse have been proposed, none provide a comprehensive explanation that incorporates the interaction of all the multiple drivers involved. We argue that the four-fold population explosion during the 19th century, the competition for a stagnant number of elite positions, and increasing state fiscal stress combined to produce an increasingly disgruntled populace and elite, leading to significant internal rebellions. We find that while neither the ecological disasters nor the foreign incursions witnessed during the 19th century were sufficient on their own to bring down the Qing, when coupled with the rising internal socio-political stresses, they produced a rapid succession of triggering events that culminate...
Transactions of the Philological Society, 2022
This article evaluates the pioneering works on Chinese historical phonology by Joshua Marshman (1... more This article evaluates the pioneering works on Chinese historical phonology by Joshua Marshman (1768–1837), who is routinely credited as the first scholar to have produced a romanisation of the Chinese language for English speakers. This article seeks to demonstrate that Marshman's transcriptional/reconstructive approach has led to an advancement in the field of Chinese historical phonology mainly on two aspects: (i) it led to the establishment of a general theory of phonetic description; (ii) it paved the way to the formulation of a mechanic and systematic model for the individuation of sound changes. For these reasons, Marshman must be regarded as the first real forerunner of modern historical Chinese phonology.
International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics, 2021
Review of Alexander Vovin. The Footprints of the Buddha. The Text and the Language, Languages of ... more Review of Alexander Vovin. The Footprints of the Buddha. The Text and the Language, Languages of Asia Series 25. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2021. xviii, 190 pp. ISBN 978-90-04-44977-0 (hardback).
Journal of Japanese Linguistics, 2020
Since the 1960s, a renewed interest for Japanese linguistics has produced a number of publication... more Since the 1960s, a renewed interest for Japanese linguistics has produced a number of publications, including scientific articles, books and monographs, both in English and in the Japanese language, and the field of Japanese linguistics in general, and of its sub-fields (phonetics, grammar, syntax, etc.) in particular are quite wellcovered: Miller (1967), Tsujimura (1999, 2013), Iwasaki (2002), Miyagawa and Saito (2008), Hasegawa (2014) to name but a few. Nevertheless, this new publication by Irwin and Zisk (2019) may also serve as a significant contribution to the field for reasons that are illustrated below. Although the book is designed as a vade mecum for undergraduate students with some knowledge of general linguistics, there are several features in this publication which might be profitable for Japanese linguists to take notice of, especially those who are writing or willing to write on this subject in English. This publication is a very informative and wide-ranging overview of the field of Japanese linguistics, which shows an unusually broad and comprehensive covering of many issues, including some units on Braille (pp. 123-125), public signage (pp. 131-133) and non-verbal communication (pp. 177-179). The book is divided into eight chapters, each comprising several units for a total of 86. The first chapter is an introductory overview of Japanese, its typology, its history and its affiliation. It rightly emphasizes that Japanese is only one subbranch of the so called Insular Japonic. The other Japonic languages, once spoken in the Korean peninsula and recorded in fragmentary evidence, consisting mostly of toponyms, form instead the Peninsular Japonic branch of the Japonic family. In the past, it was customary to regard Japanese as a unique language, but, as the authors rightly underline in this volume, Japanese is a typical SOV language, with adjectives and genitives preceding the substantive, and postpositions in place of of prepositions. This is in line with the typological generalizations about constituent order formulated in the 1960s by Joseph Greenberg. The second chapter deals with phonology and phonetics, and includes many topics such as consonants, vowels, phonotactics as well as discussions on suprasegmental features such as pitch-accent (units 2.6, 2.7).
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 2020
The placental epigenome regulates processes that affect placental and fetal development, and coul... more The placental epigenome regulates processes that affect placental and fetal development, and could be mediating some of the reported effects of maternal choline supplementation (MCS) on placental vascular development and nutrient delivery. As an extension of work previously conducted in pregnant mice, the current study sought to explore the effects of MCS on various epigenetic markers in the placenta. RNA and DNA were extracted from placentas collected on embryonic day 15.5 from pregnant mice fed a 1X or 4X choline diet, and were subjected to genome-wide sequencing procedures or mass-spectrometry-based assays to examine placental imprinted gene expression, DNA methylation patterns, and microRNA (miRNA) abundance. MCS yielded a higher (fold change = 1.63-2.25) expression of four imprinted genes (Ampd3, Tfpi2, Gatm and Aqp1) in the female placentas and a lower (fold change = 0.46-0.62) expression of three imprinted genes (Dcn, Qpct and Tnfrsf23) in the male placentas (false discovery rate (FDR) ≤ 0.05 for both sexes). Methylation in the promoter regions of these genes and global placental DNA methylation were also affected (p ≤ 0.05). Additionally, a lower (fold change = 0.3; P unadjusted = 2.05 × 10 −4 ; FDR = 0.13) abundance of miR-2137 and a higher (fold change = 1.25-3.92; p < 0.05) expression of its target genes were detected in the 4X choline placentas. These data demonstrate that the placental epigenome is responsive to maternal choline intake during murine pregnancy and likely mediates some of the previously described choline-induced effects on placental and fetal outcomes.
Journal of Language Relationship, 2018
This paper analyses and evaluates the alleged genetic relationship between Sino-Tibetan and Austr... more This paper analyses and evaluates the alleged genetic relationship between Sino-Tibetan and Austronesian, proposed by the French sinologist Laurent Sagart. The aim of the following paper is neither to prove, nor to disprove the Sino-Tibeto-Austronesian superphylum but to argue whether the data presented in favour of this proposed genetic relationship do or do not stand the scrutiny of a historical linguist. This paper also considers the hypothetical homeland of Proto-Sino-Tibeto-Austronesian people, with an eye towards competing hypotheses, such as Sino-Indo-European. It is concluded that Sagart' s approach may be insufficient for proof of controversial cases of disputed genetic relationship, given the non-obvious relatedness of the languages he is comparing.
Journal of Language Relationship, 2019
On the classification of the Ng Yap dialects: some thoughts on the subgrouping of Sinitic languag... more On the classification of the Ng Yap dialects: some thoughts on the subgrouping of Sinitic languages* The Ng Yap (formerly Sze Yap) dialects are routinely considered a branch of the Yue subfamily. This paper seeks to demonstrate that, contrary to this widespread opinion, these dialects show a wide range of distinctive features which, for formal purposes of language/dialect classification, may warrant their separation from the Yue subfamily. This paper also discusses the criteria which are often at the basis of language subgrouping in the field of Chinese linguistics. Nevertheless, this work should be regarded only as an attempt of stimulating a further discussion into a topic which has been overlooked for far too long.
International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics, 2020
The history of several attempts, both long-range and short-range, at linking the Japanese languag... more The history of several attempts, both long-range and short-range, at linking the Japanese language is surveyed and scrutinized in the present paper. Special attention is given to some earlier proposals which are largely ignored by current scholarship, albeit it can be demonstrated that they still define certain long-range comparisons which continue to enjoy some popularity among modern scholars. The two most important hypotheses examined in the present paper are those linking Japanese (Japonic) with the languages that have been classified under the labels “Turanian” and “Altaic”. It is shown that the (Macro-)Altaic hypothesis, recently also called “Transeurasian”, has close historical connections with the Turanian hypothesis and its predecessors.
Concentric. Studies in Linguistics, 2020
The book under review serves as a significant contribution to the field of Trans-Himalayan lingui... more The book under review serves as a significant contribution to the field of Trans-Himalayan linguistics. Designed as a vade mecum for readers with little linguistic background in these three languages, Nathan W. Hill’s work attempts, on the one hand, a systematic exploration of the shared history of Burmese, Tibetan and Chinese, and, on the other, a general introduction to the reader interested in obtaining an overall understanding of the state of the art of the historical phonology of these three languages. Whilst it is acknowledged that the book in question has the potential to be a solid contribution to the field, it is also felt that few minor issues can be also addressed.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 2019
The ‘discovery’ of early Chinese, and its subsequent reconstruction, have allowed the modern ling... more The ‘discovery’ of early Chinese, and its subsequent reconstruction, have allowed the modern linguist to reach a wide range of firm conclusions about the Chinese language and its position within the Tibeto-Burman family. Reverend Joseph Edkins (1823–1905) should be credited with initial work on early Chinese as the ancestor language of the various Sinitic languages, and with its first partial reconstruction. This article is an attempt to supply at least a first historical guide for those interested in obtaining a better understanding of the implicit discovery of Sinitic and the first reconstructions of early Chinese.
International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics, 2021
Review of Alexander Vovin. The Footprints of the Buddha. The Text and the Language, Languages of ... more Review of Alexander Vovin. The Footprints of the Buddha. The Text and the Language, Languages of Asia Series 25. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2021. xviii, 190 pp. ISBN 978-90-04-44977-0 (hardback).
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 2020
Journal of Japanese Linguistics, 2020
Reviewed publication: Mark Irwin and Matthew Zisk. Japanese linguistics, The Japanese language I.... more Reviewed publication:
Mark Irwin and Matthew Zisk. Japanese linguistics, The Japanese language I. Tokyo: Asakura Publishing. 2019, x, 311 pp, 5,280 JPY (hardcover). ISBN: 978-4-254-51681-4
Concentric: Studies in Linguistics, 2020
The book under review serves as a significant contribution to the field of Trans-Himalayan lingui... more The book under review serves as a significant contribution to the field of Trans-Himalayan linguistics. Designed as a vade mecum for readers with little linguistic background in these three languages, Nathan W. Hill’s work attempts, on the one hand, a systematic exploration of the shared history of Burmese, Tibetan and Chinese, and, on the other, a general introduction to the reader interested in obtaining an overall understanding of the state of the art of the historical phonology of these three languages. Whilst it is acknowledged that the book in question has the potential to be a solid contribution to the field, it is also felt that few minor issues can be also addressed.
Lingua Posnaniensis, Dec 28, 2023
Acta orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae (Print), Mar 17, 2023
This paper analyzes the collapse of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) through the lens of the Structur... more This paper analyzes the collapse of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) through the lens of the Structural Demographic Theory (SDT), a general framework for understanding the drivers of socio-political instability in state-level societies. Although a number of competing ideas for the collapse have been proposed, none provide a comprehensive explanation that incorporates the interaction of all the multiple drivers involved. We argue that the four-fold population explosion during the 19th century, the competition for a stagnant number of elite positions, and increasing state fiscal stress combined to produce an increasingly disgruntled populace and elite, leading to significant internal rebellions. We find that while neither the ecological disasters nor the foreign incursions witnessed during the 19th century were sufficient on their own to bring down the Qing, when coupled with the rising internal socio-political stresses, they produced a rapid succession of triggering events that culminate...
Transactions of the Philological Society, 2022
This article evaluates the pioneering works on Chinese historical phonology by Joshua Marshman (1... more This article evaluates the pioneering works on Chinese historical phonology by Joshua Marshman (1768–1837), who is routinely credited as the first scholar to have produced a romanisation of the Chinese language for English speakers. This article seeks to demonstrate that Marshman's transcriptional/reconstructive approach has led to an advancement in the field of Chinese historical phonology mainly on two aspects: (i) it led to the establishment of a general theory of phonetic description; (ii) it paved the way to the formulation of a mechanic and systematic model for the individuation of sound changes. For these reasons, Marshman must be regarded as the first real forerunner of modern historical Chinese phonology.
International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics, 2021
Review of Alexander Vovin. The Footprints of the Buddha. The Text and the Language, Languages of ... more Review of Alexander Vovin. The Footprints of the Buddha. The Text and the Language, Languages of Asia Series 25. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2021. xviii, 190 pp. ISBN 978-90-04-44977-0 (hardback).
Journal of Japanese Linguistics, 2020
Since the 1960s, a renewed interest for Japanese linguistics has produced a number of publication... more Since the 1960s, a renewed interest for Japanese linguistics has produced a number of publications, including scientific articles, books and monographs, both in English and in the Japanese language, and the field of Japanese linguistics in general, and of its sub-fields (phonetics, grammar, syntax, etc.) in particular are quite wellcovered: Miller (1967), Tsujimura (1999, 2013), Iwasaki (2002), Miyagawa and Saito (2008), Hasegawa (2014) to name but a few. Nevertheless, this new publication by Irwin and Zisk (2019) may also serve as a significant contribution to the field for reasons that are illustrated below. Although the book is designed as a vade mecum for undergraduate students with some knowledge of general linguistics, there are several features in this publication which might be profitable for Japanese linguists to take notice of, especially those who are writing or willing to write on this subject in English. This publication is a very informative and wide-ranging overview of the field of Japanese linguistics, which shows an unusually broad and comprehensive covering of many issues, including some units on Braille (pp. 123-125), public signage (pp. 131-133) and non-verbal communication (pp. 177-179). The book is divided into eight chapters, each comprising several units for a total of 86. The first chapter is an introductory overview of Japanese, its typology, its history and its affiliation. It rightly emphasizes that Japanese is only one subbranch of the so called Insular Japonic. The other Japonic languages, once spoken in the Korean peninsula and recorded in fragmentary evidence, consisting mostly of toponyms, form instead the Peninsular Japonic branch of the Japonic family. In the past, it was customary to regard Japanese as a unique language, but, as the authors rightly underline in this volume, Japanese is a typical SOV language, with adjectives and genitives preceding the substantive, and postpositions in place of of prepositions. This is in line with the typological generalizations about constituent order formulated in the 1960s by Joseph Greenberg. The second chapter deals with phonology and phonetics, and includes many topics such as consonants, vowels, phonotactics as well as discussions on suprasegmental features such as pitch-accent (units 2.6, 2.7).
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 2020
The placental epigenome regulates processes that affect placental and fetal development, and coul... more The placental epigenome regulates processes that affect placental and fetal development, and could be mediating some of the reported effects of maternal choline supplementation (MCS) on placental vascular development and nutrient delivery. As an extension of work previously conducted in pregnant mice, the current study sought to explore the effects of MCS on various epigenetic markers in the placenta. RNA and DNA were extracted from placentas collected on embryonic day 15.5 from pregnant mice fed a 1X or 4X choline diet, and were subjected to genome-wide sequencing procedures or mass-spectrometry-based assays to examine placental imprinted gene expression, DNA methylation patterns, and microRNA (miRNA) abundance. MCS yielded a higher (fold change = 1.63-2.25) expression of four imprinted genes (Ampd3, Tfpi2, Gatm and Aqp1) in the female placentas and a lower (fold change = 0.46-0.62) expression of three imprinted genes (Dcn, Qpct and Tnfrsf23) in the male placentas (false discovery rate (FDR) ≤ 0.05 for both sexes). Methylation in the promoter regions of these genes and global placental DNA methylation were also affected (p ≤ 0.05). Additionally, a lower (fold change = 0.3; P unadjusted = 2.05 × 10 −4 ; FDR = 0.13) abundance of miR-2137 and a higher (fold change = 1.25-3.92; p < 0.05) expression of its target genes were detected in the 4X choline placentas. These data demonstrate that the placental epigenome is responsive to maternal choline intake during murine pregnancy and likely mediates some of the previously described choline-induced effects on placental and fetal outcomes.
Journal of Language Relationship, 2018
This paper analyses and evaluates the alleged genetic relationship between Sino-Tibetan and Austr... more This paper analyses and evaluates the alleged genetic relationship between Sino-Tibetan and Austronesian, proposed by the French sinologist Laurent Sagart. The aim of the following paper is neither to prove, nor to disprove the Sino-Tibeto-Austronesian superphylum but to argue whether the data presented in favour of this proposed genetic relationship do or do not stand the scrutiny of a historical linguist. This paper also considers the hypothetical homeland of Proto-Sino-Tibeto-Austronesian people, with an eye towards competing hypotheses, such as Sino-Indo-European. It is concluded that Sagart' s approach may be insufficient for proof of controversial cases of disputed genetic relationship, given the non-obvious relatedness of the languages he is comparing.
Journal of Language Relationship, 2019
On the classification of the Ng Yap dialects: some thoughts on the subgrouping of Sinitic languag... more On the classification of the Ng Yap dialects: some thoughts on the subgrouping of Sinitic languages* The Ng Yap (formerly Sze Yap) dialects are routinely considered a branch of the Yue subfamily. This paper seeks to demonstrate that, contrary to this widespread opinion, these dialects show a wide range of distinctive features which, for formal purposes of language/dialect classification, may warrant their separation from the Yue subfamily. This paper also discusses the criteria which are often at the basis of language subgrouping in the field of Chinese linguistics. Nevertheless, this work should be regarded only as an attempt of stimulating a further discussion into a topic which has been overlooked for far too long.
International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics, 2020
The history of several attempts, both long-range and short-range, at linking the Japanese languag... more The history of several attempts, both long-range and short-range, at linking the Japanese language is surveyed and scrutinized in the present paper. Special attention is given to some earlier proposals which are largely ignored by current scholarship, albeit it can be demonstrated that they still define certain long-range comparisons which continue to enjoy some popularity among modern scholars. The two most important hypotheses examined in the present paper are those linking Japanese (Japonic) with the languages that have been classified under the labels “Turanian” and “Altaic”. It is shown that the (Macro-)Altaic hypothesis, recently also called “Transeurasian”, has close historical connections with the Turanian hypothesis and its predecessors.
Concentric. Studies in Linguistics, 2020
The book under review serves as a significant contribution to the field of Trans-Himalayan lingui... more The book under review serves as a significant contribution to the field of Trans-Himalayan linguistics. Designed as a vade mecum for readers with little linguistic background in these three languages, Nathan W. Hill’s work attempts, on the one hand, a systematic exploration of the shared history of Burmese, Tibetan and Chinese, and, on the other, a general introduction to the reader interested in obtaining an overall understanding of the state of the art of the historical phonology of these three languages. Whilst it is acknowledged that the book in question has the potential to be a solid contribution to the field, it is also felt that few minor issues can be also addressed.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 2019
The ‘discovery’ of early Chinese, and its subsequent reconstruction, have allowed the modern ling... more The ‘discovery’ of early Chinese, and its subsequent reconstruction, have allowed the modern linguist to reach a wide range of firm conclusions about the Chinese language and its position within the Tibeto-Burman family. Reverend Joseph Edkins (1823–1905) should be credited with initial work on early Chinese as the ancestor language of the various Sinitic languages, and with its first partial reconstruction. This article is an attempt to supply at least a first historical guide for those interested in obtaining a better understanding of the implicit discovery of Sinitic and the first reconstructions of early Chinese.
Journal of Language Relationship, 2021
is the hypothesis that postulates a bifurcate genetic relationship between Sinitic and Tibeto-Bur... more is the hypothesis that postulates a bifurcate genetic relationship between Sinitic and Tibeto-Burman. The history of the subgrouping of its components as well as its overall membership are briefly though exhaustively summarized. Special attention is given to the methodological shortcomings of a recent Bayesian approach that further professes to substantiate this bifurcate Sino-Tibetan model. Future directions and broader affinities of Trans-Himalayan are also discussed.
Transactions of the Philological Society, 2022
This article evaluates the pioneering works on Chinese historical phonology by Joshua Marshman (1... more This article evaluates the pioneering works on Chinese historical phonology by Joshua Marshman (1768–1837), who is routinely credited as the first scholar to have produced a romanisation of the Chinese language for English speakers. This article seeks to demonstrate that Marshman's transcriptional/reconstructive approach has led to an advancement in the field of Chinese historical phonology mainly on two aspects: (i) it led to the establishment of a general theory of phonetic description; (ii) it paved the way to the formulation of a mechanic and systematic model for the individuation of sound changes. For these reasons, Marshman must be regarded as the first real forerunner of modern historical Chinese phonology.
Historiographia Linguistica
Summary The present paper seeks to discuss and clarify the notions of ‘Grades’ and ‘Calls’ of tra... more Summary The present paper seeks to discuss and clarify the notions of ‘Grades’ and ‘Calls’ of traditional Chinese rime tables, which are commonly related to the presence or absence of glides, and continue to be taken as a basis for reconstructing vocalic and semi-vocalic portions of the post-initial elements in medieval and pre-medieval Chinese syllables. It is argued that, based on the discussions of Grades/Calls by Chinese scholars of the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries, they were probably conceived as degrees of stricture of the phonatory apparatus, with progressive narrowing of the articulatory aperture, from wide and open to narrow and close. It is concluded that the linguistic perspective underpinning the classification of “sounds” in the linguistic tradition of China appears to be remarkably close to concepts long held in other linguistic traditions.
International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics, 2020
This article is a continuation of the rst part published in JEAL 2/1. It explores several proposa... more This article is a continuation of the rst part published in JEAL 2/1. It explores several proposals of genealogical relationship that link Japanese to other linguistic families. In linguistics, genetic (or genealogical) relationship is the relationship between languages that are members of the same language family. So called "long-range comparisons" (also called distant genetic relationships) are those proposed language families where we deal with results with lower steadiness in the statistical context and where disagreement persists among linguists. This article analyses some speculative long-range comparisons, as well as other short-range attempts to link Japanese to other languages such as Ainu and Korean.
How to prove languages are related • The affiliation of language families, as well as distant gen... more How to prove languages are related • The affiliation of language families, as well as distant genetic relationship are among the most interesting and controversial topics in historical linguistics. Throughout history, linguists have generally relied mainly on three sketches of evidence to prove affiliation between language phyla: 1) similarities in basic vocabulary, which is to say the identification of cognates; 2) typological similarities, i.e. common structural or grammatical properties, especially in the morphological domain; 3) sound correspondences, i.e. the identification of the Neogrammarian principle of the "sound laws", which show regularity and do not admit exceptions. The goal of the "comparative method" is to show, through the application of the three criteria above, that languages are genetically related. This paper shall evaluate one-by-one all the three criteria for proving genetic or distant genetic relationship, showing how these criteria should correctly interact. Furthermore, this paper has as its humble aim the elaboration of the point that a successful demonstration of genetic affiliation depends on scientifically valid methods, and in so doing this paper attempts also to give its contribute to these theoretical and methodological issues of historical linguistics.
