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  • Rethinking Sound Change in Vietnamese and Chinese

    Historical linguistics has long emphasized monosyllabic correspondences in Sino‑Vietnamese etymology. Yet the disyllabic domain – compounds, reduplicated forms, and paired morphemes – remains underexplored. This article proposes a new approach to disyllabic sound change, highlighting how Vietnamese and Chinese reveal systematic correspondences beyond the single syllable.

  • Chinese and the Vietnamese Basic Vocabulary Stock

    Vietnamese–Chinese relations are often framed as borrowing, yet basic vocabulary – kinship, body parts, natural elements, everyday verbs – shows deeper overlap. These shared forms point not merely to loans but to older ancestry and substratal layering.

  • Core Matter of Vietnamese Etymology

    Vietnamese is shaped by a layered lexicon in which Sino‑Vietnamese forms, vernacular Sinitic layers, and older indigenous strata coexist, often as doublets. Seemingly native words often mask deeper affiliations. The language’s coherence arises from these interacting layers, making Vietnamese etymology a stratified system formed through continuous linguistic contact.

  • Prelude on the Sinitic Etyma

    This prelude situates Vietnamese within the broader Sinitic world, emphasizing how etyma, lexical roots and morphemes, migrated through centuries of colonial contact. Rather than treating Vietnamese as derivative, the article frames it as a survival language: Yue substrata grafted with Sinitic overlays, producing a layered lexicon that embodies both resilience…

  • Mộtvài Suynghĩ về Nguồngốc DânViệt

    Tuỳbút: dchph Bạnhiền: Gầnđây, bạn thường gởi email cho bạnbè, trongđó có tôi, những bàiviết về Tàu, về lịchsử Trunghoa, về nguồngốc dântộcViệtnam, về những vấnđề gaycấn trong mối quanhệ Việtnam và Trungquốc hiệnnay. Có lần bạn xinlỗi tôi và D. trước với ýnghĩ là erằng lờilẽ của bạn sẽ…

  • Politics and Scholarship in Chinese‑Vietnamese Linguistics

    The study of Chinese-Vietnamese linguistics is deeply shaped by political forces rather than academic neutrality. Nationalist sentiment, ideological framing, and the geopolitics of Sino‑Vietnamese relations have long influenced Vietnamese historical linguistics, producing a discourse in which political considerations frequently overshadow objective scholarship.

  • Comparanda of Fundamental Words

    Vietnamese shares a number of basic cognates with Sino‑Tibetan, reflecting deep historical connections across southern China . These words anchor the language in its Austroasiatic heritage while also showing traces of early contact with Chinese. They form the bedrock of daily speech and cultural expression, linking Vietnamese to a broader…