INTRODUCTION:

Tangut is, among the major classical literary languages of Central and East Asia, the one whose rich literature and linguistic make-up remain least investigated. It was employed by the inhabitants of the Western Xia kingdom that existed in Inner Asia between the 11th and the 13th century. The Tanguts created a unique civilizational amalgam, incorporating Sinitic, Tibetan, and nomadic elements within their culture. After the destruction of Western Xia in the early 13th century, the Tangut language gradually became extinct. Nevertheless, after the discovery of a rich Tangut textual deposit in 1909, a cohort of international scholars began to decipher the Tangut script and reconstruct Tangut grammar.

“Reading Tangut Texts - Intermediate” is a course primarily designed for students who have already acquired the rudiments of the Tangut writing system and Tangut grammar and would like to expand their language knowledge and get more experience with original Tangut texts. Secondarily, students of general linguistics will benefit from the course since the course focuses on specific core grammar aspects of the Tangut language. It aims to develop students’ ability to identify and understand widely used grammar formulas and vocabulary patterns and hone their translation skills. Each passage will be carefully selected from the corpus of Tangut texts and will highlight one or several grammar points or vocabulary usages. Knowledge of Classical Chinese and/or Classical Tibetan will be useful but not required.

The course will consist of an introduction to various aspects of Tangut grammar and reading the excerpts from the Tangut versions of Avalokiteśvara-sūtra and Lotus-sūtra with additional example sentences from other Tangut Buddhist and secular texts.

The course will be held in English and will be entirely held online via Zoom.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85870209455?pwd=w7uIya0dbj1dfXKgGhpodRWSXcYBpB.1

Meeting ID: 858 7020 9455
Passcode: Tangut2023

COURSE OUTLINE:

Session 1 October 6, 2023 (Friday)

Introduction to the Tangut language: General Grammar Overview

Session2 October 13, 2023 (Friday)

Topic: Personal and Demonstrative Pronouns. Proper Names.

Session 3 October 20, 2023 (Friday)

Topic: Question Words, Propositions, Conditional Patterns.

October 27, 2023 (Friday) Holiday

Session 4 November 3, 2023 (Friday)

Introduction to Tangut Verb

Session 5 November 11, 2023 (Friday)

Numerals and Adjectives

Tangut verbs “to do” and “have to”

November 17, 2023 (Friday) Holiday

Session 6 November 24 (Friday)

Verbal Prefixes (1)

Session 7 December 1 (Friday)

Verbal Prefixes (2)

Session 8 December 8 (Friday)

Adverbs and Prepositions

Session 9 December 15 (Friday)

Verbal Agreement (1)

December 22, 2023 Winter holidays

Session 10 January 5, 2024 (Friday)

Verbal Agreement (2)

Session 11 January 12 (Friday)

Integral Reading

Session 12 January 19, 2024 (Friday)

Final Exam – Translation of a Tangut textual passage that includes all the studied grammar