The Phonological Reconstruction of Tangut through Examination of Phonological Alternations

西夏語音韻轉換的研究是一個尚未開墾的研究領城，本文提出二十七種（共九十六對）西夏語音韻轉換的例子，並對這些不同類的轉換給予統一的音韻解釋，把它們歸納成三個類型，與西夏語法與構詞法連結起來加以綜合的解釋，依照本文提出的看法，這些轉換現象代表嚴整的西夏語法與構詞法規律。本文藉這些音韻轉換現象，檢驗各家礙音是否能反映西夏語法與構詞法的規則性。最後並對討論中涉及的各韻提出作者的礙音。本文的礙音不但力求與已知的對音資料及韻書中韻的排列原則符合，還力求能解釋這些轉換現象所代表的語法與構詞法的規律，使西夏語與同族其他語言的關係顯現出來。本文的礙音另外一個目標是希望能解釋複雜的西夏韻母系統如何從簡單的漢藏語共同祖語演化出來。

The study of phonological alternations in Tangut is a field which has not yet been well explored. This paper presents 27 sets of phonological alternations (consisting of 96 pairs of examples) and tries to interpret them in terms of regular morphological and syntactical processes. These phonological alternations are accordingly classified in three categories, each connected with a rule in Tangut morphology and syntax. Since these alternations are viewed as morphological and syntactic phenomena, which are supposed to be rule-governed, they can be used as criteria for evaluating different phonetic reconstructions. Various reconstructions of the Tangut language which have been put forward up to now are tested to see whether they can reveal regularities in Tangut Grammar. At the end of the paper, a revision of the reconstruction of some rhymes is offered, purporting to explain all the related facts: foreign transcriptions, the order of rhymes in the rhyme dictionary, morphological and syntactic rules. The paper also purposes to provide a basis for a comparative study in the Sino-Tibetan linguistics and tries to offer an explanation how the complicated Tangut vowel system can evolve out of a simple vowel system of the Sino-Tibetan common language.