SSATH Group 6 Dataset

Reconstructing a proto-language based on primary data: combining descriptive and historical linguistics – the case of Proto-(Western) Kho-Bwa. Thank you for signing up for the course “Reconstructing Proto-(Western) Kho-Bwa” during the Second Summer School for Ancient Trans-Himalayan Languages, June 15-27, Trinity Centre for Asian Studies, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. This course will be tutored by Prof. Dr. Tim Bodt. The tutor wishes to acknowledge the language consultants Gelong Mosbu and Sani Buchung of New Kaspi village and Tashi Khanam and Khiluwa Marfiuw of Dikhyang village, and research assistant Palden Norbu of Chug village for their indispensable contributions. Introduction: The Western Kho-Bwa languages are a small, coherent cluster of eight speech varieties spoken in western Arunachal Pradesh in India. These varieties are Dubumbi (Chugpa), Khispi (Lishpa), the Sartang varieties Khoina, Jerigaon (Butpa), Khoitam and Rahung, and the Sherdukpen (Mö~ Me) varieties Rupa and Shergaon. The Western Kho-Bwa languages belong to the Trans-Himalayan (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman) language family, but their exact position within the family remains unresolved. Their closest genetic relatives are thought to be Bugun (Khowa), with several varieties spoken in the same area as the Western Kho-Bwa languages, and Puroik (Sulung), which is spoken in scattered communities across a vast area to the East of the Western Kho-Bwa area. This relation was first proposed by Tian-Shin Jackson Sun in 1993. Since Roland Rutgers’ unpublished 1999 conference presentation and George van Driem’s subsequent 2001 publication, this group of presumably related languages has become known as the Kho-Bwa cluster, after their purported reconstructions *kho for ‘water’ and *bwa for ‘fire’. However, Roger Blench and the Mark Post (e.g., 2014), have casted doubt on the validity of this cluster and its Trans-Himalayan affiliation. This two-week, one-hour daily course will illustrate how, by collecting primary data from the field, we can contribute to the linguistic description of endangered language varieties and assemble the materials that form the basis for a historical reconstruction of their hypothetical ancestor language. We trace the process from collecting recorded data from a minimum of two respondents of each variety by using an extensive wordlist, to setting up the phonological inventories of each variety, distinguishing regular sound correspondences and sound changes, and comparing the cognate forms to reconstruct proto-phonemes and proto-forms. We explore the influence of language contact and language change. And we make inferences about the population history and aspects of the habitat and culture of the speakers. As primary data, we will use sub-sets of recordings from two varieties of Bugun, Kaspi and Dikhyang. In small groups of five to six members, you will transcribe these recordings, and compare them to each other, hopefully discovering some (near-)minimal pairs and some sound correspondences between these varieties. By also using secondary Bugun data (Abraham et al. 2018, Lander-Portnoy 2013, Dondrup 1990) you may be able to find some additional sound correspondences and come up with some preliminary Proto-Bugun reconstructions. These could then be compared to the existing Proto-Puroik (Lieberherr 2015) and Proto-Western Kho-Bwa (Bodt 2024) reconstructions, and, where necessary, attested Western Kho-Bwa and Puroik forms (e.g., Abraham and Sako 2021, Li 2004, Lieberherr 2017, Remsangpuia 2008, Soja 2009, Tayeng 1990). In this way, we might find additional evidence for answering two questions: 1. Are Bugun and Puroik indeed related to the Western Kho-Bwa languages, i.e., is the Kho-Bwa cluster a valid linguistic subgroup? and 2. If so, can this Kho-Bwa cluster be considered a subgroup of the Trans-Himalayan language family? It is important to realize that what we can achieve in these two weeks will be very limited. Given the internal diversity of the Bugun varieties and the small sub-sets of data we will be working with, it will be hard to come up (near-)minimal pairs and a detailed phonological description of Bugun or any of its varieties. As a result, it will be impossible to identify all the sound correspondences and sound changes between the varieties and reconstruct proto-forms, to compare all these forms to other purported Kho-Bwa varieties (especially Puroik, where we rely on secondary data) and to other Trans-Himalayan languages. This could be the topic of a PhD or postdoc study that will last several years (hint!). So, please keep in mind the overall objective of this short course: to give you, the participants, some initial insights into how to approach the linguistic reconstruction of a lower-level subgroup of the language family based on primary data collected in the field. Data management and intellectual property rights: By participating in this course, you implicitly agree to its approach to data management and intellectual property rights under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives) license. You will be working with primary data collected in the field. You are allowed to download those data, save them on your personal device, and use them for the specific purpose of the “Reconstruction of Proto-Western Kho-Bwa” course during the 2nd Summer School on Trans-Himalayan Linguistics at Trinity College Dublin. However, in downloading these data, you agree that you will not alter, transform, or build upon these data to create derivative pieces and will not use the work for commercial or monetary gain. In addition, we would appreciate that, if you wish to use these data for any publication or if you wish to make them available in their present form to anyone else, you obtain prior written permission of the language consultants and the data collector through the course tutor, Prof. Dr. Tim Bodt, via email on [e-mail]. If you do not agree with this approach, you are kindly requested to refrain from participating in the course. Course outline: Most of the course session will be a combination of lecture and interaction. On two days, June 18th and 19th, the participants are expected to work together in small groups whose composition considers on-site and on-line participants and each participant’s level of knowledge and set of skills. Each group will be given a specific sub-set of primary Bugun data (recordings) and asked to transcribe these data and use them and secondary Bugun data to establish regular patterns of phonological change, reconstruct Proto-Bugun forms, and compare these to the Proto-Western Kho-Bwa and Proto-Puroik reconstructions and secondary data to establish regular patterns of phonological change and reconstruct Proto-Kho-Bwa forms. Day 1: 15th June 2026 Introduction, introduction to the data, ethics, and reconstructing PWKB: data and methodology. Day 2: 16th June 2026 Reconstructing PWKB: data analysis: sound correspondences and proto-forms. Day 3: 17th June 2026 Reconstructing PWKB: data analysis: sound correspondences and proto-forms. Day 4: 18th June 2026 (practical) Transcribing Bugun, minimal pairs, internal sound correspondences, sound changes, reconstructing Proto-Bugun?, comparing to PP and PWKB . Day 5: 19th June 2026 (practical) Transcribing Bugun, minimal pairs, internal sound correspondences, sound changes, reconstructing Proto-Bugun?, comparing to PP and PWKB. Day 6: 22nd June 2026 (presentations) Transcription of Bugun data, cognate forms, sound correspondences. Day 7: 23rd June 2026 Evidence for Kho-Bwa. Day 8: 24th June 2026 (Western) Kho-Bwa homeland, livelihood, culture. Day 9: 25th June 2026 (Western) Kho-Bwa homeland, livelihood, culture. Day 10: 26th June 2026 Concluding day: what we achieved, what we learnt, what needs to be done, methodological issues, practical issues, data issues. Practical groups and their respective Zenodo deposits: Send a request via Zenodo for access to your respective deposit, including your name and “SSATH26”, before June 14th, 2026.