Nam language

Nam is an unclassified extinct language preserved in Tibetan transcriptions in a number of Dunhuang manuscript fragments. The manuscript fragments are held at the British Library and the .

Classification

According to Ikeda Takumi, the research of F. W. Thomas, published in 1948, concluded that Nam "was one of the old Qiang [languages] spoken around the Nam mountain range near Koko nor in Qinghai province", associated with a country called Nam tig which is mentioned in some historical records. However, Ikeda further states that Thomas' conclusions were widely criticized.

Glottolog accepts that it was at least Sino-Tibetan.

Lexicon

Wen (1981: 18–19) lists the following basic vocabulary items, which have been taken from Thomas (1948: 399–451).

References

Further reading

• Chén Zōngxiáng 陳宗祥 (1994). 〈敦煌古藏文拼冩的“南語”手卷的名稱問題〉DÅ«nhuáng Gǔzàngwén pÄ«nxiěde 'Nányǔ' shǒujuànde míngchēng wèntí [The identity of the DÅ«nhuáng 'Nam language' scroll transcribed in Old Tibetan].《四川藏學研究》Sìchuān Zàngxué yánjiÅ« 2. 中國藏學出版社 Zhōngguó Zàngxué chÅ«bǎnshè, 164–180頁．（筆名爲寶羊與王建民合冩）
• Chén Zōngxiáng 陳宗祥 (1997). 〈敦煌古藏文拼冩的“南語”手卷的有關地名考釋〉DÅ«nhuáng Gǔzàngwén pÄ«nxiěde 'Nányǔ' shǒujuànde yǒuguān dìmíng kǎoshì [Explanation of the places names in the DÅ«nhuáng 'Nam language' scroll transcribed in Old Tibetan].《四川藏學研究》Sìchuān Zàngxué yánjiÅ« 4．四川民族出版社 Sìchuān mínzú chÅ«bǎnshè. 684–698．
• Lalou, Marcelle (1939). “Sur la langue « nam ».” Journal Asiatique 231: 453.
• Thomas, Frederick William (1948). Nam, an ancient language of the Sino-Tibetan borderland. London: Oxford University Press.
• Wén Yòu 聞宥 (1981). 〈論所謂南語〉Lùn suǒwèi Nányǔ (On the 'Nam' language)《民族語文》. Mínzú yǔwén 1: 16–25.