HEИндивидуална стипендия2023–2025

KinSiGHT · Kinship Systems in Gyalrong: History and Transformation

„Хоризонт Европа“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2023-09-01 → 2025-08-31
Финансиране от ЕС: 199 694 €
Участници: 2
Схема: HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Роднинските системи и семейните структури при езиковите групи в Югозападен Китай се анализират чрез специфични термини за родство. Това помага за разбирането на развитието на семейните практики и еволюцията на езиците в региона.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Kinship Systems in Gyalrong: History and Transformation

This project investigates the unique kinship systems and family structures among ethnic groups in the Hengduan Mountains of Southwest China, with a specific focus on Gyalrongic-speaking communities in Western Sichuan. This region is characterized by ethnolinguistic diversity and linguistic conservatism, which coexist alongside complex patterns of social organization. Kinship terminologies exhibit considerable diversity, including two unusual systems: the Omaha and 'partial' kinship terminologies. The Omaha system, named after the Omaha people in North America, applies generational equations across kin groups, while the 'partial' system, often found in matrilineal groups practicing zouhun (a non-conjugal visiting system), lacks terms for paternal and affinal kin and is incompatible with traditional kinship typologies. The sporadic distribution of these kinship types, combined with limited historical documentation and fragmented linguistic records for most local languages, presents significant challenges for understanding the development of family structures in the Hengduan Mountains. This research project aims to address these gaps by documenting, reconstructing, and analyzing kinship terminologies and family structures within Gyalrongic languages. The project has three primary objectives: First, to document under-described dialects of Situ Gyalrong to capture previously unexplored kinship terminologies and related vocabulary. Second, to reconstruct Proto-Gyalrong kinship terminology to trace the semantic evolution of inherited kinship terms and the origins and transformations of family practices such as zouhun and the Omaha kinship system. Third, to assess the antiquity of specific kinship patterns and marriage practices within the broader Burmo-Qiangic phylogeny. These objectives provide foundational insights into the diachronic evolution of family structures in Southwest China, refining traditional kinship typology with Sino-Tibetan data while also aiding in the preservation of endangered cultural knowledge among the Gyalrong people amid rapid sociocultural changes in the region.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

The Na-Qiangic (NQ) languages are an endangered subgroup in Sino-Tibetan (ST), spoken by ethnic minorities in the Hengduan Mountains of Southwest China. The NQ-speaking area is home to great diversity of kinship and marriage patterns, where one finds zouhun, a non-conjugal visiting system, practiced by matrilineal communities. Many questions remain unanswered: Are matrilineal kinship and zouhun vestiges of once more widespread practices? Did these diverse kinship patterns originate from a common ancestral system? What are the factors leading to the diversity of family structures in this area? To answer these questions, KinSiGHT focuses on the Gyalrongic (NQ)-speaking area in northwestern Sichuan, and uses linguistic methods to trace transformations of kinship systems of the Gyalrongs. The two interlocking themes of this investigation will be (i) the directionality of transformation from the Proto-Gyalrongic kinship system to the synchronic systems, and (ii) correlations among historical changes in kinship systems, marriage patterns and NQ phylogeny. KinSiGHT will advance our understanding of the Gyalrongic kinship patterns and their values in revealing the origin of family structure in the Hengduan Mountains, as well as general principles of kinship transformation. KinSiGHT will enhance collaborations between linguists and anthropologists. During this fellowship, the PI, Shuya Zhang, will be based at the Trinity Centre for Asian Studies (TCD), where she will benefit from instructions from Prof. Nathan Hill in practicing historical linguistic methods. During the secondment at the Center for Himalayan Studies (CNRS Paris), she will work with Dr. Stphane Gros, a prominent anthropologist specializing in ethnic minorities in Southwest China. The fellowship will enable the PI to become a leading female scholar in ST kinship studies, and will position her to prepare a competitive ERC grant application, while opening up new career opportunities in ethnological museums.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

THE PROVOST, FELLOWS, FOUNDATION SCHOLARS & THE OTHER MEMBERS OF BOARD, OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY & UNDIVIDED TRINITY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH NEAR DUBLIN · DublinКоординаторИрландия
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS · ParisФранция