<Appendix I> Directional verb affixes found in Tibeto-Burman languages in China

Abstract

This paper is a pioneering work on directional affixes in Tibeto-Burman languages spoken in China. Nishi Yoshio 西義郎 (1934–2019), a Japanese scholar of Tibeto-Burman linguistics, and a professor emeritus at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies 神戸市外国語大学 had authored it. He made notable contributions to typological/historical studies, especially in Burman and Himalayan languages. The original paper in Japanese appeared in 1985 under the title「中国国内のチベット・ビルマ系の言語にみられる方向指示の動詞接辞」 in Nishida Tatsuo 西田龍雄 (ed.) 『チベット・ビルマ諸語の言語類型学的研究』昭和59年度科学研究費 補助金研究成果報告書 [Outcome Report for the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research for the academic year of Showa 59 (1984)] pp. 26–45. However, this report was a restricted publication distributed to limited scholars, and was not easy to access. In 1990, Nishi's article was translated into Chinese and published as 中国境内的藏缅语指示方向的动词附加成分. (郑贻青译、陈鹏校)中国社会科学院民族研究所语言室编《民族语文研究情报资 料集》第十三集, 104–116, 103頁. It was fortunate that this translation was widely read among Chinese scholars as well as those American/European scholars who read Chinese. When we started our research project on directional affixes in Tibeto-Burman languages, including Tangut, Nishi's work was extensively read by all research members involved to better understand the basic knowledge and methodology of the analysis of directional affixes. We share the belief that this paper was a great and important work, and thus, the editors decided to provide a new English translation of Prof. Nishi's article in this volume for easy reference in honor of this expert linguist. (Editors)