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The Silk Road: Language and Population Admixture and Replacement

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Languages and Genes in Northwestern China and Adjacent Regions

Abstract

This paper investigates the (non-)correlation between languages and genes on the Silk Road. It is expected to provide a clear picture of human migration history between Central Asia and East Asia. It aims to study models of language formation and replacement on the Silk Road after the 13th century AD. Combining natural sciences and human sciences enables us to overcome the limits of traditional methodology in historical linguistics. In light of biological and archeological research results, where dating is based on concrete materials, our investigation will trace language ancestry on the Silk Road over the same timescales. Diachronic linguistics needs new approaches to go beyond its chronological limits.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    But even today, there is not a strong consensus among linguists on the status of some language families (for example the Altaic family has been debated for decades), not to mention macro-families which are often even less certain.

  2. 2.

    Thanks to Saiyinjiya Caidengduoerji for digitizing Mongolic and Man-Tungusic language words, Barbara Kozhevina for Turkic language words.

  3. 3.

    The Xibo people moved from the Northeast to the Northwest in 1764.

  4. 4.

    Their language of communication is the Chinese language.

  5. 5.

    Saliyanyu (2000: 592) indicates that Yaklagar tribe-head-system was abolished by the Qing government in Huangnipu.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), 63 Rue des Grands Moulins, Paris, 75013, France

    Dan Xu & Shaoqing Wen

  2. CRLAO (CNRS), Paris, France

    Dan Xu

  3. MOE Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, People’s Republic of China

    Shaoqing Wen

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  1. Dan Xu
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  2. Shaoqing Wen
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Correspondence to Dan Xu .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Département Chine, INALCO Département Chine, Paris Cedex, Paris, France

    Dan Xu

  2. School of Life Sciences, Fudan University School of Life Sciences, Shanghai, China

    Hui Li

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Xu, D., Wen, S. (2017). The Silk Road: Language and Population Admixture and Replacement. In: Xu, D., Li, H. (eds) Languages and Genes in Northwestern China and Adjacent Regions. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4169-3_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4169-3_4

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  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-4168-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-4169-3

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