Lin, Chia-Wei
@chiaweilin.bsky.social
Assistante diplômée & doctorante @Université de Lausanne. Historical linguistics, language contact, indigenous grammatical traditions, Christian and Buddhist translations on the Silk Road. Working on Barlaam&Josaphat.
https://unil.academia.edu/chiaweilin
https://unil.academia.edu/chiaweilin
Pinned
Lin, Chia-Wei
@chiaweilin.bsky.social
· Apr 4
Mahānipāta Jātaka - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Inspired by amazing @acbm.bsky.social and @lcbmphd.bsky.social, I am planning an online Pali jātaka reading group. We will begin with the ten best-known jātaka stories in the Southeast Asian tradition.(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%...)
Anyone with a basic knowledge of Sanskrit or Middle Indic
Anyone with a basic knowledge of Sanskrit or Middle Indic
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Syriac word of the day
ܕܝܘܬܐ
/dyuṯå/
"ink"
as in BL add. 14615, f. 20r
ܠܐ ܐܫ̇ܟܚܬ ܕܠܟܪܛܝܣܐ ܘܠܕܝܘܬܐ ܐܗܝܡܢ ܐܢܘܢ
/lå ʔeškḥeṯ da-l-karṭiså w-la-ḏyuṯå ʔehaymen-ennon/
"I couldn't entrust them to paper and ink"
/dyuṯå/ has analogs in OJ/JBA/Mand, alongside Heb /dyō/; also Arabic /dawāh/ "inkwell"
ܕܝܘܬܐ
/dyuṯå/
"ink"
as in BL add. 14615, f. 20r
ܠܐ ܐܫ̇ܟܚܬ ܕܠܟܪܛܝܣܐ ܘܠܕܝܘܬܐ ܐܗܝܡܢ ܐܢܘܢ
/lå ʔeškḥeṯ da-l-karṭiså w-la-ḏyuṯå ʔehaymen-ennon/
"I couldn't entrust them to paper and ink"
/dyuṯå/ has analogs in OJ/JBA/Mand, alongside Heb /dyō/; also Arabic /dawāh/ "inkwell"
December 9, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Syriac word of the day
ܕܝܘܬܐ
/dyuṯå/
"ink"
as in BL add. 14615, f. 20r
ܠܐ ܐܫ̇ܟܚܬ ܕܠܟܪܛܝܣܐ ܘܠܕܝܘܬܐ ܐܗܝܡܢ ܐܢܘܢ
/lå ʔeškḥeṯ da-l-karṭiså w-la-ḏyuṯå ʔehaymen-ennon/
"I couldn't entrust them to paper and ink"
/dyuṯå/ has analogs in OJ/JBA/Mand, alongside Heb /dyō/; also Arabic /dawāh/ "inkwell"
ܕܝܘܬܐ
/dyuṯå/
"ink"
as in BL add. 14615, f. 20r
ܠܐ ܐܫ̇ܟܚܬ ܕܠܟܪܛܝܣܐ ܘܠܕܝܘܬܐ ܐܗܝܡܢ ܐܢܘܢ
/lå ʔeškḥeṯ da-l-karṭiså w-la-ḏyuṯå ʔehaymen-ennon/
"I couldn't entrust them to paper and ink"
/dyuṯå/ has analogs in OJ/JBA/Mand, alongside Heb /dyō/; also Arabic /dawāh/ "inkwell"
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Weekly Georgian Etymology: ტყვია ṭq̇via 'bullet', from Old Georgian ႲႷჃႥႨ ṭq̇wivi lead, from Kartvelian *ṭq̇wi- lead, poss. an ancient loan from a north Caucasian source: Lezgic *naIƛ̣:(ʷ)V blue, Abkhaz-Adyghean *ƛ̣ʷV blue, iron. Metals often get their names from their color.
December 9, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Weekly Georgian Etymology: ტყვია ṭq̇via 'bullet', from Old Georgian ႲႷჃႥႨ ṭq̇wivi lead, from Kartvelian *ṭq̇wi- lead, poss. an ancient loan from a north Caucasian source: Lezgic *naIƛ̣:(ʷ)V blue, Abkhaz-Adyghean *ƛ̣ʷV blue, iron. Metals often get their names from their color.
Kind of a funny experiment: I created a word cloud for Balavariani (the Georgian version of Barlaam and Josaphat). As I can’t find a list of stopwords for Old Georgian, I used the tokenizer and PoS tags from Stanford Stanza to remove stopwords. See what the most frequent words are after that 😂:
December 9, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Kind of a funny experiment: I created a word cloud for Balavariani (the Georgian version of Barlaam and Josaphat). As I can’t find a list of stopwords for Old Georgian, I used the tokenizer and PoS tags from Stanford Stanza to remove stopwords. See what the most frequent words are after that 😂:
Why does the statue of Moses in Palais de Rumine (Lausanne) have horns? This is a long-lasting iconographic convention of Moses in the Latin West, stemming from a (mis)translation in the Latin Vulgate Bible (Exodus 34:29, 30, 35):
December 8, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Why does the statue of Moses in Palais de Rumine (Lausanne) have horns? This is a long-lasting iconographic convention of Moses in the Latin West, stemming from a (mis)translation in the Latin Vulgate Bible (Exodus 34:29, 30, 35):
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Old Georgian word of the day
სიბნელჱ
"darkness" (< ბნელი "dark")
as in Autobio ps-Dion (Peeters/Abuladze), §8
დაადგრა სიბნელჱ იგი ექუს ჟამით გან ვიდრე მეცხრედ ჟამადმდე
"the darkness lasted from the sixth hour to the ninth"
სიბნელჱ
"darkness" (< ბნელი "dark")
as in Autobio ps-Dion (Peeters/Abuladze), §8
დაადგრა სიბნელჱ იგი ექუს ჟამით გან ვიდრე მეცხრედ ჟამადმდე
"the darkness lasted from the sixth hour to the ninth"
December 3, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Old Georgian word of the day
სიბნელჱ
"darkness" (< ბნელი "dark")
as in Autobio ps-Dion (Peeters/Abuladze), §8
დაადგრა სიბნელჱ იგი ექუს ჟამით გან ვიდრე მეცხრედ ჟამადმდე
"the darkness lasted from the sixth hour to the ninth"
სიბნელჱ
"darkness" (< ბნელი "dark")
as in Autobio ps-Dion (Peeters/Abuladze), §8
დაადგრა სიბნელჱ იგი ექუს ჟამით გან ვიდრე მეცხრედ ჟამადმდე
"the darkness lasted from the sixth hour to the ninth"
Why should Tangut script be classified as chaotic evil? Here is one example: 𗡮𗵽 śwo² nllu² '美好, 端正, beautiful'. See the difference between the two? 😆
Source: shs.hal.science/halshs-00174...
Source: shs.hal.science/halshs-00174...
November 30, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Why should Tangut script be classified as chaotic evil? Here is one example: 𗡮𗵽 śwo² nllu² '美好, 端正, beautiful'. See the difference between the two? 😆
Source: shs.hal.science/halshs-00174...
Source: shs.hal.science/halshs-00174...
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Chinese word of the day
樂 lè
"enjoy, like, love"
as in Traité (ed. Lieu & Mikkelsen), 230-231
一者不樂久住一處
yizhe bule jiuzhu yichu
"first, they don't like staying in one place too long"
The subject is 電那勿 diannawu ≈ Sgd /δēnāβar/, Pa /dēnāβar/ religious, devout (cf. MP /dēnwar/).
樂 lè
"enjoy, like, love"
as in Traité (ed. Lieu & Mikkelsen), 230-231
一者不樂久住一處
yizhe bule jiuzhu yichu
"first, they don't like staying in one place too long"
The subject is 電那勿 diannawu ≈ Sgd /δēnāβar/, Pa /dēnāβar/ religious, devout (cf. MP /dēnwar/).
Bob Dylan & The Rolling Thunder Group - Gotta Travel On ["[to get a transfusion"] - New Orleans 1976
YouTube video by neverending Bobfan
youtu.be
November 29, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Chinese word of the day
樂 lè
"enjoy, like, love"
as in Traité (ed. Lieu & Mikkelsen), 230-231
一者不樂久住一處
yizhe bule jiuzhu yichu
"first, they don't like staying in one place too long"
The subject is 電那勿 diannawu ≈ Sgd /δēnāβar/, Pa /dēnāβar/ religious, devout (cf. MP /dēnwar/).
樂 lè
"enjoy, like, love"
as in Traité (ed. Lieu & Mikkelsen), 230-231
一者不樂久住一處
yizhe bule jiuzhu yichu
"first, they don't like staying in one place too long"
The subject is 電那勿 diannawu ≈ Sgd /δēnāβar/, Pa /dēnāβar/ religious, devout (cf. MP /dēnwar/).
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Some Parthian taste-words from Sundermann, MKG 849ff.:
/wxašan/ "taste"
/nameδk/ "salt"
/trifšīft/ "bitterness"
/dažnagīft/ "spicyness, sharpness"
/šiftagīft/ "sweetness"
/wxašan/ "taste"
/nameδk/ "salt"
/trifšīft/ "bitterness"
/dažnagīft/ "spicyness, sharpness"
/šiftagīft/ "sweetness"
November 26, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Some Parthian taste-words from Sundermann, MKG 849ff.:
/wxašan/ "taste"
/nameδk/ "salt"
/trifšīft/ "bitterness"
/dažnagīft/ "spicyness, sharpness"
/šiftagīft/ "sweetness"
/wxašan/ "taste"
/nameδk/ "salt"
/trifšīft/ "bitterness"
/dažnagīft/ "spicyness, sharpness"
/šiftagīft/ "sweetness"
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Old Georgian word of the day
შეწუხება
"annoy, bother, irritate"
as in Limonarion, ed. Abuladze, 11.2-3
შემაწუხებს ჩუენ იგი
"he's bothering us"
(შე-მ-ა-წუხ-ებ-ს pres 3s O1)
შეწუხება
"annoy, bother, irritate"
as in Limonarion, ed. Abuladze, 11.2-3
შემაწუხებს ჩუენ იგი
"he's bothering us"
(შე-მ-ა-წუხ-ებ-ს pres 3s O1)
November 26, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Old Georgian word of the day
შეწუხება
"annoy, bother, irritate"
as in Limonarion, ed. Abuladze, 11.2-3
შემაწუხებს ჩუენ იგი
"he's bothering us"
(შე-მ-ა-წუხ-ებ-ს pres 3s O1)
შეწუხება
"annoy, bother, irritate"
as in Limonarion, ed. Abuladze, 11.2-3
შემაწუხებს ჩუენ იგი
"he's bothering us"
(შე-მ-ა-წუხ-ებ-ს pres 3s O1)
Georgian/Armenian word of the day:
Ge. ქურუმი kurumi 'pagan priest'
Arm. քուրմ kʿowrm 'pagan priest'
<- Syr. ܟܘܡܪܐ kūmrā 'pagan priest'
Ge. ქურუმი kurumi 'pagan priest'
Arm. քուրմ kʿowrm 'pagan priest'
<- Syr. ܟܘܡܪܐ kūmrā 'pagan priest'
November 26, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Georgian/Armenian word of the day:
Ge. ქურუმი kurumi 'pagan priest'
Arm. քուրմ kʿowrm 'pagan priest'
<- Syr. ܟܘܡܪܐ kūmrā 'pagan priest'
Ge. ქურუმი kurumi 'pagan priest'
Arm. քուրմ kʿowrm 'pagan priest'
<- Syr. ܟܘܡܪܐ kūmrā 'pagan priest'
Georgian compound words with ცა ca 'sky'
November 26, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Georgian compound words with ცა ca 'sky'
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Parthian word of the day
/wašend/
"hungry"
as in Sundermann, MKG 805-806
/pad wuzurg aβɣām, wašend ud tišend/
"in great agony, hungry and thirsty"
/wašend/
"hungry"
as in Sundermann, MKG 805-806
/pad wuzurg aβɣām, wašend ud tišend/
"in great agony, hungry and thirsty"
November 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Parthian word of the day
/wašend/
"hungry"
as in Sundermann, MKG 805-806
/pad wuzurg aβɣām, wašend ud tišend/
"in great agony, hungry and thirsty"
/wašend/
"hungry"
as in Sundermann, MKG 805-806
/pad wuzurg aβɣām, wašend ud tišend/
"in great agony, hungry and thirsty"
Today I stumbled upon an open-access article in the new edited volume "Connected Philology" by someone who has the exact same name as me and also works at the Université de Lausanne. Very suspicious 👀
#shamelessselfpromotion
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
#shamelessselfpromotion
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Connected Philology
Even though the similarities of philological methods and traditions across various cultures have been the subject of scholarly research, the reasons for these occurrences usually remain obscure. The p...
www.degruyterbrill.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Today I stumbled upon an open-access article in the new edited volume "Connected Philology" by someone who has the exact same name as me and also works at the Université de Lausanne. Very suspicious 👀
#shamelessselfpromotion
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
#shamelessselfpromotion
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Weekly Georgian Etymology: ბაჟე baže 'walnut sauce with garlic', from Megrelian ბაჟა baža, from Georgian ბაჟი baži toll, duty, tax, from Old Georgian ႡႠႯႨ baži, from Middle Persian bāǰ tax, from Old Persian 𐎲𐎠𐎪𐎶 tribute. It gets its name metaphorically from its enriched flavor.
November 25, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Weekly Georgian Etymology: ბაჟე baže 'walnut sauce with garlic', from Megrelian ბაჟა baža, from Georgian ბაჟი baži toll, duty, tax, from Old Georgian ႡႠႯႨ baži, from Middle Persian bāǰ tax, from Old Persian 𐎲𐎠𐎪𐎶 tribute. It gets its name metaphorically from its enriched flavor.
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Parthian word of the day
/angaw-/
"rest, find rest"
as in Sundermann, MKG 802-804
/kaδ ahād kaδ ōδ yādān ud angawān ud āb wxarān/
"When will I ever get there, and I can rest and drink some water?"
(including four subjunctives: one 3s and three 1s)
/angaw-/
"rest, find rest"
as in Sundermann, MKG 802-804
/kaδ ahād kaδ ōδ yādān ud angawān ud āb wxarān/
"When will I ever get there, and I can rest and drink some water?"
(including four subjunctives: one 3s and three 1s)
November 22, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Parthian word of the day
/angaw-/
"rest, find rest"
as in Sundermann, MKG 802-804
/kaδ ahād kaδ ōδ yādān ud angawān ud āb wxarān/
"When will I ever get there, and I can rest and drink some water?"
(including four subjunctives: one 3s and three 1s)
/angaw-/
"rest, find rest"
as in Sundermann, MKG 802-804
/kaδ ahād kaδ ōδ yādān ud angawān ud āb wxarān/
"When will I ever get there, and I can rest and drink some water?"
(including four subjunctives: one 3s and three 1s)
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Richard Sproat: "The Relevance of Heraldry to Writing Systems" @ www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF4c...
Many thanks for the upload! 🙏 Couldn't attend the talk on that day unfortunately.
Many thanks for the upload! 🙏 Couldn't attend the talk on that day unfortunately.
November 23, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Richard Sproat: "The Relevance of Heraldry to Writing Systems" @ www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF4c...
Many thanks for the upload! 🙏 Couldn't attend the talk on that day unfortunately.
Many thanks for the upload! 🙏 Couldn't attend the talk on that day unfortunately.
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Parthian word of the day
/dašnag/
"dagger" 🗡️ (< /dašn/ "right hand/side")
as in Sundermann, MKG 807-809
/aδyān mard ēw bazzakkar až hō kadag bēh āsēndēh kē dašnag pad dašt dārēd/
"then a bad guy came out of the house with a dagger in his hand"
/dašnag/
"dagger" 🗡️ (< /dašn/ "right hand/side")
as in Sundermann, MKG 807-809
/aδyān mard ēw bazzakkar až hō kadag bēh āsēndēh kē dašnag pad dašt dārēd/
"then a bad guy came out of the house with a dagger in his hand"
November 23, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Parthian word of the day
/dašnag/
"dagger" 🗡️ (< /dašn/ "right hand/side")
as in Sundermann, MKG 807-809
/aδyān mard ēw bazzakkar až hō kadag bēh āsēndēh kē dašnag pad dašt dārēd/
"then a bad guy came out of the house with a dagger in his hand"
/dašnag/
"dagger" 🗡️ (< /dašn/ "right hand/side")
as in Sundermann, MKG 807-809
/aδyān mard ēw bazzakkar až hō kadag bēh āsēndēh kē dašnag pad dašt dārēd/
"then a bad guy came out of the house with a dagger in his hand"
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Old Uyghur word of the day
/edi/ owner, possessor
as in T II K 2a I v, top (ed. Lieu, Old Turk., p. 46)
/kutlug bolzun bo bitig edisi/
"May this book's owner be favored!"
/edi/ owner, possessor
as in T II K 2a I v, top (ed. Lieu, Old Turk., p. 46)
/kutlug bolzun bo bitig edisi/
"May this book's owner be favored!"
November 18, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Old Uyghur word of the day
/edi/ owner, possessor
as in T II K 2a I v, top (ed. Lieu, Old Turk., p. 46)
/kutlug bolzun bo bitig edisi/
"May this book's owner be favored!"
/edi/ owner, possessor
as in T II K 2a I v, top (ed. Lieu, Old Turk., p. 46)
/kutlug bolzun bo bitig edisi/
"May this book's owner be favored!"
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Weekly Georgian Etymology: კეცი ḳeci 'ceramic pan', from Old Georgian ႩႤႺႨ ḳeci wine vessel, from Proto-Kartvelian *ḳec- ceramic vessel, loan from/into Nakh-Daghestanian *kɨ̄ṭV- vessel: cf. Chechen kad pot, Tsez ḳoṭi cup, Udi kot:o-war pan. Ancient pan-Caucasian Wanderwort.
November 17, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Weekly Georgian Etymology: კეცი ḳeci 'ceramic pan', from Old Georgian ႩႤႺႨ ḳeci wine vessel, from Proto-Kartvelian *ḳec- ceramic vessel, loan from/into Nakh-Daghestanian *kɨ̄ṭV- vessel: cf. Chechen kad pot, Tsez ḳoṭi cup, Udi kot:o-war pan. Ancient pan-Caucasian Wanderwort.
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Another 3 vols. (110-112) of the journal Acta Asiatica went online today, meaning that after almost a decade my paper on "Foreign Sources on the History of the Japanese Language" (2016) is finally accessible online: doi.org/10.69382/act... 🙏
Make sure to check out the other contributions as well!
Make sure to check out the other contributions as well!
November 14, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Another 3 vols. (110-112) of the journal Acta Asiatica went online today, meaning that after almost a decade my paper on "Foreign Sources on the History of the Japanese Language" (2016) is finally accessible online: doi.org/10.69382/act... 🙏
Make sure to check out the other contributions as well!
Make sure to check out the other contributions as well!
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Syriac word of the day
ܐܬܢܬܦ
/ʔeṯnṯep̄/
"be drawn, dragged, enticed, distracted"
as in Evag., Lett. to Melania, BL add. 14578, f. 191vb
ܠܗܠܝܢ ܟܠܗܝܢ ܐܬܢܬܦ ܪܥܝܢܝ
/l-hålēn kul-hēn ʔeṯnṯep̄ reʕyån/
"my mind got distracted by all these things"
ܐܬܢܬܦ
/ʔeṯnṯep̄/
"be drawn, dragged, enticed, distracted"
as in Evag., Lett. to Melania, BL add. 14578, f. 191vb
ܠܗܠܝܢ ܟܠܗܝܢ ܐܬܢܬܦ ܪܥܝܢܝ
/l-hålēn kul-hēn ʔeṯnṯep̄ reʕyån/
"my mind got distracted by all these things"
November 14, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Syriac word of the day
ܐܬܢܬܦ
/ʔeṯnṯep̄/
"be drawn, dragged, enticed, distracted"
as in Evag., Lett. to Melania, BL add. 14578, f. 191vb
ܠܗܠܝܢ ܟܠܗܝܢ ܐܬܢܬܦ ܪܥܝܢܝ
/l-hålēn kul-hēn ʔeṯnṯep̄ reʕyån/
"my mind got distracted by all these things"
ܐܬܢܬܦ
/ʔeṯnṯep̄/
"be drawn, dragged, enticed, distracted"
as in Evag., Lett. to Melania, BL add. 14578, f. 191vb
ܠܗܠܝܢ ܟܠܗܝܢ ܐܬܢܬܦ ܪܥܝܢܝ
/l-hålēn kul-hēn ʔeṯnṯep̄ reʕyån/
"my mind got distracted by all these things"
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Weekly Georgian Etymology: ლეკვი leḳvi 'puppy', from Old Georgian ႪႤႩႥႨ leḳvi, from Georgian-Zan *leḳw-, an ancient loan from Indo-European *lúkʷos, metathesis of *wĺ̥kʷos 'wolf': cf. Greek λύκος, Proto-Italic *lukʷos. It is thus cognate to English wolf and Latin lupus.
November 10, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Weekly Georgian Etymology: ლეკვი leḳvi 'puppy', from Old Georgian ႪႤႩႥႨ leḳvi, from Georgian-Zan *leḳw-, an ancient loan from Indo-European *lúkʷos, metathesis of *wĺ̥kʷos 'wolf': cf. Greek λύκος, Proto-Italic *lukʷos. It is thus cognate to English wolf and Latin lupus.
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
News story on the book launch for /The Pearlsong/ a few weeks ago
Celebrating 'The Pearlsong' through scholarship and song
A mystical poem recounting the tale of a Parthian prince sent to Egypt by his parents to recover a sacred pearl from the clutches of a monstrous serpent is the…
news.harvard.edu
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
News story on the book launch for /The Pearlsong/ a few weeks ago
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Nice blogpost on (Chinese) Missionary Linguistcs by Otto Zwartjes (Paris), "[Q]uand les langues du monde s’ouvrent aux regards européens", tinyurl.com/yx9sttae.
La linguistique missionnaire : quand les langues du monde s’ouvrent aux regards européens
#LANGAGE EN COMMUN
tinyurl.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Nice blogpost on (Chinese) Missionary Linguistcs by Otto Zwartjes (Paris), "[Q]uand les langues du monde s’ouvrent aux regards européens", tinyurl.com/yx9sttae.
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
The Quran displays various arrangements of mysterious, disconnected letters. The magico-sacred aspect of the alphabet stretches far into the pre-Islamic past. This Safaitic text begins with a prayer to Allāt followed by a partial abecedary.
Find more: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
Find more: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
November 6, 2025 at 8:11 AM
The Quran displays various arrangements of mysterious, disconnected letters. The magico-sacred aspect of the alphabet stretches far into the pre-Islamic past. This Safaitic text begins with a prayer to Allāt followed by a partial abecedary.
Find more: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
Find more: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...