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
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...
Sanskrit/Tibetan/Tangut quote of the day:
Bodhicaryāvatāra 6.10
(ed. Solonin 2025 www.academia.edu/144598049/Bo...)
Bodhicaryāvatāra 6.10
(ed. Solonin 2025 www.academia.edu/144598049/Bo...)
November 6, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Sanskrit/Tibetan/Tangut quote of the day:
Bodhicaryāvatāra 6.10
(ed. Solonin 2025 www.academia.edu/144598049/Bo...)
Bodhicaryāvatāra 6.10
(ed. Solonin 2025 www.academia.edu/144598049/Bo...)
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
#Incredible ! There is good evidence that Greek literacy was relatively widespread among the ancient Arabs east of Ḥawrān. Here, our #Safaitic author partially writes out the Safaitic letters in the Greek order, omitting vowels!
Find more on #OCIANA: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
Find more on #OCIANA: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
November 5, 2025 at 8:51 AM
#Incredible ! There is good evidence that Greek literacy was relatively widespread among the ancient Arabs east of Ḥawrān. Here, our #Safaitic author partially writes out the Safaitic letters in the Greek order, omitting vowels!
Find more on #OCIANA: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
Find more on #OCIANA: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Weekly Georgian Etymology: ფოცხი pocxi 'rake', from Old Georgian ႴႭႺႾႨ pocxi rake, harrow, from Georgian-Zan *porcx-/*porcʲx- rake, broom, compound of Kartvelian *purcʲ- leaf and *cx- comb. Thus also related to ცოცხი cocxi broom and dialect forms like ფორჩხი porčxi rake.
November 5, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Weekly Georgian Etymology: ფოცხი pocxi 'rake', from Old Georgian ႴႭႺႾႨ pocxi rake, harrow, from Georgian-Zan *porcx-/*porcʲx- rake, broom, compound of Kartvelian *purcʲ- leaf and *cx- comb. Thus also related to ცოცხი cocxi broom and dialect forms like ფორჩხი porčxi rake.
Vietnamese word of the day:
đồng hồ ‘clock’, from Sino-Vietnamese 銅壺, literally ‘copper pot’, referring to the water clock used in premodern China.
(📷:https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B4%E9%90%98#/media/File:%E9%93%9C%E5%A3%B6%E6%BB%B4%E6%BC%8F.jpg)
đồng hồ ‘clock’, from Sino-Vietnamese 銅壺, literally ‘copper pot’, referring to the water clock used in premodern China.
(📷:https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B4%E9%90%98#/media/File:%E9%93%9C%E5%A3%B6%E6%BB%B4%E6%BC%8F.jpg)
October 28, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Vietnamese word of the day:
đồng hồ ‘clock’, from Sino-Vietnamese 銅壺, literally ‘copper pot’, referring to the water clock used in premodern China.
(📷:https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B4%E9%90%98#/media/File:%E9%93%9C%E5%A3%B6%E6%BB%B4%E6%BC%8F.jpg)
đồng hồ ‘clock’, from Sino-Vietnamese 銅壺, literally ‘copper pot’, referring to the water clock used in premodern China.
(📷:https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B4%E9%90%98#/media/File:%E9%93%9C%E5%A3%B6%E6%BB%B4%E6%BC%8F.jpg)
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Middle Persian word of the day
/wāstaryōšīh/
"farming, agriculture"
as in Gr. Bundahišn (ed. Cereti in FS Emmerick) 3.6
/U-š paymōzan ī xašēnēn paymōxt, brahmag ī wāstaryōšīh dāšt/
"He wore blue clothes, dressing farmer-style"
/wāstaryōšīh/
"farming, agriculture"
as in Gr. Bundahišn (ed. Cereti in FS Emmerick) 3.6
/U-š paymōzan ī xašēnēn paymōxt, brahmag ī wāstaryōšīh dāšt/
"He wore blue clothes, dressing farmer-style"
October 22, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Middle Persian word of the day
/wāstaryōšīh/
"farming, agriculture"
as in Gr. Bundahišn (ed. Cereti in FS Emmerick) 3.6
/U-š paymōzan ī xašēnēn paymōxt, brahmag ī wāstaryōšīh dāšt/
"He wore blue clothes, dressing farmer-style"
/wāstaryōšīh/
"farming, agriculture"
as in Gr. Bundahišn (ed. Cereti in FS Emmerick) 3.6
/U-š paymōzan ī xašēnēn paymōxt, brahmag ī wāstaryōšīh dāšt/
"He wore blue clothes, dressing farmer-style"
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Interesting new paper on training an LLM to write Tang poetry (doi:10.1038/s40494-025-02087-x), including a Turing test to evaluate results, which concludes:
October 20, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Interesting new paper on training an LLM to write Tang poetry (doi:10.1038/s40494-025-02087-x), including a Turing test to evaluate results, which concludes:
Reposted by Lin, Chia-Wei
Weekly Georgian Etymology: საბანი sabani 'blanket', from Middle Georgian, from Greek σάβανον linen cloth or towel, from Coptic ⲥⲁⲃⲟⲛ sabon cloth, from Egyptian 𓋴𓃀𓈖 seben bandage for wrapping mummies, perhaps reflecting Afro-Asiatic *sVp- weave, sew.
October 20, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Weekly Georgian Etymology: საბანი sabani 'blanket', from Middle Georgian, from Greek σάβανον linen cloth or towel, from Coptic ⲥⲁⲃⲟⲛ sabon cloth, from Egyptian 𓋴𓃀𓈖 seben bandage for wrapping mummies, perhaps reflecting Afro-Asiatic *sVp- weave, sew.