Variation in basic roots across dialects in nDrapa: Geolinguistic analysis in the Qiangic context

This paper examines the geographical distribution of three vocabulary items in the Qiangic area that have with divergent roots among nDrapa dialects: ‘sand’, ‘leaf’, and ‘knee’. The local diversity of word forms in the nDrapa dialects is considered in the broader perspective, including the Qiangic languages. Linguistic maps of the three items illustrate three different histories. Non-Qiangic word forms for ‘sand’ and ‘leaf’ are distributed in Central nDrapa, whereas loanwords have diffused from the northern and southern peripheries. As for ‘knee’, two types of word forms have cognates in Qiangic languages. This paper demonstrates the need for caution in conducting comparative linguistic research on the nDrapa language.