Towards a new dialectology of Situ Gyalrong

Abstract This article proposes a refined dialectological framework for Situ Gyalrong and pursues two primary objectives. First, by identifying shared innovations, it delimits the external boundaries of Situ within the Gyalrongic subgroup, thereby resolving debates about the affiliation of its northern dialects spoken around Barkam with those of the southern regions. Second, building on Gong’s ( 2017 ; 2018 ) distinction between deprenasalizing and leniting dialects, the paper argues that both deprenasalization and lenition occurred multiple times in Situ dialects. It identifies distinct strata of deprenasalization separating southern and northern varieties within the deprenasalizing group and demonstrates that lenition of voiceless stops defines a Bragbar-Kyomkyo subclade within the leniting group. While the proposed classification provides a foundation for future research, the sound changes examined, deprenasalization, lenition, and fortition, also contribute to Gyalrongic historical linguistics and to the areal typology of sound changes in the Qiangic-speaking region.