Chapter 03
Du Weiyan's breath froze in an instant, that name was almost about to slip from her lips
The woman's voice was soft and lingering to an incredible degree, and as Du Weiyan found herself ensnared in such darkness, a hint of warmth unexpectedly enveloped her. She leaned against the car window in a slight daze, seeing her own face clearly reflected in the glass, the tip of her nose pressed against it, exhaling a faint puff of white mist.
Yet he seemed not to think much of it; he simply reached out and smiled, saying: "Yi Zirong"
The voice of the young man floated in like a wisp of cloud, seemingly imbued with laughter, yet his gaze bore not a trace of warmth, akin to the cold rain pouring outside the window at this moment
Du Weiyan suppressed a smile and temporarily acted as a translator: "The boss asked you where you are rushing to?"
Linxi Province has always been a place where dialects vary greatly even within a distance of ten miles. Upon hearing Du Weiyan speak in a genuine local dialect, the boss's dark complexion showed a hint of surprise: "Miss, are you from around here?"
She only heard the person behind respond lightly, and Du Weiyan instinctively wanted to lean forward to see what the person behind looked like. However, her gaze fell on the several boxes piled up in the passenger seat, which clearly could not accommodate anyone. She then felt a bit awkward and paused there.
Only a series of braking sounds could be heard, and the umbrella in Du Weiyan's hand also fell to the side. A chill ran through her body, followed by a dampness on her skin. She let out a silent cry in her heart, feeling somewhat afraid to open her eyes and see the wretched state she was in at that moment
Du Weiyan noticed that he said "same old story," and her heart sank. She clenched her fists, her knuckles nearly digging into her palms
Du Weiyan's father, Du Rufe, is a renowned anthropologist, whose greatest hobby is photography. Every day, he carries various cameras and a tripod, bustling between the city and the countryside. In the two years leading up to his retirement, influenced by this hobby, he even shifted his research focus to folk beliefs, lamenting more than once: "Ah, I should have studied folk religious beliefs years ago. This is good, this is interesting"
Du Weiyan took off her headphones and turned to the door to receive the delivery.
The computer is buzzing, continuously filtering and comparing the corpus
The ordinary farmhouse dishes excelled in their fresh ingredients. Coupled with the fact that everyone had been traveling since early morning, it was inevitable that they felt a bit fatigued. One by one, they devoured the three dishes with great eagerness, leaving nothing behind as if a whirlwind had swept through.
Mr. Yi
Du Weiyan knew that her shoes were already soaked, and she couldn't help but stomp her feet, asking Lao Sun: "How is it?"
Du Weiyan's heart skipped a beat as she caught sight of a language magazine, the footer of the cover printed with the words "Thian Clan"—she knew that this trend in academia had not yet passed. The persistence of this trend and hot topic meant that she, Du Weiyan, remained a darling of the academic world. For this young scholar, seeing this term at this moment felt somewhat abrupt, yet naturally also a bit proud
Du Weiyan packed her luggage and got into the car sent by the Political Consultative Conference on a misty autumn morning. She felt quite fortunate not to be traveling with Jiang Luwen. In fact, this worry had been lingering in her mind before departure, and it was only when the white van arrived in front of her that she realized she had been somewhat foolish. How could Jiang Luwen possibly travel with her? At most, they would see each other a few times at various discussion meetings in Mingwu in the days to come.
Old Sun attempted to start the engine several times, the car shuddered a few times, yet it quietly stalled each time. He cursed loudly and turned back, saying: "I will go take a look"
The person seemed to know that she was scrutinizing him and slowly lowered the magazine.
The driver smiled wryly, feeling somewhat helpless. He glanced at the young girl, who was dressed lightly and completely soaked, and pointed to the last car: "Hey, wait a moment, I will go ask."
He missed the point: "Still the same as before, helped you out, but you won't even say thank you."
The boss smoked a cigarette and came over to chat. After listening for a long time, Old Sun said in confusion: "What... what is he talking about?"
The same voice leisurely came through: "Let her sit in the back."
"Alright! Go ahead," Du Rufei said with a smile, "Call me when you arrive, and take care of yourself."
Old Sun's face brightened with joy as he quickly took out a tissue from his pocket to give to Du Weiyan, while swiftly approaching the convoy and skillfully greeting the driver who had just gotten out: "Master, could you do me a favor?"
Du Weiyan blinked and said: "Shh! You can still get a discount when you come back"
One by one, the colleagues braved the heavy rain to change cars. Du Weiyan followed Xiao Liang and suddenly realized in astonishment that it was full.
Hey, yes. Mingwu is indeed the precursor to Hongyu. Mingwu serves as a testing point; once it is developed successfully, the next stop will be the Hongyu Tian clan. However, since Hongyu involves ethnic relations, we must be more cautious. Therefore, this testing point needs to be executed with greater precision.
After exiting the Daliang Bend Tunnel, the driver, Master Sun, parked the vehicle at a small hotel by the roadside and called out, "Shall we have lunch here before continuing our journey?"
The car door slammed shut
Du Weiyan jumped out of the car, stretched lazily, and moved her muscles and bones. A slight cool autumn rain fell on her neck, damp and moist, as if it could wet a person's eyelashes, and the world outside appeared hazy like water
In the midst of the strong wind, the rainwater envelops everything, resembling a network of water, pouring down onto people's feet with a splashing sound
Du Weiyan sat in the last row as the vehicle rushed into a long tunnel, all light swallowed by the black void, leaving only two rows of streetlights on the tunnel walls, merging into two brilliant streams of dew, flowing and blooming in the depths of the eyes
Little Du, you have a package
Du Weiyan was standing by the window reading the invitation letter when a colleague came into the office to inform her: "Business trip this weekend, going to Mingwu"
He set the magazine aside, and the smile at the corners of his mouth gradually intensified from a faint expression to a strong one, eventually flowing slowly into his eyes, exuding an irresistible handsomeness
Public Security Bureau! Xiao Liang reminded her somewhat dissatisfiedly, "Did you forget?"
However, the driver in front turned around and asked, "Mr. Yi, may we start driving now?"
Dad, have you taken your medicine?
Du Weiyan felt a sense of reassurance behind the steady frequency of the sound. Her fingers gently tapped on the white desk, watching as the progress bar on the computer screen gradually extended and then retracted, resembling a game of graphical transformation
"Xiao Du, hey, Xiao Du!" Xiao Liang's voice came over, finally waking her from a state that was almost like a nightmare. "Du Weiyan! Why did you only say half of what you were going to say?"
Du Weiyan felt a bit anxious as she said: "Why do you always forget to take your medicine! If this continues, I really will have to hire a nurse to look after you. Why don't you just move back..."
When at a loss, four cars approached from a distance, racing like the wind, transforming from a small black dot to passing by in just a few seconds
Xiao Liang said with a smile: "Mingwu? Finally going there."
The girl in the illusion smiled gently, her small dimples resembling tiny flowers, blooming slowly and gracefully.
Xiao Liang suppressed a laugh and said softly, "You really have some nerve."
The music from the headphones softly sings: "Flowers enter the mud, I enter the play, like you like chess, I would rather enter the game..."
In the pouring rain, Du Weiyan walked towards the black car, repeatedly saying to the driver: "Thank you"
Visiting abroad, attending seminars, and entering research institutes all seem to follow a natural progression
The Universal Grammar Theory holds a critically important viewpoint, which is that all human languages share a commonality. This does not refer to specific pronunciations or grammatical structures, but rather to a fundamentally deep essence that is inherent in every language.
Old Sun shook his head dejectedly and rubbed his hands together: "There is no way out."
When did I become someone who can be easily moved by lyrics like this
Du Weiyan felt a sense of relief, as she now had a valid reason to decline the invitation from that side. She sat down, wrote an email briefly explaining the situation, and then sent it.
She understood her father's meaning; on one hand, she naturally felt a sense of pride as a daughter; on the other hand, he was subtly urging her not to stagnate in her studies and to strive for progress
"This time, be well prepared; it will definitely be a protracted battle," Xiao Liang stated emphatically. "The government places such great importance on Mingwu that, it is said, during the last revision of the city records, they sent those old scholars from the history department to stay there for half a year."
There was only one umbrella in the car. Du Weiyan, sitting by the window, quickly took the umbrella and said, "I will hold it for you."
She could not help but raise her eyes and take a look at the person sitting beside her
Certainly, the significance of the Thangzu language in academia lies in its ability to demonstrate, in a reverse manner, the hypotheses of Chomsky's theory of universal grammar
Suddenly losing the interest to continue the conversation, Du Weiyan hurriedly finished a few bites of food, lifted one end of the plate, and stood up: "Actually, it's nothing... I am going to the laboratory"
Just like Du Rufe said jokingly to her: "You can indeed sit and eat until the mountains are empty"
Mr. Chomsky, after establishing this hypothesis, continuously tested, filled, and validated it against various languages of the world. However, this hypothesis seems to be an endless abyss; no matter how many different languages the academic community incorporates, it is always difficult to draw a conclusion. After all, no one can exhaustively verify all the languages in the world. Eventually, Mr. Chomsky shifted his focus and became passionate about social anti-war movements, leaving behind a vast theoretical treasury that naturally awaits future scholars to prove and supplement. After all, no one can exhaustively verify all the languages in the world. Eventually, Mr. Chomsky shifted his focus and became passionate about social anti-war movements, leaving behind a vast theoretical treasury that naturally awaits future scholars to prove and supplement.
Finding such an almost idealistic commentary in a rigorously meticulous linguistic journal is indeed a miracle
Such handsomeness stirs unease within the heart
In the past, scholars merely attempted to stuff one language after another into this hypothesis, akin to cramming, endlessly modifying and proving. In contrast, the Tianzu language adopts an opposite approach, incorporating all the linguistic elements that people can conceive today. Its existence is sufficient to demonstrate that universal grammar is no longer a hypothesis, but a scientifically validated theory
He possesses a pair of peculiar pupils, with a color that is extremely pure, resembling ancient black basalt. Even when they absorb all external light, they never shine; despite their noble and captivating nature, they always maintain a restrained luster
Du Weiyan no longer listened to the noisy chatter of his colleagues and made a phone call to his father
Many people, upon first meeting Du Weiyan, often feel that this seemingly somewhat baby-faced young girl working at the Language Information Research Institute is there largely due to her father's influence. At such moments, no matter how good-natured Du Weiyan is, she cannot help but feel a bit angry.
The driver opened the passenger door for her and smiled, saying, "It's nothing." He then lowered his head and said to the person in the back of the car, "Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Yi."
As commented by renowned authoritative language magazines abroad
Du Weiyan came to her senses, having already forgotten what she had just said. She coughed softly, her expression somewhat awkward: "What did I just say?"
Traveling from Tianyin City to Mingwu City requires crossing Linxiu Province. The terrain of Linxiu Province is characterized by mountains and rivers; although the straight-line distance on the map appears short, the actual time taken due to detours is several times that of the direct route. In recent years, the rapid development of interprovincial expressways has significantly reduced the travel time from the northern provincial capital to Mingwu to four hours. If one continues south to Hongyu, naturally, the time spent will be even greater
As usual ... ... is what he referred to. ... ... Is it those things he did back then?
Du Weiyan hurriedly finished her last sentence: "Dad, I will be on a business trip to Mingwu this weekend and may be gone for a long time. Please take care of yourself."
Upon opening it, I found an invitation to a Chinese grammar seminar organized by a university in a neighboring city, scheduled for next month, inviting her to speak at the conference
Du Weiyan quickly regained her composure, a hint of surprise passing through her mind. Why would the person sitting in this car be interested in the core journals of linguistics
"I haven't forgotten, I haven't forgotten, hey! Girl, I'm currently focusing, I'll talk to you later." He was quite straightforward about wanting to hang up the phone.
None of them brought umbrellas, but fortunately the car was not parked too far away. They each held their coats over their heads and hurried towards the van
In fact, there is not much choice. Drivers who frequently travel this route all know that this is the only place to rest and take a breather; beyond this point is a highway that leads directly to Mingwu, and there are no places to eat along the way.
After a long time, Du Rufe finally picked up the phone, and Du Weiyan guessed that he was not at home
Seven people sat down in a small room, casually ordering a few dishes. Looking back outside, the autumn rain was falling even harder, splattering on the ground like swift arrows. The proprietress quickly brought the dishes to the table: shredded pork with green peppers, cured meat with dried tofu, and stir-fried greens, all served in three full bowls
Without waiting for Lao Sun to respond, she smiled at the grinning boss and said: "Ming Wu"
Du Weiyan lightly raised her eyebrows, and that name slipped down effortlessly. She opened her mouth and asked, "What is your name?"
In just a short span of six months, this paper has been cited by numerous prestigious journals and research systems. The young scholar Du Weiyan seems to be a rising star in the field of linguistics, with a level of popularity that rivals the emergence of F4 in its heyday
Du Rufe chuckled a few times, seemingly feeling a bit guilty
Uncertain whether it was the sudden chill of autumn that had descended, Du Weiyan shivered violently, her upper and lower teeth involuntarily clattering together... This sound, why was it so familiar? As she walked back to the rear seat, she felt as if she had stepped into several small puddles, her steps faltering, nearly causing her to fall directly into one.
Because she can say, without any embarrassment, that her entry into the dialect base of this country is solely due to her paper titled "A Study on the Dialects of the Tian Ethnic Group"
In the past two years, she has lost count of how many such invitations she has received. Every time Du Weiyan thinks of her father jokingly saying to her, "You, just rely on that one article, and it will be enough to sustain you for a lifetime."
The splashes of water from the large wave rose up, and Du Weiyan stood on the side of the road, unable to evade in time. In a moment of panic, his instinct was merely to turn his face inward and subconsciously close his eyes
Her mother passed away early. For the convenience of work, she lives in the city, while her elderly father resides alone in a small house in the suburbs of Tianyin City, tending to flowers and grass, and enjoying outings in nature, which brings him great joy. She advised Du Rufe, saying: "Dad, you should treat your hobbies as just a pastime, and definitely do not push yourself as you did before."
I met an old acquaintance, and in a moment of joy, the boss didn't even ask for the change and cheerfully said: "Come back and eat again when you pass by."
The framework of this paper is based on Chomsky's theory of universal grammar
He is a young man holding a magazine in his hand, which just happens to cover his face
Oh my! The discovery of this language is akin to finding the germ of a language—after this, every human language has evolved from one of its cells. It is like the language of God
The other party had four vehicles, each carrying a few people in a scattered manner. The driver, who had splashed Du Weiyan with mud, ran back to discuss with the people in the car for a moment, and finally decided to give them a ride. The six people in the vehicle were distributed among the three cars, with one SUV towing the broken-down van to the service station ahead
At this moment, the emergence of Du Weiyan's "Research on the Dialects of the Tian Ethnic Group" holds significant meaning for the linguistic community, as if it were such a matter
The dialect of the Tuyuhun people described by Du Weiyan in her paper is such a language that approaches the miraculous... The languages she is familiar with, including those from the Indo-European family, Sino-Tibetan family, and Semitic family... The characteristics and structures of each language family can be found in the Tuyuhun language
Everyone knows that 1 + 1 = 2, but only Mr. Chen Jingrun came closest to and reached the gem on the crown of the Goldbach conjecture
This theory, after its establishment in the West, quickly swept the world, attracting both debaters and, more predominantly, supporters and acknowledgers. Particularly among those with religious beliefs, there is a sense of elation, as they believe this could potentially validate the hypothesis in the Bible regarding the use of a single language by the entire world before the time of the Tower of Babel. In fact, this sentiment is largely shared by everyone; there is always a special fondness and enthusiasm for certain esoteric concepts.