原始蔵緬語
Proto-Tibeto-Burman
Sino-Tibetan > Tibeto-Burman (proto)
Reconstructed common ancestor of the Tibeto-Burman branch of Sino-Tibetan, excluding Sinitic which split off earlier. Forms shown follow Matisoff's Handbook of Proto-Tibeto-Burman (2003) and the STEDT online database. Reconstructions use a starred asterisk and may show variant forms separated by ⪤ (allofam sign). Coverage is sparse because PTB reconstruction is most secure for body parts, basic verbs and a handful of natural-world items; many Han-character glosses (e.g. cardinal directions, 'cat', 'dragon') have no widely accepted PTB etymon.
Where it is spoken
Han character readings in Proto-Tibeto-Burman
| Character | Meaning | Reading | Form | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 二 | two | *g-nis | /*g-nis/ | |
| 三 | three | *g-sum | /*g-sum/ | |
| 四 | four | *b-ləy | /*b-ləy/ | |
| 五 | five | b- 形 | *b-ŋa | /*b-ŋa/ |
| l- 形 | *l-ŋa | /*l-ŋa/ | ||
| 六 | six | *d-k-ruk | /*d-k-ruk/ | |
| 八 | eight | *b-r-gyat 形 | *b-r-gyat | /*b-r-gyat/ |
| *b-g-ryat 形 | *b-g-ryat | /*b-g-ryat/ | ||
| 九 | nine | *d-kəw | /*d-kəw/ | |
| 日 | sun | *nəy | /*nəy/ | |
| 月 | moon | s- 形 | *s-la | /*s-la/ |
| g- 形 | *g-la | /*g-la/ | ||
| 山 | mountain | *r-i | /*r-i/ | |
| 火 | fire | *mey | /*mey/ | |
| 犬 | dog | *kʷəy | /*kʷəy/ | |
| 魚 | fish | *ŋ(y)a | /*ŋ(y)a/ | |
| 人 | person | *r-mi(y) | /*r-mi(y)/ | |
| 手 | hand | l- 形 | *l(y)ak | /*l(y)ak/ |
| d- 形 | *dyak | /*dyak/ | ||
| 目 | eye | *s-mik 形 | *s-mik | /*s-mik/ |
| *s-myak 形 | *s-myak | /*s-myak/ | ||
| 耳 | ear | *r-na | /*r-na/ | |
| 血 | blood | *s-hywəy | /*s-hywəy/ | |
| 肉 | meat | *sya | /*sya/ | |
| 食 | eat | *dzya | /*dzya/ |
Sources
- Matisoff, James A. (2003). Handbook of Proto-Tibeto-Burman. UC Press.
- STEDT (Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus), UC Berkeley, online database.
- Wikipedia: Proto-Tibeto-Burman language
Han readings compared
Compared with related Sino-Tibetan > Tibeto-Burman (proto) languages
| Character | Proto-Tibeto-Burman | Proto-Sino-Tibetan | Proto-Hmong-Mien | Chinese (Han dynasty Classical) | Proto-Japonic | Proto-Mongolic | Proto-Austroasiatic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 二 | *g-nis /*g-nis/ | *nĭy /*nĭy/ | *ʔu̯i /*ʔu̯i/ | *ni[j]-s /*ni[j]-s/ | *puta /*puta/ | *qoyar /*qojar/ | *ɓaːr /*ɓaːr/ |
| 三 | *g-sum /*g-sum/ | *sɨm /*sɨm/ | *pjɔu /*pjɔu/ | *s.rum /*s.rum/ | *mi /*mi/ | *gurba(n) /*gurban/ | *peːʔ /*peːʔ/ |
| 四 | *b-ləy /*b-ləy/ | *lĭy /*lĭy/ | *plei /*plei/ | *s.li[j]-s /*s.li[j]-s/ | *jə /*jə/ | *dörbe(n) /*dœrben/ | *puənʔ /*puənʔ/ |
| 五 | b- 形*b-ŋa /*b-ŋa/l- 形*l-ŋa /*l-ŋa/ | *ŋāH /*ŋāH/ | *prja /*prja/ | *C.ŋˤaʔ /*C.ŋˤaʔ/ | *itu /*itu/ | *tabu(n) /*tabun/ | — |
| 六 | *d-k-ruk /*d-k-ruk/ | *rŭk /*rŭk/ | *kruk /*kruk/ | *k.ruk /*k.ruk/ | *mu /*mu/ | *jirguɣa(n) /*dʒirɣuɣan/ | *pruʔ /*pruʔ/ |
| 八 | *b-r-gyat 形*b-r-gyat /*b-r-gyat/*b-g-ryat 形*b-g-ryat /*b-g-ryat/ | *ryēt /*ryēt/ | — | *pˤret /*pˤret/ | *ja /*ja/ | *nayima(n) /*najiman/ | *tNɕaːm /*tɲcaːm/ |
| 九 | *d-kəw /*d-kəw/ | *kwɨH /*kwɨH/ | *N-ɟuə̯X /*N-ɟuə̯X/ | *[k]uʔ /*[k]uʔ/ | *kəkənə /*kəkənə/ | *yersü(n) /*jersyn/ | — |
| 日 | *nəy /*nəy/ | *nĭy /*nĭy/ | *hnu̯ɔiA /*hnu̯ɔiA/ | *C.nik /*C.nik/ | *pi /*pi/ | *naran /*naran/ | *tŋiːʔ /*tŋiːʔ/ |
| 月 | s- 形*s-la /*s-la/g- 形*g-la /*g-la/ | *(s-)lăH /*(s-)lăH/ | *hlaH /*hlaH/ | *[ŋ]ʷat /*[ŋ]ʷat/ | *tukuy /*tukui/ | *sara(n) /*saran/ | *kVcaːj /*kəcaːj/ |
| 山 | *r-i /*r-i/ | — | — | *s-ŋrar /*s-ŋrar/ | *jama /*jama/ | *agula /*aɣula/ | — |
| 火 | *mey /*mey/ | — | — | *[qʷʰ]ˤəjʔ /*[qʷʰ]ˤəjʔ/ | *poy /*poi/ | *gal /*ɡal/ | *ʔuːs /*ʔuːs/ |
| 犬 | *kʷəy /*kʷəy/ | — | *qluwX /*qluwX/ | *[k]ʷʰˤenʔ /*[k]ʷʰˤenʔ/ | *enu /*enu/ | *noxai /*noxaj/ | *cɔʔ /*cɔʔ/ |
| 魚 | *ŋ(y)a /*ŋ(y)a/ | — | *mbrəuX /*mbrəuX/ | *[ŋ]a /*[ŋ]a/ | *iwo /*iwo/ | *jigasu(n) /*dʒiɣasun/ | *kaʔ /*kaʔ/ |
| 人 | *r-mi(y) /*r-mi(y)/ | *mĭ /*mĭ/ | *lan /*ʔja/ | *ni[ŋ] /*ni[ŋ]/ | *pitə /*pitə/ | *kümün /*kymyn/ | *kmiː /*kmiː/ |
| 手 | l- 形*l(y)ak /*l(y)ak/d- 形*dyak /*dyak/ | — | — | *n̥uʔ /*n̥uʔ/ | *ta /*ta/ | *gar /*ɡar/ | *tiːʔ /*tiːʔ/ |
| 目 | *s-mik 形*s-mik /*s-mik/*s-myak 形*s-myak /*s-myak/ | — | — | *C.muk /*C.muk/ | *ma /*ma/ | *nidün /*nidyn/ | *mat /*mat/ |
| 耳 | *r-na /*r-na/ | — | — | *C.nəʔ /*C.nəʔ/ | *mimi /*mimi/ | *cikin /*tʃikin/ | *ktɔːr /*ktɔːr/ |
| 血 | *s-hywəy /*s-hywəy/ | — | *ntshjamX /*ntshjamX/ | *m̥ˤik /*m̥ˤik/ | *ti /*ti/ | *cisu(n) /*tʃisun/ | *mhaːm /*mhaːm/ |
| 肉 | *sya /*sya/ | — | — | *k.nuk /*k.nuk/ | *sisi /*sisi/ | *mika(n) /*mikan/ | *sɔc /*sɔc/ |
| 食 | *dzya /*dzya/ | *ʒʰa /*ʒʰa/ | — | *mə-lək /*mə-lək/ | *kup- /*kup-/ | *ide- /*ide-/ | *ca(ː)ʔ /*caːʔ/ |
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