Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/jaŋ

This Proto-Sino-Tibetan entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Sino-Tibetan

Reconstruction

Proto-Sino-Tibetan: ?
- Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *g-ya(k/ŋ) (Matisoff, STEDT)

The uvular/velar prefixes in rGyalrongic and Tibetan are traces of an animal prefix.^[1]

Baxter and Sagart's reconstruction of a uvular in the Old Chinese descendant is rejected by Jacques and others; note that Bodish, rGyalrongic, and other non-Chinese cognates clearly show a *j initial.

STEDT attempts to equate Tibetan གཡག (g.yag, “male yak”), but according to Jacques, d'Alpoim Guedes, and Zhang (2021) the Tibetan term is genuinely cognate to only Tamangic *^Bhjaː ("male yak").^[2]

Noun

*jaŋ

sheep

Descendants

Chinese: 羊 (OC /*laŋ/ (ZS), /*ɢaŋ/ (B-S), MC *yang, “sheep, goat”) (see there for further descendants)
Proto-Bodish: *(g)jaŋ
- Tibetic
  - ⇒ Tibetan: གཡང་དཀར (g.yang dkar), གཡང་མོ (g.yang mo)
- Dakpa-Dzala
  - Dakpa: ཡེང (yeng)
  - Dzala: ཡེང (yeng)
- East Bodish
  - ⇒ Bumthangkha: ཡོ་གེ (yoge)
  - Khengkha: ཡོ (yo)
  - Kurtöp: ཡཱོ (yô)
rGyalrongic
- West rGyalrongic
  - Horpa
    - Geshiza: ji
    - Tangut: 𗂽 (jij2)
  - Khroskyabs: ʁjê
- East rGyalrongic
  - Japhug: qaʑo
  - Situ: kəɟók (Brag-bar), kəjō (Cogtse)
  - Zbu: qɐjɐ́ʔ
Naic
- Proto-Naish: *jaɣ
  - Naxi: yuq
  - Narua: yo (/⁠jo˧⁠/)
  - Laze: [Term?] (/⁠y˧⁠/)
Lolo-Burmese
- Burmish
  - Achang: yvng (“sheep”)
  - Lashi: yang
  - Pela: jɔ̃⁵⁵ (“goat”)
- Proto-Loloish: *ʒo¹ (“sheep”) (Bradley, 1979)
Ersuic: *jõ¹ (Yu, 2012)
- Ersu: jo⁵⁵
- Lizu: ȵo (Mianning), ȵu³⁵ (Kala)
Bai
- Bai: yon (“sheep”)

References

^ Zhang, Shuya; Jacques, Guillaume; Lai, Yunfan (2019), “A study of cognates between Gyalrong languages and Old Chinese”, in Journal of Language Relationship, volume 17, number 1, →DOI, page 84 of 73–92
^ Jacques, Guillaume; d'Alpoim Guedes, Jade; Zhang, Shuya (2021), “Yak Domestication: A Review of Linguistic, Archaeological, and Genetic Evidence”, in Ethnobiology Letters, volume 12, number 1, →DOI, page 109 of 103-114

[1] Zhang, Shuya; Jacques, Guillaume; Lai, Yunfan (2019), “A study of cognates between Gyalrong languages and Old Chinese”, in Journal of Language Relationship, volume 17, number 1, →DOI, page 84 of 73–92

[2] Jacques, Guillaume; d'Alpoim Guedes, Jade; Zhang, Shuya (2021), “Yak Domestication: A Review of Linguistic, Archaeological, and Genetic Evidence”, in Ethnobiology Letters, volume 12, number 1, →DOI, page 109 of 103-114

[1]

[2]