Proto-Hmong–Mien language
The Proto-Hmong–Mien language(Chinese: 原始苗瑶语) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Hmong–Mien languages. The time of proto-Hmong-Mien has been estimated to be about 2500 BP by Sagart, Blench, and Sanchez-Mazas and about 4243 BP by the Automated Similarity Judgment Program (ASJP).[1] Lower-level reconstructions include Proto-Hmongic and Proto-Mienic.
Reconstructions
Reconstructions of Proto-Hmong-Mien include those of Wang & Mao (1995), Ratliff (2010), and Ostapirat (2016).
Ratliff (2010)
Martha Ratliff (2010) used 11 criterion languages for her reconstruction.
- East Hmongic (Qiandong); Northern vernacular: Yanghao 养蒿, Yanghao Township, Taijiang County, Guizhou
- North Hmongic (Xiangxi); Western vernacular: Jiwei 吉卫, Jiwei Township, Huayuan County, Hunan
- West Hmongic (Chuanqiandian): White Hmong of Laos and Thailand
- West Hmongic (Chuanqiandian); Mashan subdialect, Central vernacular: Zongdi 宗地, Zongdi Township, Ziyun County, Guizhou
- West Hmongic (Chuanqiandian); Luopohe subdialect: Fuyuan 复员, Fuyuan County, Yunnan
- Hmongic; Jiongnai: Changdong Township 长垌, Jinxiu County, Guangxi
- Hmongic; Baiyun Pa-Hng: Baiyun 白云, Rongshui County, Guangxi
- Mienic; Mien, Luoxiang vernacular: Luoxiang Township 罗香, Jinxiu County, Guangxi
- Mienic; Mun: Lanjin Township 览金, Lingyun County, Guangxi
- Mienic; Biao Min: Dongshan Yao Township 东山, Quanzhou County, Guangxi
- Mienic; Zao Min: Daping Township 大平, Liannan County, Guangdong
Wang & Mao (1995)
Wang & Mao (1995) base their Proto-Hmong-Mien reconstruction from the following 23 criterion Hmong-Mien languages.
- Yanghao 养蒿; Hmu, North (ISO 693-3: [hea])
- Jiwei 吉卫; Qo Xiong, West [mmr]
- Xianjin 先进 ( = Dananshan 大南山); Chuanqiandian Miao, 1st lect [cqd]
- Shimenkan 石门坎; Diandongbei Miao [hmd]
- Qingyan 青岩;[2] Guiyang Miao, North [huj]
- Gaopo 高坡; Huishui Miao, North [hmi]
- Zongdi 宗地; Mashan Miao, Central [hmm]
- Fuyuan 复员;[3] Luopohe Miao, 2nd lect [hml]
- Fengxiang 枫香; Chong'anjiang Miao [hmj]
- Qibainong 七百弄; Bunu, Dongnu [bwx]
- Yaoli 瑶里;[4] Nao Klao, Baonuo [bwx]
- Wenjie 文界; Pa-Hng, Sanjiang [pha]
- Changdong 长峒; Jiongnai [pnu]
- Duozhu 多祝;[5] She [shx]
- Jiangdi 江底; Iu Mien, Guangdian [ium]
- Xiangjiang 湘江; Iu Mien, Xiangnan [ium]
- Luoxiang 罗香; Luoxiang Mien AKA Ao Biao [ium]
- Changping 长坪; Changping Mien AKA Biao Mon [ium]
- Liangzi 梁子; Kim Mun [mji]
- Lanjin 览金; Kim Mun [mji]
- Dongshan 东山; Biao Mon, Dongshan [bmt]
- Sanjiang 三江; Biao Mon, Shikou AKA Chao Kong Meng [bmt]
- Daping 大坪; Dzao Min [bpn]
Phonology
Martha Ratliff's 2010 reconstruction contains the following phonemic inventory.
- 51–54 consonants (including pre-glottalized and pre-nasalized consonants)
- 9 monophthong vowels
- 7 diphthongs
- 11 nasal rimes
Medial consonants are *-j-, *-l-, and *-r-.
Proto-Hmong–Mien had the following syllable structure (Ratliff 2010:10):
(C) C [j/w/l] [i̯/u̯] (V) V C (C)T
Ratliff does not reconstruct vowel length for either Proto-Mienic or Proto-Hmong-Mien. Even though Mienic languages usually have vowel length, Ratliff ascribes this to areal features that were borrowed after the breakup of Proto-Mienic.[6] Neighboring languages with vowel length include Cantonese and Zhuang.
Vocabulary
Below are some reconstructed words roughly belonging to the semantic domains of agriculture and subsistence (Ratliff 2004; Greenhill et al. 2008; Starling 1998). Terms for domesticated animals and non-rice crops are usually shared with Chinese, while vocabulary relating to hunting, rice crops, and local plants and animals are usually not shared with Chinese.
Proto- Hmong–Mien | Proto-Hmongic | Old Chinese | English |
---|---|---|---|
*ntshu C1 | lhaŋʔ (象) | elephant | |
*ʔlen A1 | w(h)an (猿) | monkey | |
*ŋgeu B2 | krun (麇) | river deer | |
*tʂo B1 | hlāʔ (虎) | tiger | |
*Glɐn B2 | shōŋ (蔥) | Chinese onion | |
*Nqaːn A1 | mrū (茅) | cogon grass | |
*n̥Ak B1 | nhāʔ (弩) | crossbow | |
*pwɒn B1 ~ *pənX | m-lak-s (射) | to shoot | |
*ɳõ C2 | łhuk (逐) | to track, follow | |
*qəi A1 | kē (雞) | chicken | |
*m-nɔk | ttiwʔ (鳥) | bird | |
*qlAu B1 ~ *qluwX | *hmaŋ C | kkhwirʔ (犬) | dog |
*ʔaːp B1 | ʔrāp (鴨) | duck | |
*mpɒ C1 | prā (豝) | pig | |
*ʑwɒəːŋ A2 | g(h)ʷān (羊) | sheep/goat | |
*ŋɔːŋ A2 | lhijʔ (兕) | water buffalo | |
*dəp D2 | d(h)ōs (豆) | bean | |
*peu B1 | snikʷ (菽) | soybean | |
*vəu C2 | was (芋) | taro | |
*mblau A2 | lhūʔ (稻) | rice plant; growing/unhusked rice | |
*ntsəːi C1 | mhījʔ (米) | husked rice | |
*ɲaːŋ C1 | mhījʔ (米) | cooked rice |
The ethnonym Hmong is reconstructed as *hmʉŋA in Proto-Hmongic by Ratliff (2010), while Mien is reconstructed as *mjænA in Proto-Mienic. In comparison, William H. Baxter and Laurent Sagart (2014)[7] reconstruct the Old Chinese name of the Mán 蠻 (Nanman 南蠻, or southern foreigners) as 蠻 *mˤro[n].
External relationships
The Proto-Hmong-Mien language shares many lexical similarities with neighboring language families, including Austroasiatic, Kra-Dai (Tai-Kadai), Austronesian, and Tibeto-Burman (Ratliff 2010). Martha Ratliff (2010:233-237) lists the following lexical resemblances between Proto-Hmong-Mien (abbreviated below as PHM) and other language families. Proto-Hmongic and Proto-Mienic are provided if the Proto-Hmong-Mien form is not reconstructed.
Austroasiatic
Many lexical resemblances are found between the Hmong-Mien and Austroasiatic language families (Ratliff 2010), some of which had earlier been proposed by Haudricourt (1951).[8]
- Lexical resemblances with Austroasiatic
- PHM *ʔu̯əm 'water'
- PHM *ntshjamX 'blood'
- PHM *ntju̯əŋH 'tree'
- PHM *ʔɲæmX 'to weep, cry'
- PHM *pənX 'to shoot'
- PHM *tu̯eiX 'tail'
- PHM *mpeiH 'to dream'
- PHM *ʔpu̯ɛŋX 'full'
- Proto-Hmongic *mbrɔD 'ant'
- Proto-Mienic *səpD 'centipede'
- PHM *klup 'grasshopper'
- PHM *ntshjeiX 'head louse'
Other Austroasiatic parallels listed by Kosaka (2002:94) are:[9]
- PHM *tshuŋX 'bone'
- PHM *S-phreiX 'head'
- PHM *pji̯əuX 'fruit'
- PHM *pjɔu 'three'
Ostapirat (2018:116-117)[10] lists compares the following basic vocabulary items in Hmong-Mien and Austroasiatic.
Gloss | Proto-Hmong-Mien (Ratliff 2010) | Proto-Vietic (Ferlus 1991)[11] | Proto-Wa (Diffloth 1980)[12] |
---|---|---|---|
louse | *ntshjeiX | *ciʔ | *siʔ |
fruit | *pji̯əuX | *pleʔ | *pliʔ |
road | *kləuX | *khraʔ | *kraʔ |
shoot | *pənX | *paɲʔ | *pɤɲ |
blood | *ntshjamX | *asaːmʔ | *hnam |
weep | *ʔɲæmX | *jaːmʔ, *ɲaːmʔ | *jam |
hawk | *qlaŋX | *klaːŋʔ | *klaŋ |
cooked | *sjenX (Proto-Hmongic) | *ciːnʔ | *sin |
heavy | *hnjeinX | *naŋʔ | (*s-jen) |
full | *pu̯ɛŋX | pɔiŋ (Mon) | phoiɲ (Khasi) |
nose | *mbruiH | *muːs | *mɨs |
name | *mpɔuH | jhmoh (Middle Khmer) | *mɨs |
horn | *klɛɔŋ | *kərəŋ | *ʔrɤŋ |
water | *ʔu̯əm | ʔom (Palaung) | *rʔom |
live, alive | *ʔjəm | ʔim (Palaung) | *ʔem |
I | *ʔja (Proto-Mienic) | ʔoa (Mon) | *ʔɨʔ |
thou | *mu̯ei | mày (Vietnamese) | me (Khasi) |
one | *ʔɨ | - | ʔu (Palaung) |
two | *ʔu̯i | - | ʔa (Palaung) |
three | *pjɔu | paj (Kui) | - |
Further lexical resemblances between Hmong-Mien and Austroasiatic are listed in Hsiu (2017).[13]
Kra-Dai
Many lexical resemblances are found between the Hmong-Mien and Kra-Dai language families, although the tones often do not correspond (Ratliff 2010). Proto-Tai (abbreviated here as PT) reconstructions are from Pittayaporn (2009).[14] Many of the Proto-Tai forms also have close parallels with Proto-Austronesian.
- Lexical resemblances with Kra-Dai
- Proto-Hmongic *kɛŋB 'I, 1.SG'; PT *kuːA (strong form), *kawA (weak form)
- PHM *mu̯ei 'thou, 2.SG'; PT *mɯŋA (strong form), *maɰA (weak form)
- PHM *təjH 'to die', *dəjH 'to kill'; PT *p.taːjA 'to die'
- PHM *ʔneinX 'this'; PT *najC
- PHM *m-nɔk 'bird'; PT *C̬.nokD
- PHM *mbrəuX 'fish'; PT *plaːA
- Proto-Hmongic *hmaŋC 'wild dog'; PT *ʰmaːA 'dog'
- Proto-Hmongic *ʔlinA 'monkey'; PT *liːŋA
Kosaka (2002)[9] lists many lexical between Kra-Dai and Hmong-Mien languages, and proposes that they form part of a larger Miao-Dai language family.
Tibeto-Burman
Ratliff notes that the Hmong-Mien numerals from 4-9 and various culture-related vocabulary have been borrowed from Tibeto-Burman. The Proto-Tibeto-Burman (abbreviated as PTB) forms provided below are from James Matisoff (2003).[15]
- Lexical borrowings from Tibeto-Burman
- PHM *plei 'four' < PTB *b-ləy (STEDT #2409)
- PHM *prja 'five' < PTB *b-ŋa (STEDT #1306)
- PHM *kruk 'six' < PTB *d-k-ruk (STEDT #2621)
- PHM *dzjuŋH 'seven'
- PHM *jat 'eight' < PTB *b-r-gyat ~ *b-g-ryat (STEDT #2259)
- PHM *N-ɟuə 'nine' < PTB *d/s-kəw (STEDT #2364)
- Proto-Hmongic *hnɛŋA and Proto-Mienic *hnu̯ɔiA 'sun, day' < PTB *s-nəy (STEDT #85)
- PHM *hlaH 'moon, month' < PTB *s-la (STEDT #1016)
- PHM *hməŋH 'night' (also 'dark') < PTB *s-muːŋ 'dark' (STEDT #522; #2465)
- PHM *ʔɲam 'sister-in-law' (also 'daughter-in-law') < PTB *nam 'daughter-in-law' (STEDT #2486)
- PHM *ʔweiX 'son-in-law' < PTB *krwəy (STEDT #2348)
- PHM *hlep 'to slice' < PTB *s-lep (STEDT #2401)
- PHM *hmjænX 'footprint, track' < PTB *s-naŋ 'to follow' (STEDT #2488)
- Proto-Hmongic *mjænB 'horse' < PTB *mraŋ (STEDT #1431)
Additionally, Paul K. Benedict (1987)[16] notes that Proto-Hmong-Mien contain loanwords from an unknown Tibeto-Burman language or branch, which Benedict refers to as Donor Miao-Yao. Reconstructions for some numerals that Benedict (1987) reconstructed for Proto-Donor Miao-Yao are given below.
- *pliA 'four'
- *praA 'five'
- *truk 'six'
- *znis 'seven'
- *hryat 'eight'
- *t-guA 'nine'
- *gup 'ten'
See also
- List of Proto-Hmong-Mien reconstructions (Wiktionary)
- Hmong-Mien comparative vocabulary list (Wiktionary)
References and notes
- ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-27. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
- ↑ Baituo, Qingyan Township, Huaxi District, Guiyang 贵阳市花溪区青岩乡摆托寨
- ↑ Yejipo, Ganba Township, Fuquan County 福泉县甘坝乡野鸡坡寨
- ↑ Mangjiang, Yaoli Township, Nandan County 南丹县瑶里乡芒降村
- ↑ Chenhu, Duozhu Township, Huidong County 惠东县多祝乡陈湖村
- ↑ http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/ratliff2007contrastive.pdf
- ↑ Baxter, William H. and Laurent Sagart. 2014. Old Chinese: A New Reconstruction. Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-994537-5.
- ↑ Haudricourt, André-Georges. 1951. Introduction à la phonologie historique des langues miao-yao [An introduction to the historical phonology of the Miao-Yao languages]. Bulletin de l’École Française d'Extrême-Orient 44(2). 555–576.
- 1 2 Kosaka, Ryuichi. 2002. "On the affiliation of Miao-Yao and Kadai: can we posit the Miao-Dai Family?" In The Mon-Khmer Studies Journal, 32: 71-100.
- ↑ Ostapirat, Weera. 2018. "Macrophyletic Trees of East Asian Languages Re examined." In Let's Talk about Trees, ed. by Ritsuko Kikusawa and Lawrence A. Reid. Osaka: Senri Ethnological Studies, Minpaku. doi:10.15021/00009006
- ↑ Ferlus, Michel. 1991. Vocalisme du Proto-Viet-Muong. Paper presented at the 24th International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, Thailand, 7–11 October, 1991.
- ↑ Diffloth, Gérard. 1980. The Wa Languages. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area 5(2): 1–182.
- ↑ Hsiu, Andrew. 2017. Hmong-Mien and Austroasiatic look-alikes.
- ↑ Pittayaporn, Pittayawat. 2009. The Phonology of Proto-Tai. Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Linguistics, Cornell University.
- ↑ Matisoff, James A. (2003), Handbook of Proto-Tibeto-Burman: System and Philosophy of Sino-Tibetan Reconstruction, Berkeley: University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-09843-5.
- ↑ Benedict, Paul K. 1987. "Early MY/TB Loan Relationships." In Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, 10 , no. 2: 12-21.
- Niederer, Barbara (1998). Les langues Hmong-Mjen (Miao-Yao): phonologie historique. Munich: Lincom Europa.
- Ostapirat, Weera (2016). "Issues in the Reconstruction and Affiliation of Proto-Miao-Yao" (PDF). Language and Linguistics. 17 (1): 133–145. doi:10.1177/1606822X15614522. (revision of paper presented at IsCLL-14, Taipei, Taiwan)
- Ratliff, Martha (1992). Meaningful Tone: A Study of Tonal Morphology in Compounds, Form Classes, and Expressive Phrases in White Hmong. Dekalb, Illinois: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University. ISBN 1-877979-77-5.
- Ratliff, Martha (2004). Tapp, Michaud, Culas, and Lee, eds. Vocabulary of Environment and Subsistence in the Hmong–Mien Protolanguage. Symposium on the Hmong/Miao in Asia. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm Books. pp. 147–165. Manuscript.
- Ratliff, Martha (2010). Hmong–Mien language history. Canberra, Australia: Pacific Linguistics. ISBN 0-85883-615-7.
- Benedict, Paul K. (1942). "Thai, Kadai and Indonesian: a new alignment in south east Asia". American Anthropologist. 44: 576–601. doi:10.1525/aa.1942.44.4.02a00040.
- Greenhill, S.J., Blust. R, & Gray, R.D. (2008). "Proto-Hmong–Mien word list". Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database. Department of Psychology, University of Auckland. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
- Greenhill, S.J., Blust. R, & Gray, R.D. (2008). "Proto-Hmongic word list". Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database. Department of Psychology, University of Auckland. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
- Greenhill, S.J., Blust. R, & Gray, R.D. (2008). "Proto-Mienic word list". Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database. Department of Psychology, University of Auckland. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
- Miyake, Marc. 2012. Were there Hmong in the Tangut Empire?
- Sergei Starostin; G. Bronnikov; Phil Krylov (1998). "Database query to Chinese characters". The Tower of Babel (Starling online). George Starostin. Retrieved 2011-04-09. (multiple entries)
- Wang Fushi 王辅世, Mao Zongwu 毛宗武. 1995. Miao-Yao yu guyin gouni 苗瑤语古音构拟. Beijing: China Social Sciences Academy 中国社会科学出版社.