Siangic languages
| Siangic | |
|---|---|
| Koro-Holon | |
| Geographic distribution | Arunachal Pradesh |
| Linguistic classification |
Sino-Tibetan?
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Glottolog | koro1317[1] |
The Siangic languages (or Koro-Holon languages[2]) are a small family of possibly Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Arunachal Pradesh, northeast India. The Siangic languages consist of Koro and Milang.
Classification
Milang, which has been extensively influenced by Padam (a Tani language), is alternatively classified as a divergent Tani language (Post & Blench 2011). Koro has undergone influence from Hruso (Post & Blench 2011). However, Milang and Koro do not belong to either the Tani or Hrusish groups of languages.
It is unclear whether the Siangic is a branch of Sino-Tibetan or an independent language family that has undergone extensive Sino-Tibetan influence. Post & Blench (2011) note that Siangic has a substratum of unknown origin, and consider Siangic to be an independent language family. Anderson (2014)[2], who refers to Siangic as Koro-Holon instead, considers Siangic (Koro-Holon) to be a branch of Sino-Tibetan rather than an independent language family.
Greater Siangic
| Greater Siangic | |
|---|---|
| (proposed) | |
| Geographic distribution | Arunachal Pradesh |
| Linguistic classification | possibly Sino-Tibetan or an independent family |
| Subdivisions | |
| Glottolog |
macr1268[3] mish1241[4] |
Roger Blench (2014) proposes a Greater Siangic family that includes the Digaro languages (Idu Mishmi and Taraon) and Pre-Tani, the hypothetical substrate language branch of Tani before it became relexified by Sino-Tibetan.
Reconstruction
The following Proto-Siangic forms reconstructed by Mark Post & Roger Blench (2011:8-9) do not have lexical parallels with Proto-Tani, and are unique to the Siangic branch.
| Gloss | Proto-Siangic | Koro | Milang |
|---|---|---|---|
| (negator suffix) | *-ŋa | -ŋa | -ŋə |
| (desiderative suffix) | *-mi | -mi | -mi |
| give | *ram | rã | ram |
| know | *fu | fu | hu |
| ant | *paŋ | pa-su | paŋ-kər |
| chicken | *co | co-le | a-cu |
| stone | *bu | u-bu | da-bu |
| ear | *raɲ(u?) | rã | ra-ɲu |
| mouth | *caŋ | sa-pu | caŋ-ci |
| buttocks | *kɨ-ruŋ | kɨɻ | ki-ruŋ |
| pus | *a-nɨ | i-ni | a-nɨ |
| day | *nə | me-ne | a-nə |
| sun | *mə | me-ne | mə-ruŋ[5] |
| seven | *roŋ(al) | rõ | raŋal |
| eight | *ra-ljaŋ | rã-la | rajəŋ |
| ten | *faŋ | fã-lã | haŋ-tak |
| axe | *rak-pu | rak-pa | ra-pu |
| grandfather | *abo- + ‘old man’ | abo-murzi | a-bə (bu-ku ~ ma-zaŋ) |
| grandmother | *adze- + ‘old woman’ | aje-mɨsiŋ | a-dzi (dzi-ku) |
| sand | *bu-pi | bu-pi | bu-pi |
| yesterday | *ba-nə | ba-n(e) | ba-nə |
| have (be there) | *kjo | ko | cu |
| bamboo | *fu | fu | a-hu |
| egg | *cu-ci | cu-ci | ci-ci |
| what | *hVgV-nV | (h)igi-na | ha-ga-nu |
| cultivated field | *p(j?)u | pu | a-pu |
| rice paddy | *kɨ | ki-raka | du-kɨ |
| green | *ja-caŋ | jã-ca | jə-caŋ |
| small | *u(-ŋa?) | u-ŋa | u-lee |
| sister, older | *a-Co | o-fo | a-u |
| root | *raŋ | ne-raŋ | ta-pɨr[6] |
| ripe | *ŋin | i-ŋi | man[7] |
| tell | *pu | pu-s(u) | po-lu |
References and notes
- ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Koro–Holon". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- 1 2 Anderson, Gregory D.S. 2014. On the classification of the Hruso (Aka) language. Paper presented at the 20th Himalayan Languages Symposium, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
- ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Macro-Tani". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Mishmic [Digaro]". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ↑ Means ‘sun’; also, Milang has a-mə ‘sunlight’.
- ↑ From Proto-Tani *pɨr
- ↑ From Proto-Tani *min
Bibliography
- Post, Mark W. and Roger Blench (2011). "Siangic: A new language phylum in North East India", 6th International Conference of the North East India Linguistics Society, Tezpur University, Assam, India, Jan 31 – Feb 2.
- Blench, Roger (2014). Fallen leaves blow away: a neo-Hammarstromian approach to Sino-Tibetan classification. Presentation given at the University of New England, Armidale, 6 September 2014.