Ancient Connections of Sinitic
Six main alternative linkage proposals which involve the Sino-Tibetan family, including Sinitic and other language families of the East Asian area (Miao-Yao, Altaic/Transeurasian, Austroasiatic, Tai-Kadai, Austronesian) are briefly outlined. Using the standard techniques of comparative linguistics,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Languages |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/8/3/176 |
| _version_ | 1827725622803169280 |
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| author | David Bradley |
| author_facet | David Bradley |
| author_sort | David Bradley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Six main alternative linkage proposals which involve the Sino-Tibetan family, including Sinitic and other language families of the East Asian area (Miao-Yao, Altaic/Transeurasian, Austroasiatic, Tai-Kadai, Austronesian) are briefly outlined. Using the standard techniques of comparative linguistics, a remote linkage between the Sino-Tibetan languages, including Sinitic, the Yeniseian languages of Siberia, and the Na-Dene languages of northwest North America is demonstrated. This includes cognate core lexicon showing regular sound correspondences, morphological similarities of form and function, as well as similarities in social structure. The other proposals for linkages that connect Sinitic and other languages of the East Asian area appear not to be based on a genetic linguistic relationship but rather due to contact: millennia of loanwords from Sinitic into the languages of those families and some lexicon borrowed into Sinitic. More remains to be done to further document the status of the linkage between Sino-Tibetan and Dene-Yeniseian. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:32:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-54f898d2a0de488ea7fc7cb2ad091ecf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2226-471X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:32:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Languages |
| spelling | doaj.art-54f898d2a0de488ea7fc7cb2ad091ecf2023-11-19T11:35:37ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2023-07-018317610.3390/languages8030176Ancient Connections of SiniticDavid Bradley0Linguistics, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, AustraliaSix main alternative linkage proposals which involve the Sino-Tibetan family, including Sinitic and other language families of the East Asian area (Miao-Yao, Altaic/Transeurasian, Austroasiatic, Tai-Kadai, Austronesian) are briefly outlined. Using the standard techniques of comparative linguistics, a remote linkage between the Sino-Tibetan languages, including Sinitic, the Yeniseian languages of Siberia, and the Na-Dene languages of northwest North America is demonstrated. This includes cognate core lexicon showing regular sound correspondences, morphological similarities of form and function, as well as similarities in social structure. The other proposals for linkages that connect Sinitic and other languages of the East Asian area appear not to be based on a genetic linguistic relationship but rather due to contact: millennia of loanwords from Sinitic into the languages of those families and some lexicon borrowed into Sinitic. More remains to be done to further document the status of the linkage between Sino-Tibetan and Dene-Yeniseian.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/8/3/176Sinitic/ChineseSino-TibetanTibeto-BurmanYeniseianNa-DeneAustronesian |
| spellingShingle | David Bradley Ancient Connections of Sinitic Languages Sinitic/Chinese Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman Yeniseian Na-Dene Austronesian |
| title | Ancient Connections of Sinitic |
| title_full | Ancient Connections of Sinitic |
| title_fullStr | Ancient Connections of Sinitic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ancient Connections of Sinitic |
| title_short | Ancient Connections of Sinitic |
| title_sort | ancient connections of sinitic |
| topic | Sinitic/Chinese Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman Yeniseian Na-Dene Austronesian |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/8/3/176 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidbradley ancientconnectionsofsinitic |