Proto-Kra–Dai language
Proto-Kra–Dai (typically abbreviated as PKD) is the proposed reconstructed ancestor of the Kra–Dai languages.
| Proto-Kra–Dai | |
|---|---|
| PKD | |
| Reconstruction of | Kra–Dai languages | 
| Region | Pearl River Delta | 
| Lower-order reconstructions | |
Background
    
No full reconstruction of Proto-Kra–Dai has been published to date, although tentative reconstructions of many Proto-Kra–Dai roots have been attempted from time to time. Some Proto-Kra–Dai forms have been reconstructed by Benedict (1975)[1] and Wu (2002).[2] A reconstruction of Proto-Kam–Tai (i.e., a proposed grouping that contains all of Kra–Dai without Kra, Hlai and Jiamao) has also been undertaken by Liang & Zhang (1996).[3][4]
Phonology
    
Proto-Kra–Dai has the finals *-l and *-c, which have been lost in most present-day Kra–Dai languages.[5]
Norquest (2020) proposes the preglottalized sonorants *ʔb, *ʔd, *ʔɖ, *ʔɟ for Proto-Kra–Dai, as part of a four-way phonation distinction in Kra-Dai sonorants consisting of preaspirated, voiceless, plain, and preglottalized sonorants.[6]
Lexicon
    
    Ostapirat (2018)
    
Weera Ostapirat (2018a)[7] reconstructs disyllabic forms for Proto-Kra–Dai, rather than sesquisyllabic or purely monosyllabic forms. His Proto-Kra–Dai reconstructions also contains the finals */-c/ and */-l/.[8] Ostapirat (2018b:113)[9] lists the following of his own Proto-Kra–Dai reconstructions.
Notes:
- */K-/: either /k-/ or /q-/
- */C-/: unspecified consonant
- */T-/ and */N-/ are distinct from */t-/ and */n-/.
| Gloss | Proto-Kra–Dai | 
|---|---|
| blood | *pɤlaːc | 
| bone | *Kudɤːk | 
| ear | *qɤrɤː | 
| eye | *maTaː | 
| hand | *(C)imɤː | 
| nose | *(ʔ)idaŋ | 
| tongue | *(C)əmaː | 
| tooth | *lipan | 
| dog | *Kamaː | 
| fish | *balaː | 
| horn | *paquː | 
| louse | *KuTuː | 
| fire | *(C)apuj | 
| stone | *KaTiːl | 
| star | *Kadaːw | 
| water | *(C)aNam | 
| I (1.SG) | *akuː | 
| Thou (2.SG) | *isuː; amɤː | 
| one | *(C)itsɤː | 
| two | *saː | 
| die | *maTaːj | 
| name | *(C)adaːn | 
| full | *pətiːk | 
| new | *(C)amaːl | 
Norquest (2020)
    
Norquest (2020) lists the following of his own Proto-Kra–Dai and other lower-level reconstructions.[6]
| Gloss | p-Kra-Dai | p-Lakkja | p-Kam-Sui | p-Ong-Be | p-Tai | p-Hlai | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| thin | *C-báːŋ | *w̥aːŋ | *C-baːŋ | *ˀbjaŋ | *C-baːŋ | – | 
| bone | *Cudə́ːk | – | *C-ˀɖaːk | *r̥ɯk | *C-dwoːk | *Cuɾɯːk | 
| boat | *Cuɖáː | *j̊waː | *C-ˀɖrwaː | *rwaː | *C-ɖwaː | *Cuɾaː | 
| borrow | *C-ɟáːm | *l̥aːm | *ˀjaːm | – | *ˀjɯːm | – | 
| village | *Cəˀbáːnʔ | *ˀbaːnʔ | *ˀbaːnʔ | – | *ˀbaːnʔ | – | 
| winnow basket | *Cəˀdóŋʔ | *l̥oŋʔ | *ˀdɔŋʔ | *r̥oːŋ X | *ˀdoŋʔ | *ɗoŋʔ | 
| to stand | *Cəˀɟún | *j̊uːn | *ˀɟun | *j̊un | *ˀɟɯn | *tɕuːn | 
| dog | *kʰ[u]máː | *kʰ-mwaː | *k-hmaː | *m̥aː | *m̥aː | *hmaː | 
| ditch | *[t]-m̥ˠáːŋ | – | *T-m̥jaːŋ | *m̥aŋ | *m̥ɯəŋ | – | 
| ant | *r-móȶ | *mot | *r-mət | *muːʔ | *moc | *hmuȶ | 
| bear | *kəˀmˠúj | *k-Nuːj | *ˀmjeː | – | *m̥wiː | *ˀmuj | 
| thick | *tsəˀnáː | *ts-Naː | *ˀɳaː | *n̥aː | *n̥aː | *ˀnaː | 
| cold | *kəˀȵít | *k-Niːt | *ˀȵit | *n̥iːt | *n̥it | – | 
| stupid | *Cəˀŋáːŋh | *ˀŋaːŋh | *ˀŋaːŋh | *ŋ̊əːŋ X | – | – | 
| gills | *Cəˀŋˠáːk | – | *ˀȵaːk | *ŋaːk | *ŋ̊ɯək | *ˀŋaːk | 
| taro | *pəˀrˠáːk | *j̊aːk (< *r̥aːk) | *ˀrjaːk | *ʃaːk | *prɯək | *hraːk | 
| moan | *gəˀráːŋ | *j̊aːŋ (< *r̥aːŋ) | *ˀraːŋ | – | *graːŋ | – | 
| hungry | *məˀjáːk | – | *m-ˀjaːk | *j̊ak | *ˀjaːk | – | 
| stupid | *Cəˀwáːʔ | – | *ˀwaːʔ | – | *ˀwaːʔ | – | 
See also
    
    
Further reading
    
- Sagart, Laurent. 2019. A model of the origin of Kra-Dai tones. Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale, 48(1), 1-29. doi:10.1163/19606028-04801004
- Sagart, Laurent. 2020. "Labial fortitions in Kra-Dai." In Sino-Tibetan-Austronesian.
- Norquest, Peter (2021). "Classification of (Tai-)Kadai/Kra-Dai languages". The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia. De Gruyter. pp. 225–246. doi:10.1515/9783110558142-013.
References
    
- Benedict, Paul K. 1975. Austro-Thai: language and culture, with a glossary of roots. New Haven: Human Relations Area Files Press.
- Wu, Anqi 吴安其. 2002. Hanzangyu tongyuan yanjiu 汉藏语同源研究. Beijing: Minzu University Press 中央民族大学出版社. ISBN 7-81056-611-3
- Liang Min 梁敏 & Zhang Junru 张均如. 1996. Dongtai yuzu gailun 侗台语族概论 / An introduction to the Kam–Tai languages. Beijing: China Social Sciences Academy Press 中国社会科学出版社. ISBN 9787500416814
- Ni Dabai 倪大白. 1990. Dongtai yu gailun 侗台语概论 / An introduction to the Kam-Tai languages. Beijing: Central Nationalities Research Institute Press 中央民族学院出版社.
- Ostapirat, Weera. 2009. Proto-Tai and Kra-Dai Finals *-l and *-c. Journal of Language and Culture, 28(2), 41-56.
- Norquest, Peter. 2020. A Hypothesis on the Origin of Preglottalized Sonorants in Kra-Dai. 38th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics. Vancouver: Department of Linguistics, University of British Columbia. doi:10.14288/1.0389866
- Ostapirat, Weera. 2018a. Reconstructing Disyllabic Kra-Dai. Paper presented at the 28th Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society, held May 17–19, 2018 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
- Ostapirat, Weera. 2009. Proto-Tai and Kra–Dai finals *-l and *-c. Journal of Language and Culture Vol. 28 No. 2 (July - December 2009).
- Ostapirat, Weera. 2018b. "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