< Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan
Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/ŋwa
Proto-Sino-Tibetan
Etymology
- Proto-Sino-Tibetan: *ngwjəɣ (Coblin, 1986)
- Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *ŋwa (Matisoff, STEDT; Benedict, 1972; Weidert, 1987; LaPolla, 1987); *ngwa(*B) (Coblin, 1986)
Some have noticed a similarity with Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cattle”) (whence English cow, Latin bōs) (Koenraad, 1999; Chang, 1988).
Compare Thai งัว (ngua) / วัว (wua, “bullock, cow”), Lao ງົວ (ngua, “bullock, cow”). Because of the restricted geographic distribution of this Tai etymon, Benedict (1972) suspects Chinese to be a loan from Tai: Li (1976) concludes the Tai item is not a loan from Chinese as it is not found in northern Tai dialects. The relationship between this PST root and the Tai comparanda remains unclear.
Descendants
- Old Chinese: 牛 /*ŋʷə/ (B-S), /*ŋʷɯ/ (ZS) ("cattle")
- (in the oracle bone script)
- Middle Chinese: 牛 /ŋɨu/
- (in the oracle bone script)
→ Sichuan Yi: ꑛ (nyu, “cow, ox (for traditional calendar dates)”)
- Min
- Min Nan
- Taiwan: 牛 (gu²⁴ (colloquial), giu²⁴ (literary))
- Min Nan
- Lolo-Burmese-Naxi
- Lolo-Burmese
- Burmish
- Written Burmese: နွား (nwa:, “cattle”)
- Loloish
- Northern Loloish
- Yi (Liangshan): ꆈꑌ (nuo nyi, “beef cow”), ꒈꑌ (yyx nyi, “water buffalo”), ꑍꃀ (nyip mop, “cow”)
- Northern Loloish
- Burmish
- Lolo-Burmese
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