Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/r-mi(j)-n

This Proto-Sino-Tibetan entry contains reconstructed words and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Sino-Tibetan

Etymology

Proto-Sino-Tibetan: ?
- Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *r-mi(y)-n (Matisoff, STEDT); *r-miy (Chou, 1972)

A collective suffix *-n is found in Burmese and Chinese branches of Sino-Tibetan (Matisoff, 2003; Schuessler, 2007), although in the case of Chinese may in fact reflect an earlier velar coda *-ŋ, which palatalized after *-i-, as pointed out by Sagart (1999: 135). He compares Chinese 民 (OC *min, “people”) with 氓 (OC *mraːŋ, “population”), which, according to him, belong to the same word-family, but the latter retained the velar coda *-ŋ because of the preceding low vowel *-a-. Palatalization of velar codas *-ŋ and *-k preceded by *-i- appears to be well attested (Baxter, 1992), and caused the merging of *-iŋ, *-ik rhymes with *-in, *-it respectively.

Noun

*r-mi(j)-n

man, person, human being

Descendants

Old Chinese: 民 /*miŋ/ (B-S), /*min/ (ZS) ("people, folk, civilian")
- Middle Chinese: 民 /miɪn/

- →   Japanese:  民 (みん, min)
        Korean:  민 (民, min)
        Vietnamese:  dân (民)

- - Modern Mandarin
    - Beijing: 民 (mín, /min³⁵/)
  - Cantonese
    - Guangzhou: 民 /mɐn²¹/
Himalayish
- Tibeto-Kanauri
  - Bodic
    - Tibetan
      - Written Tibetan: མི (mi, “person, man, human being”)
Lolo-Burmese-Naxi
- Lolo-Burmese
  - Burmish
    - Written Burmese: မိန်းမ (min:ma., “woman, female”)

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