Proto-Mienic or Proto-Yao () is the reconstructed ancestor of the Mienic languages.
Reconstructions Reconstructions of Proto-Mienic (Proto-Yao) include those of Purnell (1970),Purnell, Herbert C., Jr. 1970. Toward a reconstruction of Proto-Miao-Yao. PhD dissertation, Cornell University. L-Thongkum (1993),L-Thongkum, Theraphan. 1993. A view on Proto-Mjuenic (Yao). Mon-Khmer Studies 22:163-230. Ratliff (2010), and Liu (2021).
Purnell (1970) and L-Thongkum (1993) do not include any data from the divergent Biao Min and Zao Min languages. Purnell's (1970) Proto-Yao reconstruction is based on Iu Mien (Chiengrai [Chiang Rai, in Hwei Kang Pa ห้วยก้างปลา], Hsing-an [Xing'an], and Taipan [Đại Bản 大板] dialects) and Kim Mun (Haininh [Quảng Ninh] and Ling-chun [Lingchuan] dialects).
Liu's (2021) Proto-Yao reconstruction is based on data from Iu Mien (Jiangdi 江底 and Miaoziyuan 庙子源 dialects), Biao Mwan (Luoxiang 罗香), Kim Mun (Liangzi 梁子 and Tansan 滩散 dialects), Biao Min (Dongshan 东山 and Shikou 石口 dialects), and Zao Min (Daping 大坪). More than 500 lexical items are reconstructed.
Phonology Consonants Liu (2021:78-80) gives the following consonant inventory for Proto-Mienic.
+ Proto-Mienic consonants Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop, voiceless Stop, voiced Affricate, voiceless Affricate, voiced Nasal Fricative, voiceless Fricative, voiced Approximant Rhotic
Initial consonants can be preglottalized, aspirated, or devoiced. Final consonants include /-p, -t, -k, -m, -n, -ŋ/.
Proposed velarization Ostapirat (2016) proposes velarized initials in Proto-Mienic, which are not reconstructed by Liu (2021), Ratliff (2010), and others.Ostapirat, Weera. 2016. Issues in the Reconstruction and Affiliation of Proto-Miao-Yao . Language and Linguistics 17(1) 133–145. Below is a comparison of selected Proto-Mienic reconstructions with initial bilabial stops from Ostapirat (2016), Liu (2021), L-Thongkum (1993) ("Pre-Mjuenic" reconstructions), and Ratliff (2010).
Gloss Ostapirat (2016) Liu (2021) L-Thongkum (1993) Ratliff (2010) full, satisfied *peuB *pwɔŋ3 *pwɔŋB pHM *pu̯ɛŋX fruit *pˠeuB *pjiɔu3 *piəuB pHM *pji̯əuX float *mbˠeuA *mbliɔu2 *mbiəuA > *biəuA2 *mbi̯əuA bedbug *pˠiA *pji1 – pHM *pji three *pˠuA *pwɔu1 *puəA pHM *pjɔu burn *pˠuB *pwɔu3 *puəB *pɔuB name *mpˠuC *ʔbwɔu5 *ʔbuəC > *buəC1 pHM *mpɔuH hand *bˠuB *bwɔu4 *buəB > *puəB2 pHM *-bɔuX
Vowels Liu (2021:165) reconstructs 8 Proto-Mienic vowels.
Front Back High Mid-high Mid-low Near-low Low
* only occurs as part of the rimes *- and *-.
Liu (2021) reconstructs contrastive vowel length for Proto-Mienic. However, L-Thongkum (1993) and Ratliff (2010) do not reconstruct vowel length for Proto-Mienic, as they consider vowel length in synchronic Mienic languages to be later prosodic developments.
Sound correspondences Sound correspondences among the Mienic languages from Liu (2021):
Initials Reflexes of Proto-Mienic initials in synchronic Mienic languages are as follows (Liu 2021). Prenasalized Pre-Mienic initials are reconstructed; these developed into certain preglottalized and aspirated Proto-Mienic initials.
Proto-Mienic Pre-Mienic Jiangdi Mien Miaoziyuan Mien Luoxiang Mien Liangzi Mun Tansan Mun Dongshan Biao Min Shikou Biao Min Daping Dzao Min*p p p p p ʔp p b b*pʰ pʰ pʰ pʰ pʰ pʰ pʰ pʰ p*b p p p p ʔp p b p*ʔb *mp b b b b b b p b*bʰ *mpʰ b b b b b b b b*mb b b b b b b p b*ʔm m m m m m m m m*hm m̥ m̥ m̥ m m̥ m̥ m m*ʔw w w w w v w v v*w w w v w v w v v*pw pw pw p p ʔp p b b*bw pw pw p p ʔp p p p*ʔbw *mpw bw bw bw b b b pw b*bʰw *mpʰw bw bw b b b b b b*mbw bw bw bw b b b p b*hmw mw mw m m m m̥ m m*mw mw mw mw m m m m m*pj pj pj pj pj ʔpj pj bj b*bj pj pj pw f f pj b pj*ʔbj *mpj bj bj b b b b b b*bʰj *mpʰj bj bj bw v b bj b bj*hmj mj mj m̥w m m m̥j m mj*mj mj mj mw m m m m m*ʔwj wj wj v w v w ʔ vj*wj wj wj w w v w v vj*pl pj p pj pj ʔpj pl pl pj*mbl bj b bj bj bj bl pl b*t t t t t ʔt t d d*tʰ tʰ tʰ tʰ tʰ tʰ tʰ tʰ h*d t t t t ʔt t d t*ʔd d d d d d d t d*dʰ *ntʰ d d d d d d d d*nd d d d d d d t d*ʔn n n n n n n n n*hn n̥ n̥ n̥ n n n̥ n n*n n n n n n n n n*s f f θ tθ θ s s h*sʰ s s ɕ tθ θ s s h*tw tw tw tw t ʔt tw d d*dw d dw d d d dw tw d*ʔdw *ntw d d d d d dw tw d*sw f f θ tθ θ sw sj h*sʰw s s ɕ tθ θ sw sj h*ʔdj *ntj dj dj d d d t d d*sʰj sj sj ɕ s ɕ s ɕ sj*ʔl l l l l l l l l*ʔlj lj lj l lj lj lj lj lj*hl ɬ l l l l ɬ l l*hlj ɬ ɬ l̥ l l ɬ lj lj*l l l l l l l l l*ʔr l l g g g l l dz*ʔrj l l g gj gj l l dz*hr ɬ ɬ g g g ɬ l dz*hrj ɬj ɬj gj gj gj ɬj lj dz*r l l g g g l l dz*rj l l g gj gj l l dz*ts ts ts θ tθ θ ts ts t*tsʰ tsʰ tsʰ θ t tʰ tɕʰ tsʰj h*dz ts ts θ tθ tθ ts ts h*ʔdz dz dz d d d dz ts dz*dzʰ *ntsʰ dz dz d d d dz tʰ d*ndz dz dz d d d dz ts d*tsw tsw tsw θw tθ θ tsw ts t*dzw tsw tsw θw tθ tθ tsw ts h*ʔdzw *ntsw dʑw dʑw j ȡ ȡ ȡ tɕ g*tsj tsj tsj tɕ s ɕ ȶ tɕ ts*tsʰj tsʰj tsʰj θj tj kʰj tsʰ tsʰ h*dzj tsj tsj tɕ s ɕ ȶʰ tɕ sj*ʔdzj *ntsj dzj dzj dʑ ȡ ȡ hj j dz*dzʰj *ntsʰj dzj dzj dʑ ȡ ȡ ȡ tɕʰ dzj*ndzj dzj dzj dʑ ȡ ȡ tɕ tɕ h*c ts ts tɕ ȶ ȶ ȶ tɕ ts*cʰ tsʰ tsʰ ɕ ȶ ȶʰ ȶʰ ȶʰ h*ɟ ts ts tɕ ȶ ȶ ȶ tɕ s*ʔɟ *ɲc dʑ dʑ j ȡ ȡ dz tɕ dz*ɟʰ *ɲcʰ dzj dzj ɕ s ɕ s tɕʰ dzj*ɲɟ dz dz dʑ ȡ ȡ ȡ tɕ dz*ʔɲ ȵ ȵ ȵ ȵ ȵ ȵ ȵ ȵ*hɲ ȵ̥ ȵ̥ ȵ ȵ ȵ ȵ̥ ȵ ȵ*ɲ ȵ ȵ ȵ ȵ ȵ ȵ ȵ ȵ*ʔj j j j j j j j j*j j j j j j j j dz*cw tsw tsw tɕw s ɕ ȶ tɕ ts*cʰw tsʰ tsʰ ɕw s ɕ ȶʰw tɕʰ ts*ɟw tsw tsw tɕw ȶ ȶ ȶw tɕw ts*ɲw ȵ ȵw ȵw ȵ ȵ ȵ ȵ ȵ*k k k k k k k k k*kʰ kʰ k/kʰ kʰ k kʰ k kʰ k/f*ʔg *ŋk g g d d d k k k*ʔŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ*ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ*x dʑ j j ȡ ȡ ȡ k k*ɣ dʑ j j ȡ ȡ ȡ k g*kw kw kw kw kw kw kw kw k*kʰw kʰ kʰw kʰ k kʰ kʰw kʰw h*gw kw kw kw kw kw kw kw f*ʔgw *ŋkw g g g g g gw k/kw g*gʰw *ŋkʰw g g g g g gw g g*ŋgw g g g g g gw kw g*kj tɕ tɕ tɕ s ɕ ȶ tɕ k*kwj tɕ tɕw tɕw s ɕ ȶw tɕw ts*gj tɕ tɕ tɕ ȶ ȶ ȶ tɕ k*gwj kwj kj kj kw kw ȶ tɕ kj*ʔgj g g g gj gj g k/kj g*kl tɕ k kj kj kj kl kl ts*kl tɕ k k kj kj kl kl k*kl tɕ k kj kj kj kl kl t*kwl tɕw kw kw kw kw kl kl k*klj tɕ kj kj kj kj kl klj kj*gl tɕ k kl tl kl kl kl k*glj tɕ k kl tl kl kl klj kj*ŋgl dʑ g gl dl gl gl kl g*ʔ ʔ ʔ ʔ ʔ ʔ ʔ ʔ ʔ*h h h h h h h h v*ɦ ɦ Ø ɦ ɦ ɦ ɦ ɦ ɦ
Rimes Reflexes of Proto-Mienic rimes in synchronic Mienic languages (Liu 2021):
Proto-Mienic Jiangdi Mien Miaoziyuan Mien Luoxiang Mien Liangzi Mun Tansan Mun Dongshan Biao Min Shikou Biao Min Daping Dzao Min*i e e i i i i i/e i/ɛi*im im iŋ im im im ɛn en um*iːm iːm iŋ im im im in iŋ ɛm*in in iŋ in in in ɛn en ɛn*iːn iːn iŋ in in iːn ən eŋ ɛn*iŋ aŋ aŋ aŋ iŋ iŋ aŋ aŋ aŋ*iːŋ iːŋ iŋ iŋ iŋ iːŋ ɛ aŋ aŋ*iːp ip i ip ip iːp in ɛ ɛp*it it i it i *ik i ei i i i i iŋ ɛ*e i ei i i i i i ɛ*ei ei ei ei ei ɛi əi i ɛi*ei ei ei ei ei ɛi əi i i*ei ei ei ei ei ɛi i e i*em om əŋ em am am an en um*eːm iːm əŋ em eːm iːm ən eŋ um*en en əŋ en in in in en ɛn*eːn eːn əŋ en eːn iːn ən eŋ ɛn*eːt et ei et eːt iːt ən e ɛt*ɛːŋ ɛːŋ ɛŋ ɛŋ ɛŋ ɛːŋ ɛ iŋ ɛŋ*ɛk ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ a a*æ e e a a a a a a*æm om əŋ em im im an an ɛm*æn en əŋ an an an an ən ɛn*æːn en əŋ an aːn aːn an ən ɛn*æŋ eŋ əŋ aŋ aŋ aŋ aŋ aŋ ɛŋ*æp op e ep ap ap an æ ɛp*æt at ə ət et et an ɛ ɔt*æːt at ə ət ɛt ɛːt ə ɛ ɔt*æk e e a a a a a a*a a a a a a a a a*ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ɛi*aːi aːi a aːi aːi aːi a ai ai*aːi ai ai ai ai aːi ai ai ai*aːi aːi a aːi aːi aːi a ai ai*aːi aːi a aːi aːi aːi a ai ai*aːi ai ai ai ai aːi ai ai ai*au au au au au au a ɔu iu*aːu aːu a aːu au aːu a au au*am am aŋ am am am an an am*aːm aːm aŋ aːm aːm aːm an ɔn ɔm*an an əŋ ən an an an ən an*aːn aːn aŋ aːn an aːn an ən ɔn*aːn aːn aŋ an an aːn an ən an*aŋ aŋ aŋ aŋ aŋ aŋ aŋ aŋ aŋ*aːŋ aːŋ aŋ aːŋ aŋ aːŋ aŋ aŋ aŋ*ap ap a ap ap ap an æ ap*aːp aːp a aːp aːp aːp an æ ap*at at a at at at an æ at*aːt aːt a aːt aːt aːt an æ at*ak a a a a a a a a*aːk o ɔ ɔːk aːk ak ɔ ɔ ɔu*o u u o u u u u ɔu*ou u u ou ou ɔu ɔ eu au*oŋ oŋ oŋ oŋ ɔŋ ɔŋ ɔŋ ɔŋ ɔŋ/uŋ*oːŋ oŋ oŋ oŋ ɔŋ ɔːŋ ɔŋ ɔŋ uŋ*op op əu up op up in ɛ ip*oːp op oːp op ɔk ɔp u*ot ot ə ot ɔt ɔt an ɛ *ok u u o ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔu*ɔ o ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔu*ɔːi oːi a ɔi ɔi ɔːi ai ei æ*ou o ə u u u au ɔu u*iɔu ou əu eu ou ɔu au ɔu iu*iɔu ou əu eu ou ɔu au ɔu u*iɔu ou əu ou ou ɔu əu eu u*iɔu ou əu ou ou ɔu əu iu u*iɔu ou əu eu ou ɔu au ɔu ɛu*ɔm om oŋ om ɔm ɔm an ɔn ɔn*ɔːm oːm ɔŋ ɔm ɔm ɔːm ɔ ɔ ɔm*ɔːn oːn aŋ ɔːŋ ɔn ɔːn an ən an*ɔŋ aŋ əŋ əŋ ɔŋ ɔŋ ɔŋ ɔŋ uŋ*ɔːŋ oːŋ ɔŋ ɔŋ ɔŋ ɔːŋ ɔ oŋ ɔŋ*ɔt at a ɔt ɔi ɔːi a ɛ ɛt*ɔk o ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔu*ɔːk u u ok ɔːk ɔːk u u u*u o ə u u u u u u*uːi uːi ui ui ui uːi əi ei ai*uːi uːi ui ui ui uːi əi i i*iu iu iu iu iu iu iu iu iu*iːu iu iu eu eu iːu au iu ɛu*um om oŋ um um um in œn um*un un uŋ un un un un un in*uŋ uŋ uŋ uŋ uŋ uŋ ə ɔŋ ɔŋ*uŋ uŋ uŋ uŋ uŋ uŋ ə ɔŋ iŋ*uŋ aŋ əŋ oŋ uŋ uŋ ɔŋ aŋ aŋ*uːŋ uŋ uŋ uŋ uːŋ uːŋ ə ɔŋ iŋ*ut ut u ut ut ut un ɛ ut*uːt ut u ut uːt uːt in ɛ ut*uk u əu u u u u ɔ iu
Tones Proto-Mienic tonal categories and their respective tone pitch reflexes in synchronic Mienic languages (Liu 2021):
Proto-Mienic Jiangdi Mien Miaoziyuan Mien Luoxiang Mien Liangzi Mun Tansan Mun Dongshan Biao Min Shikou Biao Min Daping Dzao Min*1 33 33 33 35 35 33 33 44*1 33 33 33 31 13 33 33 44*2 31 31 31 33 33 31 55 53*3 52 53 53 545 55 35 35 24*3 52 53 53 43 42 35 35 24*4 231 232 213 32 31 42 31 44*5 24 35 35 44 335 24 44 42*5 24 35 55 21 331 24 44 42*6 13 11 11 22 32 42 13 22*7 55 54 43 24 35 53 35 44*7 55 54 43 54 35 53 35 44*7 55 54 43 31 12 53 35 44*7 55 54 43 32 12 53 35 44*8 12 21 32 42 32 42 22 22*8 12 21 32 21 32 42 22 22
Sound changes Sound change innovations in synchronic Mienic languages (Liu 2021:156–157, 228):
+ Initials Proto-Mienic Reflex Dialect *p b Shikou, Daping *pʰ p Liangzi, Daping *ʔm m all Mienic lects *hm m Liangzi, Tansan, Shikou, Daping *pw b Shikou, Daping *t d Shikou, Daping *tʰ t Liangzi *tʰ h Daping *ʔn n all Mienic lects *hn n Liangzi, Tansan, Shikou, Daping *hl l Liangzi, Tansan, Shikou, Daping *ʔg d Luoxiang, Liangzi, Tansan *s f Jiangdi, Miaoziyuan *s h Daping *sʰ h Daping *tw d Shikou, Daping *ts θ Luoxiang, Tansan *ts t Daping *dz h Daping *ʔɲ ɲ all Mienic lects *j dz Daping *ɦ zero Miaoziyuan *pj bj > b Shikou, Daping *bj f Liangzi, Tansan *ʔl l all Mienic lects *ʔr/*hr/*r l Jiangdi, Miaoziyuan, Dongshan, Shikou *ʔr/*hr/*r g Luoxiang, Liangzi, Tansan *ʔr/*hr/*r dz Daping *hɲ ɲ Liangzi, Tansan, Shikou, Daping *ʔŋ ŋ all Mienic lects
+ Rimes Proto-Mienic Reflex Dialect *i e Jiangdi, Miaoziyuan *m n Miaoziyuan, Dongshan, Shikou *p/*t n Dongshan *ai ɛi Daping *æːŋ iŋ Shikou *æ e Jiangdi, Miaoziyuan *ɛ a Shikou, Daping *u ə Miaoziyuan *u o Jiangdi *ɔu ə Miaoziyuan *ɔu o Jiangdi *ɔŋ aŋ Jiangdi *ɔŋ əŋ Miaoziyuan, Luoxiang *uŋ ə Dongshan *aːŋ ɔŋ Shikou, Daping *æ e Jiangdi, Miaoziyuan *aːn ən Shikou *aːp an Dongshan *aːu a Miaoziyuan, Dongshan *aŋ ɛ Daping *at an Dongshan
Footnotes
See also Proto-Hmong–Mien language Proto-Hmongic language Mienic languages Proto-Hmong-Mien reconstructions (Wiktionary) Proto-Mienic reconstructions (Wiktionary) Mienic comparative vocabulary list (Wiktionary)
References