Proto-Mienic language

Proto-Mienic
Proto-Mienic
Proto-Yao
Reconstruction of	Mienic languages
Reconstructed; ancestor	Proto-Hmong–Mien

Proto-Mienic or Proto-Yao (Chinese: 原始瑶语) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Mienic languages.

ReconstructionofMienic languages

Reconstructed
ancestor

Proto-Hmong–Mien

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	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Stop, voiceless	p	t	c	k	ʔ
Stop, voiced	b	d	ɟ
Affricate, voiceless		ts
Affricate, voiced		dz
Nasal	m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Fricative, voiceless		s		x	h
Fricative, voiced				ɣ	ɦ
Approximant	w	l	j
Rhotic		r

Gloss	Ostapirat (2016)	Liu (2021)	L-Thongkum (1993)	Ratliff (2010)
full, satisfied	*peu^B	*pwɔŋ³	*pwɔŋ^B	pHM *pu̯ɛŋ^X
fruit	*pˠeu^B	*pjiɔu³	*piəu^B	pHM *pji̯əu^X
float	*mbˠeu^A	*mbliɔu²	mbiəu^A > biəu^A2	*mbi̯əu^A
bedbug	*pˠi^A	*pji¹	–	pHM *pji
three	*pˠu^A	*pwɔu¹	*puə^A	pHM *pjɔu
burn	*pˠu^B	*pwɔu³	*puə^B	*pɔu^B
name	*mpˠu^C	*ʔbwɔu⁵	ʔbuə^C > buə^C1	pHM *mpɔu^H
hand	*bˠu^B	*bwɔu⁴	buə^B > puə^B2	pHM *-bɔu^X

	Front	Back
High	i	u
Mid-high	e	o
Mid-low	ɛ	ɔ
Near-low	æ
Low	a

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

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^[a]	aːi	a	aːi	aːi	aːi	a	ai	ai
*aːi^[b]	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^[c]	op	əu	up	op	up	in	ɛ	ip
*oːp^[d]	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

Proto-Mienic language

Reconstructions

Phonology

Consonants

Proposed velarization

Vowels

Sound correspondences

Initials

Rimes

Tones

Sound changes

Footnotes

See also

References

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks

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

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

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

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

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