Proto-Kra–Dai language explained

Proto-Kra–Dai
Familycolor:	Kra-Dai
Target:	Kra–Dai languages
Child1:	Proto-Kam–Sui
Child2:	Proto-Kra
Child3:	Proto-Hlai
Child4:	Proto-Tai
Region:	Pearl River region
Also Known As:	PKD

Proto-Kra–Dai (typically abbreviated as PKD) is the proposed reconstructed ancestor of the Kra–Dai languages.

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 preliminary Proto-Kra–Dai forms have been reconstructed by Benedict (1975)^[1] and Wu (2002). Wu (2002) presents a reconstruction of Proto-Kra–Dai phonemes, which is based on data from the Tai, Kam-Sui, Hlai, and Kra branches.^[2]

Liang & Zhang (1996) propose a reconstruction of Proto-Kra–Dai (Chinese: 原始侗台语) initials and finals, using data from all Kra–Dai branches except for Kra and Jiamao.^[3]

Phonology

Proto-Kra–Dai has the finals *-l and *-c, which have been lost in most present-day Kra–Dai languages.^[4] It also has the final stops *-p, *-t, *-k and final nasals *-m, *-n, *-ŋ.^[4]

Ostapirat (2023) proposes the following consonant inventory for Proto-Kra–Dai, which is relatively simple compared to that of Proto-Tai and other lower-level reconstructions.^[5]

Proto Kra-Dai consonants
Ostapirat (2023)

		Labial		Coronal		Palatal		Velar		Uvular		Glottal
Nasal		pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/
Plosive	Voiceless	pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/, pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/
	Voiced	pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/
Fricative				pronounced as /ink/, pronounced as /ink/
Approximant		pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/, pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/

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. Norquest (2020) also reconstructs velarized initial consonants (*Cˠ-) in Proto-Kra–Dai.^[6]

Below is a table of Proto-Kra–Dai pre-syllables and their developments as proposed by Norquest (2020).^[6]

p-Kra-Dai	p-Lakkja	p-Kam-Sui	p-Ong-Be	p-Tai	p-Hlai
C-b	w̥	C-b	ʔb	C-b	ʋ
C-d	l̥	C-ʔɖ	r̥	C-d	ɾ
C-ɖ	j̊ (< *r̥)	C-ʔɖ	r	C-ɖ	ɾ
C-ɟ	l̥	ʔj	j̊	ʔj	hj
Cəʔb	ʔb	ʔb	ʔb	ʔb	ɓ
Cəʔd	l̥	ʔd	r̥	ʔd	ɗ
Cəʔɖ	l̥	ʔɖ	r̥	ʔd	ɗ
Cəʔɟ	j̊	ʔɟ	j̊	ʔɟ	tɕ
Cəm	m̥	ʔm	m̥	m̥	ʔm
Cən	n̥	ʔn	n̥	n̥	ʔn
Cəȵ	ȵ̥	ʔȵ	ȵ̥	ȵ̥	ʔȵ
Cəŋ	ŋ̊	ʔŋ	ŋ̊	ŋ̊	ʔŋ
Cəl	l̥	l̥	l̥	l̥	ʔl
Cər	j̊ (< *r̥)	ʔr	ʃ	Cr	hr
Cəʀ	(*j̊)	ʔʀ	(*ʃ)	(*ʀ̥)	(*hr)
Cəw	w̥	ʔw	w̥	ʔw	(*ʔw)
Cəj	j̊	ʔj	j̊	ʔj	(*ʔj)

Ostapirat (2023) considers many Proto-Tai spirants and rhotics to have developed from the intervocalic lenition of Proto-Kra–Dai medial obstruents. Voicing in the Proto-Tai initial is determined by the voicing of the preceding consonant in the Proto-Kra–Dai form.^[5]

p-Kra–Dai	p-Tai
(C)-p-	v- [β]
(C̥)-p-	f- [βʰ]
(C)-t-	r-
(C̥)-t-	rʰ-
(C)-ts-	z- [ɮ]
(C̥)-ts-	s-
(C)-k-	ɣ-
(C̥)-k-	x-
-q-	-ɢ-

Some Proto-Kra–Dai sesquisyllabic consonant onsets reconstructed by Ostapirat (2023) are:^[5]

Gloss	p-Kra–Dai		p-Kam–Sui
taro	b.r-	prɨak D	ʔraːk D
thin	b.r-	proːm A	ʔruːm A
forehead	p.r-	praːk D	praːk D
hair	p.r-	prom A	pram A
ribs	g.r-	kraːŋ C
"Kra"; slave	k.r-	kraː C

Liang & Zhang (1996)

Liang & Zhang (1996) propose the following reconstructions of Proto-Kra–Dai (Chinese: 原始侗台语) initials and finals, using data from all Kra–Dai branches except for Kra and Jiamao.^[3]

Initial consonants

• Plain stop initials
  • *p, *pw, *pl, *plw, *pr
  • *t, *tl, *tr
  • *k, *kw, *kl, *klw, *kr, *krw
  • *q, *ql, *qr, *ʔ
  • *b, *bw, *bl, *blw, *br
  • *d, *dl, *dr
  • *g, *gw, *gl, *glw, *gr, *grw, *ɢ
• Voiced aspirated initials
  • *bɦ, *bwɦ, *brɦ
  • *dɦ, *ndlɦ
  • *gɦ, *gwɦ
  • *ɣɦ, *ɣwɦ, *ɢɦ, *ʁɦ, *sɢrɦ
• Preglottalized initials
  • *ʔb, *ʔbw, *ʔbl, *ʔblw
  • *ʔd, *ʔdl, *ʔdr
  • *ʔm, *ʔml, *ʔmr
  • *ʔn, *ʔnl, *ʔnr, *ʔȵ, *ʔŋ, *ʔŋw
• Voiceless nasal initials
  • *m̥, *m̥w, *m̥l, *m̥r, *m̥rw
  • *n̥, *n̥l, *ȵ̥, *ȵ̥w, *ŋ̥, *ŋ̥w
• Plain nasal initials
  • *m, *mw, *ml, *mr
  • *n, *nr, *ȵ, *ŋ, *ŋw, *ŋr, *ɴl
• Prenasalized initials
  • *mp, *mpl, *mpr
  • *nt, *ntl, *ntr
  • *ŋk, *ŋkw, *ŋkl
  • *mb, *mbl, *mbr
  • *nd, *ndl, *ndr
  • *ŋg, *ŋgl, *ŋgr
• Glide and liquid initials
  • *ʔw, *ʔr, *ʔj
  • *w̥, *l̥, *r̥, *j̥
  • *w, *l, *r, *j
• Fricative initials
  • *s, *sw, *sl, *sr, *ɕ, *x, *xw, *xl, *xr, *h
  • *z, *zl, *zr, *ʑ, *ɣ, *ɣw, *ɣl, *ʁ, *ɦ
• Initial clusters beginning with fricatives
  • *xp, *xpl, *xpr, *xt, *xk, *xkw, *xkl, *xklw, *xkr, *xkrw, *xq, *xql
  • *sp, *spw, *spl, *st, *stl, *str, *sk, *skw, *skl, *skr, *skrw, *sq, *sqr
  • *zb, *zd, *zdw, *zgr

Vowels and diphthongs

• *a, *a, *i̯a, *u̯a, *ɯ̯a
• *ə̯, *i̯ə, *u̯ə
• *ɛ, *i̯ɛ, *e, *i̯e
• *ɔ, *u̯ɔ, *ɯ̯ɔ, *o, *i̯o, *u̯o, *ɯ̯o
• *i̯, *u̯i, *ie,iə, *ia, *iɛ
• *u, *i̯u, *ɯ̯u, *ue, *uə, *ua, *uo, *uɔ, *uɯ
• *ɯ, *ɯe, *ɯə, *ɯa, *ɯɔ, *ɯu

Lexicon

Ostapirat (2018, 2023)

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 pronounced as /

• /-c/

/ and pronounced as /

• /-l/

/.^[8] Ostapirat (2018b:113)^[9] lists the following of his own Proto-Kra–Dai reconstructions.

Notes:

• pronounced as /
  • /K-/
  /: either pronounced as //k-// or pronounced as //q-//
• pronounced as /
  • /C-/
  /: unspecified consonant
• pronounced as /
  • /T-/
  / and pronounced as /
  • /N-/
  / are distinct from pronounced as /
  • /t-/
  / and pronounced as /
  • /n-/
  /.

Gloss	Proto-Kra–Dai
blood	pronounced as / pɤlaːc /
bone	pronounced as / Kudɤːk /
ear	pronounced as / qɤrɤː /
eye	pronounced as / maTaː /
hand	pronounced as / (C)imɤː /
nose	pronounced as / (ʔ)idaŋ /
tongue	pronounced as / (C)əmaː /
tooth	pronounced as / lipan /
dog	pronounced as / Kamaː /
fish	pronounced as / balaː /
horn	pronounced as / paquː /
louse	pronounced as / KuTuː /
fire	pronounced as / (C)apuj /
stone	pronounced as / KaTiːl /
star	pronounced as / Kadaːw /
water	pronounced as / (C)aNam /
I (1.SG)	pronounced as / akuː /
thou (2.SG)	pronounced as / isuː; amɤː /
one	pronounced as / (C)itsɤː /
two	pronounced as / saː /
die	pronounced as / maTaːj /
name	pronounced as / (C)adaːn /
full	pronounced as / pətiːk /
new	pronounced as / (C)amaːl /

Some additional tentative Proto-Kra–Dai reconstructions by Ostapirat (2023) include the following.^[5]

Gloss	Proto-Kra–Dai
chin	ləqaːŋ A
shoulder pole	ləqaːn A
person	niqun A
bitter	təqam A
excrement	taqiː C
rice	rəquː C
young chicken	rəqaːŋ B
fire	apuy A
tooth	ipan A
rain	kipun A
millet	kipaːŋ C
vomit	utaːk D
we (incl.)	atuː A
carry on pole	kətaːp D
break	kətak D
pestle	tsaːk D
sour	qatsum C
wash	(C)atsak D
left	(C)itsaːy
	ikaː A
field dike	ikal A
knee	tukuː B
to crow	tikal A
moon	bulaːn A
flower	baluːk D
to weed	bəlaːy A
spotted	bəlaːŋ B

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	–

Lower-level reconstructions

Norquest (2021) provides the following lower-level reconstructions for each branch of Kra–Dai.^[10]

Gloss						p-Tai
house	ljaːk	r̥aːn	qran	hrɯːn	raːn	rɤːn
road	tsaːŋ	qʰwən	qron	kuːn	ʃwən	r̥wɤn
heavy	N-tsak	C-dʑan	qχəl	kʰɯn	xən	n̥ak
leg	puk	p-qaː	C-qaː	kʰok	kok	f-qaː
neck	ʔən	ʔdənʔ	C-joː	hljoŋʔ	liəŋX	ɣoː
beard	m-luːt	m-nrut	mumʔ	hmɯːmʔ	mumX	mumh
wet field	raːh	ʔraːh	naː	hnaːɦ	njaː	naː
crow	kaː	qaː	ʔak	ʔaːk	ʔak	kaː
needle	tɕʰəm	tɕʰəm	ŋot	hŋuc	ŋaːʔ	qjem
mortar	–	krˠəm	ʔdru	ɾəw	ɦoːk	grok
tongue	m-laː	maː	l-maː	hliːnʔ	liːnX	linʔ
wing	–	C-faːh	ʀwaː	pʰiːk	pik	piːk
skin	–	ŋʀaː	taː	n̥əːŋ	n̥aŋ	n̥aŋ
to shoot	–	pɛŋh	–	hɲɯː	ɲəː	ɲɯː
to fly	[C-]pənh	C-pˠənʔ	–	ɓin	ʔbjən	ʔbil
bee	mlet	luk	reː	kəːj	ʃaːŋX	prɯŋʔ
vegetable	–	ʔmaː	ʔop	ɓɯː ʈʂʰəj	ʃak	prak
red	–	hlaːnʔ	–	hraːnʔ	r̥iŋ	C-djeːŋ
to bite	kat	klət	ʈajh	hŋaːɲʔ	gap	ɢɦap
to descend	lojʔ	C-ɭuːjh	caɰʔ	l̥uːj	roːŋ	N-ɭoŋ

Note that like Jiamao, Proto-Be does not distinguish between tone categories B and C, but rather only has an X category, which Chen (2018) names as tone category BC.^[11]

See also

• Austro-Tai languages
• Old Chinese
• Proto-Austronesian language
• Proto-Hmong–Mien language
• Proto-Austroasiatic language

Further reading

• Sagart, Laurent. 2019. A model of the origin of Kra-Dai tones. Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale, 48(1), 1–29.
• Sagart, Laurent. 2020. "Labial fortitions in Kra-Dai." In Sino-Tibetan-Austronesian.
• Book: Norquest, Peter. The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia. Classification of (Tai-)Kadai/Kra-Dai languages. De Gruyter. 2021. 10.1515/9783110558142-013. 225–246. 9783110558142 . 238672319 .

Notes and References

1. Benedict, Paul K. 1975. Austro-Thai: language and culture, with a glossary of roots. New Haven: Human Relations Area Files Press.
2. 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.
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.
4. Ostapirat, Weera. 2009. Proto-Tai and Kra-Dai Finals *-l and *-c. Journal of Language and Culture, 28(2), 41–56.
5. Proto-Kra–Dai consonants: an outline and outstanding issues . 2023 . Ostapirat . Weera . Chiang Mai University . 32nd Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society (SEALS 2023), May 18, 2023.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Ostapirat, Weera. 2009. Proto-Tai and Kra–Dai finals *-l and *-c. Journal of Language and Culture Vol. 28 No. 2 (July – December 2009).
9. 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.
10. Book: Norquest, Peter. The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia. Classification of (Tai-)Kadai/Kra-Dai languages. De Gruyter. 2021. 10.1515/9783110558142-013. 225–246. 9783110558142 . 238672319 .
11. Chen . Yen-ling . Proto-Ong-Be . 2018 . Ph.D. dissertation . University of Hawaii at Manoa . 2023-04-27 . 2023-06-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230605121229/http://ling.hawaii.edu/wp-content/uploads/ChenYenlingFinal.pdf . dead .