Re: [tied] Kusunda (Was: Re: Woof)

> Kusunda (in Nepal, probably extinct by now), if ST at all, may represent
> another early offshoot.

It is not ST any more than, say, Burushaski is. And it is not probably extinct.
There are at least 2 fully fluent speakers (of which one is basically
monolingual but too old to travel and soon dead), plus 2 more near-fluent,
as of 2005. Though it is of course moribund.

> If one were to use the "maximum diversity"
> argument, the oldest primary branches and the most diversified ST
> languages are found not so much in China itself but "in and near" Assam
> and the eastern Himalayas, perhaps including parts of Burma and Sichuan.

Has anyone read Bellwood's new book (First Farmers)? He is eager to
identify proto-languages with archaeological entities which _often_ does
not yield a homeland near maximum diversity point. Any comments?

H