Re: Of cows and living

From: tgpedersen
Message: 43501
Date: 2006-02-21

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Richard Wordingham" <richard@...>
wrote:
>
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@> wrote:
> >
> > --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@>
wrote:
> > >
> > > --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Patrick Ryan" <proto-
language@>
> > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Torsten, I think Old Chinese is fairly straightforward but I
> > thank
> > > you for the nice and very interesting summary.
> > > >
> > > > I am much more concerned about why Sino-Tibetan presents
itself
> > as
> > > a prefixing language.
> >
> > Maybe because it *is* a prefixing language?
> >
> >
> > > >
> > > > Any thoughts?
> > > >
> > > > It seems to be there is another, as yet
unidentified "player" at
> > > the table.
> > > >
> >
> > The three PIE roots *lak(t)-, *galak(t)- and *melg^-/*melk^-
*taken
> > together* look like they were loaned from a (predominantly)
> > prefixing language, eg Sino-Tibetan. The fact that there is a
> > similar root with matching semantics in PTB *m-/s-lyak- and in
OC
> > *luk makes it likely that this is the case.
> >
> > So, no cognacy, in the strict sense of the word.
>
> And to this family I can add, from Greater Austronesian:
>
> Formosan _alak_ 'child'
> Proto-Kra *lak 'child'
> Proto-Tai *lMuk 'offspring' (M = back unrounded semivowel)
>
> and possibly
>
> Proto-Tai *?dek 'child' (could be < Kam-Sui *?dek, *?dlek or *?
drek)
>
> Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *anak 'child' spoils this set.

Sino-Tibetan *Plain, vs Proto-Austronesian p&nuh "full". A good
trading word. One of the first you learn when you drive a car abroad.


> But if we want a prefixing donor language, can we not just go to NW
> Caucasian? And are we not in grave danger of not only being way
> off-topic, but merely collecting look-alikes?

The cow was invented in central Asia. Inventions come with manuals,
except they didn't write them then. The alternative theory is that
as the inventions spread, people came up with strangely similar
words for them.


Torsten