From: tgpedersen
Message: 50392
Date: 2007-10-21
> A.F wrote :Note the mention of 'Assiani'
>
> Cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuezhi
>I'm really beginning to like this *ans- word:
> Starting with present-day Chinese names :
> Yue Zhi
> Yue Shi
> Yu Zhi
> and Niu Zhi
>
> If we retro-evolve these names to AD 00,
> Yue < *ng-ïwat- (velar nasal)
> Zhi < *tsix
> Shi < *six
> Niu < *ngjaw
>
> Niu and Yue used to be once closer than now.
>
> YueZhi autoethnonym was sounding close to *ngjawtsix or *ngiwatsix.
>
> I am not sure that these people can be "Tokharians" !?
> This name doesn't look like a Indo-European word.
>
> Chinese reconstruction is debatable,
> but the surest (non debatable) thing is : this ethnonym starts with
> #ng- velar nasal : something especially alien to PIE, (and by the
> way, alien to its closest relatives).
>
> In fact, I am quite sure that these YueZhi people cannot be
> whatever kind of Indo-Europeans at all.