From: fournet.arnaud
Message: 57095
Date: 2008-04-09
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick McCallister" <gabaroo6958@...>
>> ================
>>
>> Old-Chinese (AD -1000) can be proved to have cases
>> for pronouns.
>> At least three cases : subject, accusative,
>> genitive.
>> It can be proved to have verbal morphology :
>> #m-Root-s
>> It can be proved to have apophony : *nap "enter"
>> *nop "interior".
>>
>> Arnaud
>>
>> ==================
>>
> Can any of this be linked to Tai-Kadai et/aut al.? Can
> its tonogenesis be linked to Tai-Kadai et/aut al.?
> RMcC
========
Chinese is clearly a very severely eroded language,
where morphology has become close to nothing.
Declension of pronouns exists in less eroded ST languages like rGyalrong.
Tonogenesis according to the standard current theory is that final *? or
final *s caused rising tone or falling tone. This theory is based on Andre
Haudricourt's work on Vietnamese as compared to other Mon-khmer languages.
The result being generalised to Chinese LWs in Vietnamese.
In view of Tocharian LWs in Chinese, this theory will need significant
emending.
But this is another story.
Arnaud
============