>> Well, have you read Vovin's article on the possible Yeniseic
>> membership in the Hunnic alliance? (I don't recall the precise
>> reference at the moment) If he is right, this may have interesting
>> implications...
>
> Don't leave out Pulleyblank.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiongnu
> Note the Scythian connection too.
>
>
> Torsten
>
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I found a sentence about this Jie2 language.
Apparently, it's the sentence Vovin has tried to analyse but I'm not sure.
The first point is this caracter Jie2 is reconstructed as *kjot by Baxter
and *kat by Starostin.
It's quite dubious that it refers to Ket, Kot seems a better match.
The second point is : Chinese sources explicitly states this sentence is
Jie2 language, and this Jie2 people are explicitly listed among the XiongNu.
So I wonder why there is any controversy about this *kjot/*kat people being
XiongNu.
The only obscure point is the possibility of linking this *kjot/*kat people
with Yeniseian Ket/Kot people.
The sentence reads :
The army : xiu4-zhi1 < MC *sjuwH-tsie
has been deployed : ti4-li4-gang1 < MC *thejH-lejH-kang
(with the aim)
the (honorific title) : pu2-gu3 < MC *buwk-kuwk
to catch : tu1-qu2-dang < MC *tuwk-gju-tangH
This language clearly has a voiced / voiceless / aspirate contrast.
which eliminates any Uralo-Altaic language.
Kott seems to be a reasonable possibility.
The first word is unknown
The second could be thax "schicken, to send"
The third word could be related to *berke-kej/kuk "great prince"
The last could be to:N-tet "fassen, to seize"
Note that the voiced, voiceless, aspirate features match.
It seems to fit fairly well.
Arnaud