Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/(s/z)a-j

This Proto-Sino-Tibetan entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Sino-Tibetan

Etymology

Proto-Sino-Tibetan: ?
- Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *sa-y ⪤ za-y (Matisoff, STEDT); *z(l)a-y (Matisoff, 2003); *sa (Matisoff, 2003)

The palatal coda is perhaps a diminutive suffix (Matisoff, 1995).

Proto-Tai *zwɯəjᴬ (“sand”), whence Thai ทราย (saai, “sand”), Lao ຊາຍ (sāi, “sand”) and Zhuang saiz (“sand”), is a loan either from Old Chinese 沙 (OC *sraːl, *sraːls, “sand”) or from this Proto-Sino-Tibetan root itself.

Noun

Dunes of the Taklamakan desert.

*z)a-j

earth, sand, soil

Descendants

Old Chinese: 沙 /*sˤraj/ (B-S), /*sraːl, sraːls/ (ZS) ("sand")
→ Thai: ทราย ("sand")
Lao: ຊາຍ ("sand")
- Middle Chinese: 沙 sræ (/ʃˠa/) ("sand")

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**:

→ Japanese: 沙 (しゃ, sha)
Korean: 사 (沙, sa)
Vietnamese: sa, xa (沙)

- - Modern Mandarin
    - Beijing: 沙 (shā, /ʂa̠⁵⁵/, “sand”)
  - Yue
    - Cantonese: 沙 (/sɑː⁵⁵/, “sand”)
- Min Nan
  - Xiamen: 沙 (/sa⁴⁴/, “sand”)
Tangkhulic
- Tangkhul Naga: si (“sand”)
Sal
- Jingpho [Kachin]: zai-bru (“sand”)
Himalayish
- Tibeto-Kanauri
  - Bodic
    - Tibetan
      - Written: ས (sa, “sand, earth, ground”)
Tangut-Qiang
- Northen Tangut
  - Tangut: 𗉺 (*śia¹, “sand”) (Possibly a loan from Chinese; often used for its phonetic value, e.g. 𗉺𗐺 (*śia¹ mẽ¹, “shaman”)[1])
Lolo-Burmese-Naxi
- Lolo-Burmese:
  *say² ("sand")
  - Burmish
    - Written: သဲ (sai:, “sand”)
  - Loloish
    - Central Loloish
      - Lahu: šɛ̂ (“sand”)
Proto-Kuki-Chin:
- Khomic
  - Khumi Chin: sä-i

Notes

- Sofronov, Mikhail Viktorovich (1968) Грамматика тангутского языка [Grammatika tangutskovo jazyka, Grammar of the Tangut Language] (in Russian), character 4161