Chang Tsung-Tung 1988 Indo-European Vocabulary in Old Chinese

SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS
Number 7 January, 1988
Indo-European Vocabulary in Old Chinese

A New Thesis on the Emergence of Chinese Language and Civilization in the Late Neolithic Age
by Tsung-tung Chang
Victor H. Mair, Editor Sino-Platonic Papers Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305 USA vmair@sas.upenn.edu www.sino-platonic.org
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C o n t e n t s Recent developments i n t h e f i e l d of h i s t o r i c a l l i n g u i s t i c s Monosyllabic s t r u c t u r e of Chinese words and Indo-European s t e m s Tonal a c c e n t s o f Middle Chinese P r e l i m i n a r i e s on t h e comparison of consonants an? vowels Some IE s t e m s c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o Chinese words o f e n t e r i n g t o n e Middle Chinese t o n e s and f i n a l consonants of I E s t e m s Some I E s t e m s c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o Chinese words of r i s i n g t o n e Some IE s t e m s c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o Chinese words o f v a n i s h i n g t o n e
1
3
3
4 5
8
9
12
Some IE s t e m s c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o Chinese words o f l e v e l t o n e 17 R e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f Middle Chinese vocalism a c c o r d i n g t o Yiin -ch i n g 26 Old Chinese v o c a l i s m Vocalic correspondences between Chinese and I E I n i t i a l s o f Old Chinese I n i t i a l consonant c l u s t e r s i n Old Chinese as s e e n from IE-sterns Proximity o f Chinese t o Germanic R e l a t i o n of Old Chinese t o neighboring languages Emergence o f Chinese Empire and language i n t h e Middle of t h e t h i r d millennium B.C.
29
30 31 31
32 33
35
Appendix Abbrevations Bibliography Rhyme Tables o f E a r l y Middle Chinese ( 6 0 0 ) Rhyme Tables o f E a r l y Mandarin ( 13 0 0 ) Word Index, E n g l i s h Piny i n
Indo-European Vocabulary i n O l d Chinese. A New T h e s i s on t h e m e r g e n c e of Chinese Language and C i v i l i z a t i o n i n t h e L a t e Neolithic Age* Tsung-tung Chang, U n i v e r s i t y of F r a n k f u r t , West Germany
I n 1786, j u s t o v e r two hundred y e a r s ago, comparative h i s t o r i c a l l i n g u i s t i c s w a s b o r n , when S i r W i l l i a m J o n e s (1746-1794) d i s c o v e r e d t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between Old-Indian S a n s k r i t , Greek, and L a t i n . S i n c e t h e n , t h e emerging Indo-European p h i l o l o g y h a s thrown much l i g h t on t h e e a r l y h i s t o r y o f mankind i n E u r a s i a . During t h e p a s t two hundred y e a r s , many s u g g e s t i o n s were a l s o made i n r e g a r d t o r e l a t i o n s h i p s o f Indo-European t o o t h e r languages such as S e m i t i c , A l t a i c , A u s t r o n e s i a n , Korean e t c , , b u t IndoE u r o p e a n i s t s commonly r e j e c t e d such a t t e m p t s f o r want of c o n v i n c i n g e v i d e n c e . A s t o C h i n e s e , Joseph Edkins was t h e f i r s t t o advance t h e t h e s i s of i t s p r o x i m i t y t o Indo-European. I n h i s work China's
P l a c e i n P h i l o l o g y . An A t t e m p t t o show that the Language of Europe and A s i a
he p r e s e n t e d a number of Chinese words s i m i l a r t o t h o s e o f Indo-European.

have a C o n r m o n Origin
( 187 1)
I n h i s t i m e , E d k i n s ' t h e s i s seemed b o l d and e x t r a v a g a n t . But t o d a y , more t h a n a hundred y e a r s l a t e r , w e a r e i n a much b e t t e r p o s i t i o n t o c a r r y o u t a comprehensive and well-founded comparative s t u d y . S i n c e the end o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , many S i n o l o g i s t s have been engaged i n r e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e mediaeval and a r c h a i c r e a d i n g s of Chinese c h a r a c t e r s . Among them, Karlgren (1889-1978) was t h e most s u c c e s s f u l , and i n 1 9 4 0 h e p u b l i s h e d a comprehensive p h o n o l o g i c a l and e t y m o l o g i c a l d i c t i o n a r y e n t i t l e d ~ i a m m a t a s e r i c a . I n t h e meantime, t h e Indo-Europeanists A l o i s Walde (1869-1924) and J u l i u s Pokorny (1887-1970) w e r e d e v o t i n g themselves t o t h e c o m p i l a t i o n of a u s e f u l e t y m o l o g i c a l d i c t i o n a r y . The r e s u l t was t h e I n d o g e r m a n i s c h e s E t y m o l o g i s c h e s W o r t e r b u c h by Pokorny ( 1 959) which provides a s o l i d b a s i s f o r o u r l e x i c a l comparisons.
T h i s s t u d y i s a much expanded v e r s i o n of t h e paper I read a t t h e XXXII I n t e r n a t i o n a l Congress f o r Asian and N o r t h African S t u d i e s on August 28, 1986 i n Hamburg (Germany) .
Tsung-tung Chang, "Indo-European Vocabulary in Old Chinese"
Soon thereafter, some Sinoloqists made use .-of the two dictionaries by ~arlgrenand Pokorny to compare Chinese and Indo-European words. In 1967, an unaffiliated German scholar, Jan Ulenbrook, published an article "Einige Ubereinstimmungen zwischen dem Chinesischen und dem Indogermanischen", in which he claimed that 57 words are related. Shortly afterwards, Tor Ulving of the University of GBteborg, Sweden, wrote a review of this article framing the title as a question: "Indo-European elements in Chinese?" While working on his thesis on word families in Chinese, Ulving compiled for his own use two dictionaries: "Archaic Chinese - English" and "English - Archaic Chinese", and discovered thereby 238 Chinese words similar to Indo-European roots. In spite of this considerable number of word equivalents, however, Mr. Ulving became discouraged and, as he told me in his letter of April, 1986, has given up his researches in this field. The skepticism, common among Indo-Europeanists in regard to comparative studies with other languages, is largely based on the dogmatic opinion that only morphology is relevant but not vocabulary. Since the typology of Chinese seems to preclude a cognate relation to Indo-European, they are inclined to discard any lexical correspondences as merely accidental or onomatopoetic. Besides, prehistorical contacts and mixtures between these languages seem not conceivable, as the Indo-Europeans are supposed to have originated in Northern Europe or at best in the Central Asian steppe, thousands of miles away from East Asia. Hence, any research into a relationship between Old Chinese and Indo-European languages would be but futile from the outset. Yet there are also opposing views among Indo-Europeanists. Investigations into Germanic languages and the oldest Indo-European language, Hittite, led some of them to a critical revision of the prevailing conception about a Proto-Indo-European. Hermann Hirt (1934) for instance states: "Inflexion of Indo-European languages is due to a relatively late development, and its correct comprehension can be achieved only by proceeding from the time of
Sino-Platonic Papers, 7 (January, 1988)
non-inflexion." And Carl Karstien (1936) holds the opinion that "Chinese corresponds most ideally to the hypothetic prototype of Indo-European." Regarding vocabulary, there are striking similarities in the monosyllabic structure of the basic words. In modern German and English, all the words of everyday speech are monosyllabic and their stereotypical structure is : initial consonant ( s ) + vowel (s) + final consonant (s)
The same word structure is valid for Chinese as well. It is fundamentally different from the disyllabic structure of Altaic words and from the triconsonantal-disyllabic structure of Semitic words. Characteristic of the monosyllabic word structure is, besides, the complexity of the syllable nucleus, which consists of different vowels and vowel clusters in contrast to the monophthongal vocalism of polysyllabic words. Another objection raised to comparisons between Chinese and IndoEuropean is the existence of tonal accents in Chinese. Since most modern Indo-European languages have only expiratory accents, Chinese is considered to be a highly exotic language. Yet, even in Chinese, the use of tonal accents as a means of lexical differentiation is a result of comparatively recent development in the long history of Chinese language, the earliest monuments of which date back to 1300 B.C. (cf, Chang 1970, p.21). Unknown to Old Chinese, the existence of tonal accents was for the first time mentioned in the 5th century by Shen Yiieh (441-513). In Middle Chinese (Mch.) there were four tone categories: A Ping-sheng , a level tone (which developed into Mandarin tone 1 or 2) B Shang-sheng k , a rising tone (Mandarin tone 3) C Ch'ii-sheng , a vanishing, i.e. falling tone (Mandarin tone 4) D Ju-sheng A , an entering tone with a staccato effect, the word being abruptly stopped by a final consonant -p, -t, -k. (In Early Mandarin the words of this tone lost their final consonant and were distributed among the tones 2, 3 and 4, respectively according to the phonation of initials) In Middle Chinese, words of the entering tone were the only group which still preserved the final stops and therefore a close syllabic structure. So they are most appropriate for convincing comparisons with monosyllabic Indo-European word stems.
Tsung-tung Chang, "Indo-EuropeanVocabulary in Old Chinese" The f i n a l s t o p s -p, - t r -k of t h e e n t e r i n g t o n e are nowadays s t i l l e x t a n t i n d a i l y speech of s e v e r a l d i a l e c t s i n South China as w e l l a s i n Chinese borrowings i n J a p a n e s e , Vietnamese and Korean. A s a s p e a k e r o f a Taiwan d i a l e c t o f Minnan o r i g i n , I c o u l d immediately i d e n t i f y some Indo-European s t e m s w i t h c o r r e s p o n d i n g Chinese words. B e s i d e s , t h e command of Japanese and German w a s a l s o a g r e a t help f o r t h i s study. I n t h e f o l l o w i n g l i s t s I have chosen a number o f Indo-European s t e m s which are p h o n e t i c a l l y and s e m a n t i c a l l y e q u i v a l e n t t o Chinese words. Correspondences i n i n i t i a l and f i n a l consonants r e f e r t o t h e p o i n t s of a r t i c u l a t i o n , t h u s w e have e q u a t i o n s :
IE
IE
IE
IE
l a b i a l s = Old Chinese l a b i a l s , I E d e n t a l s = d e n t a l s , 1, r = d e n t a l s ( c f . p. 3 1 ) ; @, i ( f i n a l and m e d i a l ) v e l a r s = v e l a r s and l a r y n g e a l s , and occasionally ( t h e s o - c a l l e d "satemu-forms) v e l a r s = d e n t a l s i b i l a n t s and a f f r i c a t e s .
Regarding t h e manner of a r t i c u l a t i o n , t h e r e are no r e g u l a r c o r r e s pondences between Indo-European and Chinese consonants l i k e G r i m m ' s law which i s v a l i d among Indo-European d i a l e c t s t o a c e r t a i n e x t e n t . But t h i s i s n o t a s t o n i s h i n g , s i n c e i n Old Chinese t h e a l t e r n a t i o n of i n i t i a l s i n v o i c i n g w a s a c o n v e n t i o n a l means o f c r e a t i n g new words from one b a s i c form. The r u l e s of v o c a l i c correpondences among Indo-European d i a l e c t s a r e q u i t e complex. Vowels permanent1 change t h e i r q u a l i t i e s from wi,?hIn one l a n "age one language t o a n o t h e r , and from t u n e t o tlme,a%so, a s i s w e l l known from t h e h i s t o r y of E n g l i s h p r o n u n c i a t i o n s . G e n e r a l l y , t h e vocalism o f Old Greek i s t a k e n a s t h e s t a n d a r d f o r Proto-IndoEuropean. Old Chinese vowels corresponds n e a r l y ( c f . p. 30), b u t t h e d e t a i l s a b o u t t h e r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of Middle and Old C h i n e s e vocalism w i l l be t r e a t e d l a t e r (pp. 2 6 - 3 0 ) . For t h e moment, it i s n e c e s s a r y t o n o t i c e i n advance t h a t t h e s t e m of a b l a u t i n g Germanic v e r b s i s t h e form of p r e t e r i t e or noun, r a t h e r t h a n t h a t o f i n f i n i t i v e as assumed h i t h e r t o . T h e r e f o r e , i n some c a s e s I must s l i g h t l y modify t h e b a s i c vowel o f v e r b a l stems g i v e n i n Pokorny, i n o r d e r t o g e t b e t t e r b a s i s f o r comparison. A s Old Chinese v e r b s w e r e nonf l e x i o n a l , t h e y might p r o b a b l y have p r e s e r v e d t h e o r i g i n a l vowel t h e best.
Sitw -Platonic Papers, 7 (January, 1988)
Indo-European
s t e m s c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o Chinese words o f e n t e r i n g t o n e :
meaning and word examples b e l l y , nhd. Bauch ags.bTic, ahd.bGht mhd bEch , schwed . buk, dan bu
Pokorny page stem loo bhug
/ 1 1
Ach.
P U ~
Mch. pjuk 1 111* buk

1 I
Nch.
fu: 3
t o bask i n t h e sun g r . ( P ~ # ' w ,a h a - b a h h a n , ags.bacan,b5c,aisl.baka 117 bheidh t o i n s i s t , t o bi,d, t o b i d e , g r TI g o t . b i d j a n , ahd.mhd. b i t t e n , a g s *biddan, as .bidd jan, e n q l .to b i d t o c l a s p (nhd klammern) ags . c l y p p a n , a f r i e s kleppa, e n g l - c l a s p
phu :
7
phu :
pi:
" 1
pi:
3
klap
keap 39 I1 niet 23 I V kiep 39
kea
5%
p e t
.
371
gnet
t o knead, nhd .kneten , ahd k n e t a n , a g s .cnedan
nie kie
4%
cheek (nhd. K i e f e r ) kep a g s . c e a f e , rnengl.chavel/
/ IVI
393 586
god kot glag

--
cot, hole an.kot, ags .cot
khu : lau
4
400
-
408
ghobh
t o give, donation g o t . g i b a n , a h d . geban, g o t . g i b a , a h d . geba, mhd. gabe , nhd.gabe t o helpi t o cooperate got. hilpa, as. a g s . h e l p a n ahd. h e l f a n , e n g l . h e l p hap, happen, s u ' i t a b l e a g s . gehoep " s u i t a b l e " schwed hapa s i g ''it happens"
ki: 3
554
kalb
xie
xie
--
610
kob
xo:
61 6
kost
(bone, r i b skr. k8stf lat. costa, f r z . c6te " r i b " labg. k o s t , p o l n . koi% i "bone"
I
kot
ku: 3
Arabic and Roman numbers i n d i c a t e t h e Rhyme g r o u p and Grade respect i v e l y ( c f . Rhyme Tables o f E a r l y Middle Chinese i n Appendix, p . 43) A l i s t o f a b b r i v a t i o n s may b e found a t t h e end of t h e p a p e r (pp.40)
Tsung-tung Chang, ''Indo-EuropeanVocabulary in Old Chinese"
Pokorny page stem

645
meaning and wokd examples what? ai .kad, lat-quid, ahd-hwaz, anohvat, as-hwat, ags-hwwt little, miserable as olGtr luttil, ahd ,luzil, mhd .liitzelr ags. lytel leaf got-lauf, ahd-loub, ags .leaf, nhd .Laub mast, to fatten ahd .mhd .mnd .mast, ags .moest to die, death a t lat.mors, ahd-mord, mhd.mort, ag.s Yais1 .mord to drown- ( ertr inken) ai .nassti, av .nas-, lat nex, "accidental death"
:
Ach. fiuat
Mch. f i z t
24 RI
Nch.
XO:
Ch. xY: he
2 4
2
kWad
45
leut
684
lend
luet
24RIII
l u e4
lje: lie ie4 Ye

4
4
st;'
lop
690
lobh
iap40IV
ie4 -
694
mad
mat
moat 24RI mot 18RI
muo
mu04 mo
4
%
mot
735
mort
. mu :
muo4 mo4
762
nak
.
.
nak
niek
35 IV
ni:
ni: ni
4
843
pauk
few (diinn, wenig) bzk 1st-pagcus, ahd-oh, fao, fo, as.fa, ags-fea
'
e
bak
31 1
Pau2
PO:
buat
pao2 Pot2 bao

2
837 856
,
plod regt
float, nhdl FloD blot ahd .mhd .vloz, ags .flGot right, nhd. richtig, ahd .mhd ,as .rat, ags .riht to tear, to slitahd-r'izan, mhd .rizen, nhd .r.e.i.Ben , schleiBen
zeak A
fa:
22QIII
zjak
4 2 I11
fa5 fa
fii2
lie
sau 3
@:'
I
shi2 lie4 lie4

SUO
859
rist
.
list
liet
21
.9.2.6. slid 877
IV
sag
S& to seek, nhd.sucheg got-sdkjan, aisl.s@kja, ahd.~uohh n, ags .sZTecan, & e as.sskian, mnd .&ken
s5k
31 I
1
SUO
Pokorny page stem

880
meaning and word examples sap, nhd Saft lat-sapa, aisl-safi, ahd.saf, sapf, ags.saep, mhd saf ,saft
Mch
Nch.
Ch.
sap
I
913 921
sup skid
i1
soup,.. nhd Suppe ,ai supaahd.s~f,souf,sopha,soffa
P
I
sop
922
skip
I I
to shit, nhd. schei0en h a t ahd.scxzan, ags-scxtan, aisl skrta
siet
21 IV
+
sie
1 xie
935
931
963
skrek skop
sleubh
I I
rudder, ship gr. 6kLriul: lat.scxpio, got .aisl .ags .skip, ahd scif
tsiap
tsiap
40 IV
tseak inclined, nhd-schrag mhd schraege, nd schrege #lJ
. .
to scoop, nhd.sch6pfen ahd-scaf, scepfen to slip into zleup ziup got.slLupan, ahd sliofan ags .slupanr nhd .schlupfe 38 IV roof, house, nhd .Dach gr. 6 ~ E f i 5 , d t o s , ahd.dah, aisl.$ak, ags.cfoec, engl-thatch dgk
ki:
1013
tog
1017
stig
to g o u p , nhd-steigen, tiak got .steigan, aisl .stxga, ahd .ags.stTgan b b !

to rush at, nhd-sturzen dut ahd sturZen, mhd s t i i rzen sturzen, mnd .mnl storten engl-start
1024
sturd
dot
18 RI
1032
stouk
1058
183
tek
dgg
arrowheaa, nhd .stuck, bret.stuclhr anord.stykkz, as-stukki, ahd stucki, mhd stiicke
tsuk
1 I
y T
tsu: tsu:
to take, nhd .bekommen, aisl.@iggia, dSn.tigge, ags .dicg an, as .tiqqian got-tEkan, engl.take
tak
tak
Tsung-tung C hang "Indo-EuropeanVocabulary in Old Chinese"

For f u r t h e r p r o g r e s s i n i n t e r l i n g u a l comparison, it i s e s s e n t i a l t o t r a c e o u t t h e l o s t f i n a l c o n s o n a n t s of Chinese words w i t h l e v e l , r i s i n g and v a n i s h i n g t o n e s . E a r l y a t t h e beg i n n i n g of h i s p h o n e t i c a l s t u d y of Old Chinese, Kwgren (1923, pp. 2 8 ) a l r e a d y came t o t h e c o n c l u s i o n t h a t t h e Middle Chinese words of r i s i n g and v a n i s h i n g t o n e s e n d i n g i n -i o r -u must o r i g i n a l l y have had a f i n a l consonant -g o r -d ( o c c a s i o n a l l y a l s o -b), b u t he d i d n o t go s o f a r a s t o a s c r i b e -g t o a l l words w i t h r i s i n g t o n e . I n Grammata S e r i c a (1940) h e i n t r o d u c e d f u r t h e r -r ( p . 2 5 ) and -g ( p e 34 and 39) f o r t h e two groups o f words w i t h l e v e l t o n e . Tung T'ung-ho (1948) t h e n reproached Karfgren w i t h methodological i n c o n s i s t a n c y and r e s t o r e d -g f o r a l l Middle Chinese words ending i n -0 and -u, l e a v i n g o n l y one group of open sflables -a as p e r m i s s i b l e f o r Old Chinese. I n d o i n g s o , Tung u n f o r t u n a t e l y r u l e d o u t a p o s s i b l e d e f i n i t e r e l a t i o n between Middle Chinese t o n e s and Old Chinese f i n a l consonants and l e d t h e whole s t u d y i n t o a deadend ( c f . Chang 1986, pp. 5 3 ) . Meanwhile P u l l e y b l a n k (1962 and 1 9 8 3 ) , among o t h e r l e a r n e d s c h o l a r s , had l o n g been i n v e s t i g a t i n g s y s t e m a t i c a l l y t h e e a r l y Chinese t r a n s c r i p t i o n s of I n d i c Buddhist terms and A s i a t i c l o c a l names i n o r d e r t o o b t a i n "independent e v i d e n c e " f o r merely t h e o r e t i c a l l y r e c o n s t r u c t e d o l d p r o n u n c i a t i o n s . With numerous examples he succeeded i n conf i r m i n g t h a t Middle Chinese words of v a n i s h i n g t o n e had a dent a l f i n a l (1962, p. 21 5 ) , and t h o s e o f r i s i n g t o n e a v e l a r f i n a l ( p. 225) i n t h e e a r l y c e n t u r i e s A.C. These correspondences which have been p a r t i a l l y a t t e s t e d by t h e rhyming of Old Chinese p o e t r y , can now a l s o be proved by Indo-European synonymous s t e m s . Thus t h e f o l l o w i n g e q u a t i o n s may be p o s i t e d :
a. Mch. v a n i s h i n g t o n e < Ach. -d, -s
= I E -s o r d e n t a l s = .IE labials
" "
( o c c a s i o n a l l y ) < Ach. -b (cf.p.16) < Ach. -g
= IE v e l a r s
= I E velars = I E -u,
-0
b. Mch. r i s i n g t o n e
< Ach. -g < Ach. -g
(occasionally)
c. Mch. level tone (cf. pp. 24) (cf. pp. 24)
< < < < <
Ach. Ach. Ach. Ach. Ach.
-@
-@,
-u -g -u
IE -@ -i= IE -r, -1 = IE velars

=
= IE velars
=
IE labials (occasionally)
In the following list a number of Indo-European stems are given which correspond to Chinese words of rising tone: Pokorny page stem
107
meaning and word examples
i
I
~ c h . Mch. lbou
!,2RI
1 Nch.
I
I I
Ch. pu:.4
4
bhog
141
188
188
213
227
257
book,nhd.Buch; to book bo:g ahd.buoh, as.afries aqs-an. b i 5 k bhrg castle, nhd. Burg po :g gr. T T ~ Q J ~ S ~ i latoburgus "tower", 1 got-baurgs "city,tower" engloboroughtburrow, ; local names -bury I ' taig topointat/to, deik nhd. zeigen , gr tfs6kb'ih lat.dzc6, ahd.zeigGn, mhd. zeiqen,aqs.teon toe, nhd Zehe doik lat. digitus "finger, , toe", ahd.zGha, aqs. t-Zhe, tZ drk glance (nhd- Blick) ai. df6- "glance", gr. d<pk O A A ~ n to see, to glance" idle, lazy, nhd. trage, dag dregh ahd.trXgi, mhd-traege, as.trXg , mnd trach , ,El mnl traqhe do:g dhrogh way, trail norw (dialect) drog "trail of animals, valley", russ. doroga, poln. droga "way", (hebr. d-r-q) I
1, %
pu:
4*
, I ,
! pau
i
pau
I
I
bu4 ~ p a3 o
!
I
I
a
25 I :$Cjaik
6 I11
bao t ~ 2 :t e ~ i . :3
I
3 I zhi
I
2 %
i
1 2 . 1 daiA 13 I
*
taj
I
4*
tai
dad
[tau4* itao4 ,
I
1 dai4
I
IS
1251
( dao
* In Early Mandarin,Middle Chinese rising tone changed not into

third, but into fourth tone, if the initial was voiced.
Tsung-tung Chang, "Indo-EuropeanVocabulary i n Old Chinese"
Pokorny page stem

522
P
Ach.
Mch.
Nch.
Ch. khY: 3
3 ke . 3 kao3 gao 4 xaoq hao $?jap3
kak
be capable of, can hag accepta9ler ai-kaknoti "can", aisl-hagr "suitable", mhd behagen"acceptablem TiJ
k h ~ :kho: ~
27 I
597
Ic
keuk
bright, shining, ai .%cati, sucyati

#
kag
%
@
kau-t. 25 I hauL
25 I
,k
fiaug keug
,
xau4 kjau 3
kieuL
251V
658
659
'
log
q.
gr.~l'~,
to gather lat-legs
I
logh
camp, nhd. Lager ags-lagu, rnnd-lach, engl-law, ahd.luog
%@S
&SRIII
667
leig
body ,corpse,(nhd. Leiche) lhaig got .leik, aisl .lik, ahd.lih, mhd-lih, engl."lychV in lych-gate f % to tempt, nhd-locken, leug ahdolochon, lucchen, lockon, aisl. lokka ags .loccian, mnl locken, mhd liicken 3 ' 5
theiL
13IV
thi: ti3 iu3

jou4
687
I
I
leugh
jiu
!
688
louk
37 IV
YOU ie
ie3
ye3
lea, open field ahd.16hrmnd.lbh, ags-leah, lit-laukas, nhd-lokal names: -1oh horse ir .marc, ahd .marah, ags-mearh, aisl-marr
1o:g
iaL
291V
B
mag
700
mork
me*
29 I1
ma:
ma: 3
Is
ma 3
748
'
merg
a ,
sea/laker nhd .Meer ags -merece, aisl .merki, aksl.rnorje
3
(mongl.morj, -rg>-rj as in Scandinavian languages)
1 1 3 I
hai3
Pokorny page .stem

799
Ach.
,Mch. bod
12 I
Nch. pu:
4
Ch. pu: 4
bu 4
polg
folk, nhd.Volk, bog ahd.ags.folc, aisl. ,dan.,schwed .folk, poln. polk, (hebr p-l-g)
845 preg
impudent, nhd-frech, got. (faihu-) friks, "greedy after money" , aisl-frekr, ags-frecc, ahd .freh "greedy"
peag
pjai
pi:
pi: 3 bi3
6 III
898
sikW
ziag to see, sight got-saihvan,aisl.sjZ as.ahd. sehan, nhd-sehen ahd.mhd.siht, nhd.Sicht #B backbone, nhd.Rlickgrat, liog aisl-hryggr,ags-hrycg, ahd .(h) rukki, engl .ridge $ ! $
zjaib
6111
rg:4 J 4i :
shi leu3 ly:
938 kreuk
l j o : '
I 1 I11
ljaik
8111
1ii 3 li: li:3 li3 ts2: 3 zi3
965
slzk
plum, sloe ahd.slEha, mhd.slehe, ags.slZh, nhd.Schlehe, poln.'sliwka, russ.sliva
sliag
1032 treg
251
L
tseag dreg(s)l gr. reat;, - f o 5 , dhregh mhd.mnd.drec, ags.&eax, schwed.track, nhd .Dreck (=Bodensatz) @
A
tseaik tt,:3
8 11
It is fascinating to see that the velar final stop lost over 1500 years ago in Chinese is in most cases still preserved and pronounced in ~erman,English,etc. even today. Furthermore, we find that in Modern Chinese some European proper names such as Hamburg and Marx (=Markus) %f are meaningfully well transcribed The common word "p1u.m"~among Chinese.,German and Slavic languages is very instructive as positive evidence against tne Western Theory prevailing among Indo-Europeanists who would have limited the original homeland of Indo-Europeans to a small zone of Middle Europe with beech and birch trees ("Buche und Birke", cf. Kilian pp.36).
5a
The f o l l o w i n g l i s t w i l l show t h a t t h e Indo-European s t e m s which s e m a n t i c a l l y a n d p h o n e t i c a l l y c o r r e s p o n d t o C h i n e s e words w i t h v a n i s h i n g t o n e have i n most cases a d e n t a l f i n a l a n d some(864/891) t i m e s -b o r -p. S e v e r a l words l i k e % (392/405) and r e f e r t o stems w i t h a d e n t a l , as w e l l a s t h o s e w i t h a l a b i a l final.
>
Pokorny page s t e m 14 5
meaning and .word examples
Ach.
Mch. pui*
1OR111
Nch.
Ch. fei fei

4
b h r u - t t o b o i l , nhd b r o d e l n pud a i s l . a g s .bro&, ahd . p r o t , b a i r .brod, e n g l . b r o t h @ "Briihe" t o split, t o burst pod gr.~fid-7~ mhd . p l a t z e n , b l a t z e n , nhd . p l a t Z e n bhorst t o b u r s t , nhd-bersten ( h e b r . p - r - t z " t o t e a r " ) $6 b h* ld b h r u s t b r e a s t , nhd.Brust g o t .ahd .mhd . b r u s t a n . b r j o s t , a g s .brEost a k s l .plugta,apr . p l a u t i plut aruss.plju6a "lung" drd
0
fi:
155
phoa*
phuo4
phuo
169 171
28.R I
PO
4
4
pud
phui*
fi:
fei
837
10 R I I 7 tod tau 37 I tseik 15 I V k h e i a khi: 4

I
fei tau tou dou

tsi:
4
207
t o d e f y , nhd t r o t z e n mhd . t r a t z e n , t r e t z e n mnd.trot, mhd.traz nhd.Trotz " d e f i a n c e " between, nhd zwischen as .twisk, n l tusschen engl .betwixt
4
4
I7
tuais
23 1
duisk
.
.
Wi:
ji
4
B%
392
gerbh
405
gred
keb t o carve, n h d - k e r b e n gr ahd k e r b a n , ags . c e o r f a n ked t o carve, nhd-kritzeln ahd . k r i z z d n , mhd . k r i t z e n
.rfa~u .
.
tqhi:
13 Iv 9eanh 23 I1 ean
qi
4 4
41 2
ghans
g o o s e , nhd .Gans, a i hahsd-h , g r X$V, l a t . a n s e r , ahd .gans, a g s .gBs, a i s l .gas
gans
jen
R E
4 yan.
i
Pokorny page s t e m
431
meaning and word examples glint, to glint, nhd Glanz , g l a n z e n ahd -mhd . g l a n z , g l e n z e n
Ach. gland
Mch. lank
23 I
Nchlan
Ch.
lan4 4 lan
ghland
'm
sland
ditto (Satem-form, cf.p.4)

436
'&
kead
t s h a a tshan4 tshan4 23 I c a n4 keak

2 9 11
ghelt
p r i c e , t o be worth a i s l .g j a l d , a g s . g i e l d , ahd .mhd . g e l t , nhd -Geld, gelten
kea
fFia4
4@!
ji a
xuaj
4
4 4
445
ghorst
516
627
kad kuat ghost
nasty, nhd-garstig goad m i r - g o i r t , mhd.mnd.garst; l i t . q r a s & "nasty person" . t o f a l l , ai.sad-, l a t -cad6 t o t u r n sour l a t .cXseus " c h e e s e "
huai*
xuaj
I
4
14RII
huai
453
u a i4 stranger , outside goad 905j* u a j lat.hostis I g o t . g a s t s , ahd .as , g a s t 1w a i 4 a g s . q i e s t , e n q l .quest 16RI The C h i n e s e c h a r a c t e r h a s 3 = fi "moon" a s p h o n e t i c and shows t h a t a s t r a n g e r must s t a y o u t s i d e a t n i g h t .
I
488
kaid gWhaid a i r , w t a t h e r l e t t .gaiss "air,weatherv l i t - g a i s a s "gleam of l i g h t i n t h e sky" R kanth ridge, shore 'mnd-kantCe], nhd .Kante, af r z .cant herd,, h e r i t a g e , d e s c e n t a i dargha-, a p e r s .&ard g o t . h a i r d a , ahd .her t a a g s h e o r d , nhd .Herde gand
k h j i k ~ k h i :ItEhi: ~ 4'
I
9 I11
526
cJan
I qi 4
an
an
an
4
E+
fied
23 I
579
kerdh
. .
~ e i * xi:
1 3 IV
4 ~ i :
%
1
xi laj
4
4
4
666
lod
I
696
inogd
g r .a$ J E ~ v l a,t . l a s s u s g o t . l a t s , as . l a t , jags . l o e t , ahd. l a z
lazy, l a t e , nhd.laB
l ; j *
15 1
lai lai
I
/mmi4
maid, ( a c h . jounger s i s t e r ) mod g o t .magabsf ahd .magad, a s .magath , nhd .Magd, Madchen r ags-moeg
moi
1 4 ~ 1
mei4
mei
4
Tsung-tung Chang, "Indo-EuropeanVocabulary in Old Chinese"
Pokorny page stem 819 purd

.
meaning and word examples art, to art gr.7ied$, ahd-furz mhd.vurz, nhd.Furz, furzen, ags-feortan
Ach.
'
Mch.
Nch.
Ch. fei4 4 fei 4 phi: pi 4

4
P U ~
pfiui&' fi:4
lORIII
.
819
perd pezd
fart,,to fart,lat.pedo pad gr. 7 ~ s e d i , - r r c e J o ~ ~ . r ~ . ahd-ferzan,aisl.freta ahd .fir=, aisl-frets fright, to be fearful of pogd ahd .as .forhta, ags .fyrhtu, nhd.Furcht, got .faurhts, ahd .as. ags .forht, nhd .furchtsam
phai%
6 IV
phi:
820
porkt
pheak
pha:
pha:
'm
29 I1
dzai*
pa4
884
selbh
self, nhd.selbst, selb (er), got. silba, anord.sj&lr, ags.self, ahd selb
zaib
t ~ k :ts2: ~ 4
891
seit
since, nhd.seit ahd s I d , mhd s1t, ags.si&, aisl.siz
zaid
,
I2
6 IV
i
4 zi
892
sidh
I
to rsach one'^ aim ai sadhati, sidhyati
tsiad
3
zoad
f.Fjai* 6 III
dm&*
t ~ d . :tek: ~ 44
zhi
1
886
sbd
seat, chair, nhd .Sit2 cf ai-sddas-,gr. ~ 6 0 ais~saetr, lit.s6stas
tsuo4
tsuo4
ZUO
28 RI tsianhsin 17 IV dzia* 4 IV tsk:4 4
4
4
908
sent
seand to send, to present got-sandjan, aisl.senda ahdosenten,agsmsendan @ nhd-senden, dan-send slit aisl.slit, ahd-sliz, mhd .sliz, nhd-Schlitz dziad
f~in 4 jin 4 t s i . :
4 zi
926
slid
950
skoth scathe, nhd Schade (n) got. skabis , aisl skadi ags. scada, ahd. scado -
fiod
xa j
xa j
,hai
15 I
>
Sino-PlatonicPapers, 7 (January, 1988)
Pokorny page stem 656 slab
meaning and 1 word examples sleep, nhd. Schlaf ahd .mhd .sl'df, as. slap ags .slZep, got .slSps ai svdpiti, svepati lat.sGpi6, aisl-sofa ags-swefan to dwindle, nhd. schwinden, Schwund ahd swintan, mhd swinden, ags-swindan
Ach
Mch.
Nch.
Ic~.
zuab
1048
syap
zuab
1
( son*
I shui
1047 suendh
rl
suand
1048
suent quick n aisl.svinnr, mhd-swinde, swint, geschwinde, nhd geschwind
18 RIV
strong, sound got.swin~s. aisl.svinnr, afries-sund, ahd-gisunt, as.gisund, ags.gesund, nhd gesund
18 R I V
besom, broom, to sweep 1 ai. svapu, aisl.s6fl isl.s6pa, engl-sweep

-
zuab
zuei
suai4
suei4 4 hu i
16 RIV suei2.
1050
suerth sword, (ach. axe of A sovereign)" ahd .mhd swert , as .afries.swerd, ags sweord, nhd .Schwert
16 RIV uai*
--
1112 uald
A
reign, power uaid aisl.vald, afries .wald, as .giwalt, ags .geweald, ahd-giwalt, nhd.Gewalt, Gc aksl. vlastb want 1 wish, nhd .Wunsch ahd.wunsc, mhd.mnd. wunsch,. ags . * s c
7 RIII
P J
wei
uan3i
I
'.
yiian4
in the oracle inscriptions (1300 B.c.) is a Its archaic form drawing of an axe for slaughtering victims (cf. Chang 1970,p.135).
&
A g r e a t number o f words w i t h v a n i s h i n g t o n e , however, w e r e
d e r i v e d from Old Chinese words w i t h f i n a l -g, as evidenced by Indo-European stems i n t h e f o l l o w i n g l i s t . I t i s a well-known f a c t t h a t i n E a r l y Mandarin t h e words of Mch. r i s i n g t o n e a l l changed i n t o v a n i s h i n g t o n e if t h e i r i n i t i a l s were v o i c e d o r a vowel ( c f . p.9") I n many cases t h i s t o n a l s h i f t must have been on the way e a r l y be o r e t h e s i x t h c e n t u r y , s i n c e words l i k e @ , and @ a r e e n t e r e d i n t h e c h t i e h - y i i n a l r e a d y w i t h two r e a d i n g s i n both r i s i n g and v a n i s h i n g t o n e ( c f . Chou Tsu-mo 1983, p . 67 and 7 1 ) .
Pokorny page stem

74
meaning and words examples
IAch.
Mc~.
N c ~ .
ch.
j ou
aug
220
dok
a g a i n a1so;nhd. auch lo:g g r . & -rl u , got.auk,ahd.ouh, mhd. ouch, a s . an1 .dk , aqs.eak, enql-eke t o con-duct , t o l e a d 1do:g l a t .diic5, ( a l a t . d o u c ~ , ) I l a t - d u x , ahd-herizogo, a s - h e r i t o g o , nhd.Herzog @ " l e a d e r of army"
i
ju: -k
iu
4 4
37111 dau 3
tau
you t a o4 , 3
25 I
I
dao 3 t . u 4 ttou4 zhou tea : zha 4

4
240
dhogWh
276
dhrogh
d a y , nhd. Tag got.dags, a i s l . d a g r , a h d - t a c , ags.doeg, P1. d e q o r , as dag t o deceive , deception ahd-triogan, gitrog a s . bidriogan , gidrog engl-betray, t r i c k
ldog I
'tijug
37111
;
!
I
'dzog
~ ~ e a k
Itp: 4 I
lau
l a j4
3F
657
669
1076 1117
l e a k , t o l e a k ,nhd l e c k anord l e k a , ags hlec , i n n d . l a k , mhd.lechen , l e i k W ' t o bestow, t o g r a n t p i g got. leihvan , ahd. l i h a n , a q s - l i o n , enql.loan trk t h ( o ) rough, nhd. durch ,dog 0 ahd. durch , a g s durh
leg
/,,,I
lau*
37 I
;l
lOu4 I
lai&
13 I thau* I 1371
ithaul
wog
:awake, nhd. wachen lat-vegeo, got-wakan, a i s l . v a k a , as-wakon, ahd-wahhon
bog
IgE
1
!12~1
1: I
lou l a j4 4 lai thou4 tou4
'
1 4
u:4 4
As to the words of the Middle Chinese level tone the following Indo-European correspondences may be given :
,
Pokorny page stem

39
meaning and word examples preposition: on got-ana, as.an, ags.on, ahd.ana, an, nhd-an cup 1 bowl, nhd .Belle aisl .bolli, ags .bollat mhd.bolle; ai.pZla bear, nhd. Bar ai .bhalla-h, ahd .bero, ags.b&ra, rnhd.b$r, mnd.b@rer bare
.
Ach. oan
Mch. uen?
21 RIV
Nch. ien
Ch.
jen 2
an
'%
poi
Yan puai 1 pei
1 21
bhol
804,4pol 136 bhera
$5
peia
1 4 RI
1 be i
2
p j i a T phi:
4 111
phi:
2
@
dl%
pi
1 97
dlongh
long mpers.drang, npers. dirang , lat longus, got-laggs, an.langr ahd ags .nhd lang
qja37
31 I11
tthaY2
E
tou
chang tku'
214
drou
tree, wood av.dXuru, gr .hTP, alb*dru, got.triu, ags.trEow, as.trio town (-ton in local names) i i n "castle" air. d aisl.ags.tGn "town" nhd Zaun
pjou?
12 111
tp:I
z hu
8 k
dun
263
dhEn
don
a
tun
thun2
thun2
iM-
2 18 RI tun tshon tshunl tshunl cun1 18 R I ~
278
dor
door, ( A c h . gate of city) to: got .dadr , ahd .tor, as.dor,dur, ags-dor g r . f ~ +,& 1at.forum ~~
tou 12RI kui?
tu:
tu:
@$
du1 kusil kueil gui1 xueiL hu i2
355
639
ger kWel
639 1140
Y
kWel
we1
to turn, g r . r ~ l o ~ " e n dkuei. " afries-kEra, as.kErian, kierian, ahd keran, mhd .keren, nhd .kehren to turn, g r - ~ i x h 6uai ai, vglati, gr.c;ahh ahd. mhd. wellan, ags. wael "swirl" I
1O R I I I
hoi 14 RI
xuaiL
Pokorny page stem

355
Ach.
Mch. k~:?
Nch. ko:
Ch.
gZ
530
kar
ka: to sing, song .gXyati, -ti "sing"thx song, ver s e l l ., to praise ai-carkati "to praise", khr6 "singer" .
kY:
%;
1
27 I
ge
2
I
361
gleu
bal1,clew P ai-glZu-h, npers.gu1GJ.e ahd-kliuwa, kliwz, ags .cl<ewen, engl .clew
'
37 111 kou7
12 RI
qiu 2.
367
glby
kou sister of husbanc gr .ydaghs , lat.gl6s serb.s&ova, russ.zokovka B

--
ku:
ku:
gu
1
hau ai.h&ate, av-zavaiti, aksl .zoup,z%vati, russ zvat to howl, nhd -heulen C ai.kauti, gr-kw-kuw, mhd-hiulen, mnd.meng1hiilen
fiau7
--
xau
2 -
xao2
535
kau
25 1
-
hao
473
ghau
to boast
gr kd v ~d'b~ccjc
fiau
fiau?
25 I
x a u '
5 5
keu
xao2 2 hao
447
theu
to pour
gr %Lq)h
kieu? 25 IV $jeuT
25 111
&
neu
CI
kjaul f ~ j a1 o 1 jiao jau2

jao2 Yao
deposit
grA)(dfi
older dialect kau kau? 25 I u ) t fFju? l 37 I11 ju? iu kau'
XOU; x6w "to deposit"
449
ghau
watershed, nhd. Gau got-gawi, ahd.gawi, mhd.gou,giru,gcu, mnd.gB

*
kao1
gao
' I
CI
$
tseu* gOU
gheu- watershed, district *"satem"-Form (cf.p. 4)

CJ~OU
tfou 1 1 zhou
njou 2
485
cow
aieg&uh, arrn.k0v,~r./30?s, lat b6s , bovis , ahd chuo , as.k6, ags.afries.cd, nhd .Kuh, (Taiwan gu :)
137 11,
lniG2
t
Sino-Platonic Papers, 7 (January, 198 8)
Pokorny page stem 520 koil
meaning and word examples hale, whole gotohails, aisl.heil1, ahd-mhd-heil,ags.h51r nhd .heil
Ach. hoi
Mch.
T.
Nch.
Ch.
khoi
14 RI
khuail xuei1 hui

1
535
kau
to hew, nhd .hauen hau ahd.hguwan, ags.hEawan, lit .kauti @ hollow, nhd-hohl ahd .mhd .as .ass.hol 1at.cavus from * couos hill ags -hyll , lat. collis ho:
kheau? kheau1 $F jao1

25 11
qiao xeul
537
kol kou kol kolm
hjo:
1 1 111
GY :
XU
593
544
@
hoi
1
1
k h j u y khiu
37111.
544
h o r n rock , holm gr.ko$o y d y , lat.columen, culmen, as.mnd.engl.holm, nhd .Holm hame (part of a harness) fiom mnl .h h e , nnl haam, westmd-Hamen, nhd-dialect Ham, Hamen
porn q. eam2
40
I1
q~hjou 1 qiu ien2

2
Yen
555
kom
fieom
. .
xeam2
qien xian
40 I1
556
kem
to hum mhd nhd meng 1 hummen
Lam
. .
3jamF
38111
jam2
jin
2
2
Psgon
yin khin2
564
kon
to strive , industrious lat .c6nor , -Zri gr. E l k o u f w hunger, nhd .Hunger anord.hungr,ags.hungor, ahd hungar ; 1it kanka "pain"
gjon?
19 I11
2 F~hin qin
2
a
hoS3
565
knk
hos3y xuang
32 RI
1 xua9
1
a
fioa
huang
xuo
2
2 xy :
582
kor
to mix, to blend av-sar-, gr. k ~ e i w an.hr@ra, ags hrEran, ahd (h) ruoren
fioa?
a
I
28 RI
he
2
2
2
1
583
kor
f i a u ? 60: hair, rough ahd.as .aisl.hgr,ags.haEr, nhd.Haar, an.sk~r @ s125 I lett sari
hau2
xao hao
Tsung-tung Chang,"Indo-European Vocabulary in Old Chinese"
Pokorny page stem

644
Ach.
Mch.
:
Nch. xo:
2
Ch.
xy :
kwa
hua who? what? ai.k&,ka, av.kUrkZ "who?", got.hva "what", apr ka, mengl .aengl hws , engl .who
. .
27 I
he
2 1
--
644
kWei
where? whither? why? gr .att . F l , ion-kf), dor T E ~ who? which? lat.quis"who?", qui "which?" ahd. (h)wer, as huZ mhd swer , 'ir-cia, nhd.wer
Z
fie
f i e i ?
131,
xi:
~ i :
zuai z juai? (Satemform) .

7 RIII
J,ai
u:
1
xi euei2
shui
u:
1
647
kWu
where? whither? ai .kc, av .kE, lat .qub, ahd.(h)war,wS, mhd-wb, nhd.w6, ags-bar how? why? ags .hu, afries .hut mnd.wti, engl.how; lat .qu6 "why"
hu:
?OUT
%
F i u :
1 2 RI
wu
1
m
648
kWu
FiouF
1 2 RI
xu:
xu:
2
&El
hu mu0
716
mol
to grindr mill moa lat.mol5, -erer mola got .ahd .malan, mhd .maln aisl .mala, nhd .mahlen E fraud, vagabond lat.mang5, 1it.manga; apr .manga
i
moz?
muo mo 2
28
RI
731
mang
rnSy
rneaff rnuag2 ma9:/
ma9
3 5 I1
C E
736
mbra
witch mo: aisl.ahd.mara, ags.mare, nhd .Mahr , skr -ks1 .mora
nbjouT
1 2 I11
W U : ~
mang 2 u:
wu2
734
mor
to defame mo: russ .mar4ju, lit .m&ginu' % ship.(ach.also "rudder") ndau ai nau-, arm.nav gr-VdcS,r g d s , latnavis,nau-, air-ndu, aisl .nGr preposition: on, at, to, o:
mbjou
1 2 111
wu: 2
u:
wu 2
755
nZu
9qjeu7qjau 2
iaO
a
772
25 I11 ?jop
rao
eu 1
Y=
1 1 I11
YU*
II
Pokorny page stem

788
meaning -and word examples flag, cloth, rag g r . ~ F v o 5 ,lat-pannus, got.fana, ahd.as.fano, afries-fona, ags-fana, nhd. Fahne to fly gr. ~ & l ) rJ "to swing" russ.-ksl.perq,pbrati, pariti "to fly" fell, skin
Ach. pan
i
Mch.
Nch.
Ch.
pan.
phuan?' fan1
i
fan1
poi
22RIII puif I fi:
801
8 17
pol por
%!
beia
10 ~ 1 1 1
803
pela
bjia? 4 111 pjou? 12111 bju? 37111 bjou? 12111 boif 14 RI o a
feil 2 phi:2 iphi:.

1
I1fei
fan1 1
flt A ~ S , lat.pellis, ahd.fe1, ags-fell, mhd-vell, aisl.fjal1

gr.
E's
plo
pi fu:
803
plo
membrane
fu: 1 ful
kr.
835
E~l-TinoIJ305
C
lit.pl&vg, sloven.pl~va aisl.t~l, fqlva
'
$
biau
pleu
to float 6 gr. ~ 2 V)L: aksl .plujp boat, float ai-plava, russ.plov tonurse, tocultivate I ai.priyayats aksl .prgj~ SO, as, if lat.si from so got swa , swE , ahd.as.rnhd.sS, nl.20, engl.norw.so
fu:
fu:2
2 fu
I F
biou
837
plou
fu:
fu: 2 fu 2
+
bai
844
prHi
phuai2 phei2 pei e 2 u

2
$3
zo:
884
so
~ u2 :
fm
5i3
11111
ru 2
907
songWh voice, nhd.Sang gr. (*songyha) got. saggws, ahd.as,ags.dan.sang, anord.songr, engl-song
Auv7/
F j a ~ Tliagl @ a 9 '
1
35111
I
sheng
Tsung-tung Chang, "Indo-EuropeanVocabulary i n Old Chineset'
Pokorny page stem

907
meaning and word examples old,(before, in front of), former ai sada- , av.hana- , g r . % ~ ~, s latosenex, air-sen "old"
rn
Ach.
Mch.
Nch.
Ch.
sen
scan
zeen
sienr sienl ~ i e 1 n xian 1 dzient tshienz*hienz

2 3 IV
I
WU
2 3 IV
913
s f i n
915
s i t i
son, (achegrandson and 'suan heir) 4 ai.sZnn, av.hunu-s, nhd.Sohn, got.sunus, aisl.sunr,ahd.ags.sunn, mhd.su(o)n, sEn to sew together, to re- siu pair, ai-sivyati,lat.su6.-ere, got.siujan,aisl.syja, ahd. siuwan,ags.si (o)wian @
son?
sun
qian sun1
18 R I
siu?
siu"
sun . sjou1
3 7 IV
xiu
2
927
skal
Zga: shall, nhd. sollen got-skulan,ahd-sculan, scolan., aengl .sceal ko:
I)jiaS i:
4 I11
i:
2 2
yi ku:
927
s ~ o l guilt, nhd.Schuld ags.scyld, ahd.a$sl. skuld, slit-skola s k ' o
kou?
12RI
ku: 1 gu l
951
shoe, nhd.Schuh hoa got. sk*~, aisl sk5r mhd.schuoch, as.skbh, ags.scab, dZn.Schwed.sko
h u ; ?
xuel
?Ye: xue
.
28RIII
.
l i u '
1003 (330
sreu erei)
to flow, river sleu I c / ai,.sravati, gr. e Lw : b o o s , &eTs , aksl.struja, lett.strZve, lat rivus, afz.riu, span-rio
ljuy
ljou2
3 7 I11
1iu
1009
steu
tsau to steer, nhd.steuern ahd.stiurren, aisl.styra, as.stxeran, ags. styran %

gr. 6 ~ e ~ ~ 1 ' c, iaq
tshauq tshau
25 I
tshao1
cao
1036
strenk string, nhd.Strang mir sreng , ahd mhd. stranc, ags-streng
zea~) ?jat)? j'jq2

4 2 I11
ta32
sheng2
Pokorny page stem 1037
meaning and word Examples
Mch
.
zhuan zhuang
stronk strong and severe tss3 ahd. strengi,mhd. strenge, as.fries.strang , ags. tsa9 strong, anord.strangr,
-1
1039
sour
Isalted, sour Iso: aisl.siirr,ahd.mhd.mnd. ags.norw.dan.schwed. sur lit.siiras, nhd. sauer to be, real, true 1 san 1 ahd.mhd.sin, nhd-Sein, ai. san,got.sunja "truth"
ju
34 1
sun
t J ' i n l
tean1 zhen
1
1 067
tongh
to bend a bow av .Jang court (of justice) tea3 nhd.Ding, also as local names, aisl .Ping, ags.ding, as.thing, ahd. ding, dan.ting, aengl-thing "assembly" sorrow dreary I ahd .draa, aisl .prs
I
1067
tenk
thie9'f'
1 10
72
treu
dzeu
ags.brea, Etrawu
11 147
wan
1 contented with ,to reside Iuan
1171
waris lwas, stem form of verb ua: i to be,dan.var "was", voere "is", got.wisan, ahd.wesan, nhd.war,wSnre
wanak 1 king I(cf.Heubeck, gr-Linear B inscription
.I
F
5 RIII
p.26,65)
wa-na-ka
& iv d E ,
= wanaks, att.2 v d < "king"
1
wang
A group of words with Middle Chinese level tone was supposed origrnally to have had a velar final as suggested by the sound com% of the characters. The hitherto merely theoretical ponent reconstruction of -g for these words by Karlgren (1940, 1957) and Tung T'ung-ho (1944) can now be confirmed by Indo-European stems given in the following list:
Pokorny page stem

1 0 0
7AC~.
I
M C ~ . Nch.
~ h .
bok
poug pack, pouch, to pack an.poki, got,puggs, ags .pohha, mnd ,packe, pak, engl .pack, nhd .Pack . to bake, to roast, boug g . !to f gr . e w f ~ , aisl-baka, fries .bzk, ags bacan,bsc , ahd-bahhan, backan, mhd nhd backen
peau?
25 11
pau I
bao 1 phau2 @ao2
113
bhEg
beau?
1
I
1I
i
25 I1
Pa0
i
i
,
798
pOkW
[ .
j
boug to cook, cook ai .p&cati, avOpac*iti, gr & & I , serb .p6e 1, , lat.coqu6 (>ahd.kochCn, nhd kochen)
beau+
phauL phao2
1 523
1
25 I1
Pa02 kho:' khy:'
kakha
1 flexed stick
i n the form - ka: of plow (nhd. Kniestiel), bough ai.saha, rnir.ge'c,, nir*g&ag, got-hsha, lit-&aka, slav.socha
I
'
'
!
I
27 I keu
ke1
WY:'
589
r
keug
to squat, nhd-hocken aisl .~Gka, mhd .hGchen, , serb.cu&ati
:kio(g) kjo?
I
4
'EEL
I
11111; kaul
jul kao1
1
I
1
589
kzk
high,nhd.hoch !lco:(g) kau? got-hauhs,aisl0h6r,hZr, ags-hsah, ahd.as,hoh, schwed-hog,d&n.hdi, engl. high 25 I
i s
gao
~y
XU
1
589
keuk
hill ahd.houg, mhd-houc, anord-haugr,engl.(local names with -how)
.hi0 (g khj o q xeu
'
+& 1 1
111
Pokorny page stem

537
meaning and word examples hook, nhd. haken ahd.hako, haggo, mhd. hagge, hake, a g s . hoc t o remain, g r . ~ O L I T S, O lat-relicuos " l e f t o v e r " , 1 i t . l i k t i " t o remain"
Ach. koug
Mch. kauy 37 I lju?
Nch. kaul
Ch. kou
1
k5g
6%
liu
669
likW
:
liu
qou 1 l i o u2
I t i s obvious t h a t t h e words c i t e d above and some o t h e r s had
l o s t t h e i r v e l a r f i n a l i n any c a s e b e f o r e t h e g e n e r a l s h i f t from Old Chinese t o t h e Middle Chinese t o n e language d u r i n g t h e f o u r t h and f i f t h c e n t u r i e s . The e x a c t d a t i n g of t h e l o s s , however, must b e done f o r each word i n d i v i d u a l l y on t h e b a s i s of i t s rhyming i n t h e p o e t i c l i t e r a t u r e of d i f f e r e n t t i m e s . Words l i k e and e x c l u s i v e l y w i t h t h o s e of Middle @ rhyme i n t h e s h i h - c h i n g Chinese l e v e l t o n e . Hence t h e y were w i t h o u t doubt open s y l l a b l e s a l r e a d y a t t h e b e g i n n i n g of t h e f i r s t millennium B.C. Words l i k e and 4~ , rhyming i n t h e s h i h - c h i n g and c h l u - t z k w i t h t h e words of l a t e r r i s i n g as w e l l as l e v e l t o n e , w e r e j u s t
s@
a b o u t t o l o s e t h e i r v e l a r f i n a l i n t h e f i r s t millennium B.C., whereas , , , and $4 , l o s t it s u r e l y a s l a t e a s d u r i n g t h e s h i f t t o Middle Chinese. Adhering t o t h e t h e s i s of t h e c l o s e d s y l l a b i c system of Old Chinese, P u l l e y b l a n k ( 1 9 6 2 , pp. 2 1 1 ) proposed t o r e s t o r e g e n e r a l l y a v o i c e d l a r y n g a l [fi] a s t h e l o s t f i n a l consonant of t h e l e v e l t o n e which s h o u l d a l s o a c c o u n t f o r t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p of some l e v e l y opinion, t o n e words t o v e l a r f i n a l . But t h i s i s u n n e c e s s a r y i n m s i n c e t h e most Indo-European stems and Germanic words correspondi n g t o Chinese l e v e l t o n e words have e i t h e r open s y l l a b l e , o r end i n a r e s o n a n t ( - r , -1, -m, -n, - n g ) , as a l r e a d y shown i n the list above (pp. 17-23).
26
Tsung-tung Chang,"Indo-EuropeanVocabulary in Old Chinese"
It should be n o t e d t h a t t h e p h o n e t i c r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s i n t h i s
p a p e r d i f f e r from t h o s e of Karlgren and o t h e r s c h o l a r s mainly i n r e g a r d t o vocalism ( c f . Rhyme Tables i n Appendix). A s t o Middle Cninese, m y r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s a r e based upon t h e Y i i n - c h i n g % @ , i n which rhymes and headwords of homophone groupsp% a r e t a k e n %. (1007) and a r r a n g e d systemfrom t h e rhyme d i c t i o n a r y K u a n g - yiin a t i c a l l y i n 43 t a b l e s . A s t h e ~ u a n g - y i i n i s merely an e n l a r g e d v e r s i o n of t h e c h i i e h - y i i n (compiled i n 6 0 l ) , t h e Y u n - c h i n 9 may be c o n s i d e r e d t o be a p h o n e t i c framework which r e f l e c t s t h e s t a n d a r d p r o n u n c i a t i o n of E a r l y Middle Chinese ( 6 0 0 ) , r e g a r d l e s s o f t h e unc e r t a i n d a t e and unknown o r i g i n of t h i s book ( i t s o l d e s t a v a i l a b l e copy i s an e d i t i o n of 1 1 6 1 ) . Each rhyme t a b l e i n t h e Y c n - c h i n g i s d i v i d e d i n t o t h e f o u r t o n e c a t e g o r i e s and,within each t o n e , t h e headwords of homophone g r o u p s are e n t e r e d i n f o u r s e p a r a t e rows, o b v i o u s l y t o show some d i f f e r e n t a t i o n s w i t h i n t h e same rhyme group. The Chinese term f o r t h e s e rows i s c a l l e d " D i v i s i o n " by Karlgren and "Grade" by P u l l e y b l a n k ( c f 1986, - p . 7 3 ) I n a d d i t i o n , each t a b l e i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d as "unrounded" , & "rounded" o r &a - "a combination of rounded and unrounded".
s,
K a r l g r e n (1954, p.250) i n f e r r e d t h e Grades c o r r e c t l y a s a g r a d u a l r i s i n g of vowels and r e s t o r e d medium j- f o r Grade 111, i- f o r Grade I V , ju- f o r Grade R I 1 1 and i u - f o r Grade R IV-But he found no medials f o r Grade 11, Grade R I and Grade R 11. I n o r d e r t o a d h e r e t o t h e f u l l p a t t e r n o f d i s t i n c t i o n s i n t h e system of f o u r Grades, h e res o r t e d t o t h e v a r i a t i o n of t h e q u a l i t y o f p r i n c i p a l vowels Grade by Grade and p o s i t e d t h u s a l t o g e t h e r 14 vowels f o r Middle Chinese. I t i s h a r d l y c r e d i b l e t h a t such s l i g h t v o c a l i c nuances were p r a c t i c a b l e i n d a i l y communication, t h e less s o s i n c e languages w i t h more t h a n n i n e b a s i c vowels a r e q u i t e uncommon i n t h e world ( c f . C r o t h e r s , p.119). N o wonder t h a t h i s v o c a l r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s s c a r c e l y f i t t h e a c t u a l rhyme p a t t e r n o f p o e t r y i n Middle and Old Chinese. I n a monograph of 1982, I a t t e m p t e d t o a n a l y s e t h e rhyming i n t h e t e x t s o f p h i l o s o p h e r Chuang-tzu 8 % ((about 300 B. C. ) by u s i n g t h e d i c t i o n a r y of Chou Fa-kao ( 1 9 7 4 ) , i n which t h e r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s of K a r l g r e n , Tung T'ung-ho and Chou a r e c o l l o c a t e d . The d i s a p p o i n t i n g r e s u l t t h e r e b y h a s g i v e n m e r e a s o n f o r p e r s o n a l engagement i n t h e f i e l d o f h i s t o r i c a l phonology and p h o n e t i c s .
Thus K a r l g r e n ' s scheme o f Middle Chinese rhymes, though f o l l o w e d by almost a l l s c h o l a r s , needs t o be s u b s t a n t i a l l y improved. I propose t h e f o l l o w i n g r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s : a . Grade I1 a i s composed of rhyme simplex (=Grade I ) and medial e-, which g i v e s r i s e t o p a l a t a l i z a t i o n of i n i t i a l d e n t a l s and s i b i l a n t s , b u t n o t v e l a r s . Medial e- w a s , as e v i d e n c e d by t r a n s c r i p t i o n s i n hP1ags-pa s c r i p t , s t i l l e x t a n t i n E a r l y Mandarin ( c f . Appendix, p.50) and was used i n d i s t i n c t i o n from i-, e s p e c i a l l y a f t e r v e l a r i n i t i a l s ; e a 2 ( < 2 9 11) # je ( > 2 9 111, I V ) e a j & ( 4 3 , 1511) # i: ( < I 3 111, I V ; 15 I V ) ((25 111, I V ) e&u&&(<25 11) # jau ean E(<21, 23 11) # i e n % ( t 2 1 , 23 1 1 1 , IV) (40 11) # i e m ( t 4 0 111, I V ) medial e- w a s dropped i n E a r l y Mandarin, s o t h a t Grade I1 merged w i t h Grade I. A f t e r d e n t a l s and s i b i l a n t s Grade I1 merged w i t h Grade I o r Grade 111. I n Sino-Japanese Go'on r e a d i n g s Middle Chinese /ea/ i s c o n t r a c t e d t o / e : / , whereas i n c o l l o q u i a l Taiwanese d i a l e c t s of Minnan o r i g i n , / e a / became e i t h e r /e:/ o r / a : / . b. Grade I11 h a s a m e d i a l j-, as proposed by K a r l g r e n , which g i v e s r i s e t o p a l a t a l i z a t i o n of i n i t i a l d e n t a l s and s i b i l a n t s , b u t n o t v e l a r s . The vowel o r vowel c l u s t e r s of Grade I11 remain mostly i d e n t i c a l w i t h t h o s e o f Grade I and 11. But i n groups 13, 25, and 2 3 , t h e main vowel /a/ i s r a i s e d t o /e/. c . Grade I V c o n t a i n s / i / e i t h e r i n t h e f i r s t o r i n t h e l a s t p o s i t i o n o f i t s vowel c l u s t e r s . T h i s accounts p a r t l y f o r t h e n o n - p a l a t a l i z a t i o n of i n i t i a l d e n t a l s and s i b i l a n t s . C h a r a c t e r i s t i c of Grade the I V i s t h e f r o n t i n g of,main vowel; t h u s i n groups 1 3 , 15, 25, 35, 21, 23, and 39, t h e main vowel / a / i s f r o n t e d t o / e / , whereas i n group 4 0 /o/ i s f r o n t e d t o /a/. d. Grade R(ounded) I i s composed o f medial o- p l u s rhyme simplex ( = Grade I ) . Exceptions are Grade 14R I and 1 8 R I where / o / became the main vowel, a s well a s Grade 1 2 R I and 2 R I where t h e simplex /ou/ i s p l a c e d because of o-. The r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e medial o- f o r Grade R I i s , though h i t h e r t o never proposed
* rn After l a b i a l s ,
&
by s c h o l a r s , r e a s o n a b l e and c o h e r e n t
s i n c e t h i s grade must have
28
had a rounded medial vowel which is lower than u- of Grades R 11, R 111, and R IV. In Early Mandarin, or probably already at Late T'ang, the medial o- was raised and merged with u-. But in Sino-Vietnamese readings o- is amply preserved as Grade R I (and occasionally also as Grade 11, but this is not in accordance with the rule). For example: /oa/: f l /oi/: /oaj/: 5 /on/: 3 /ot/: 24 R I /oan/: .fB /oat/: 32 R I / o ; g / : / o ; k / : 43 R I /oa~/: /oak/:
28 14 16 18
R R R R
I I I I
khoa (but 3 qua) , ngoa, hda ,?& dba khbi khhi, h8i, lbi, @ b6i ngoai, t81, @ h6i h6n, @ thhdn met, $ : t$t, .i4 c6t h o h , @ toan (but q u a ) doat, hoot (but mat) hdang, hoang (but quang, ubng) khodch (but $# quich) hosng (but & quhg) hoec (but q~6~c)
rtx
s'
The Middle Chinese pronunciations on/ot of Grade 18R I are preserved also in Sino-Japanese readings. e. Grade R I1 is composed of medial u- plus rhyme simplex. After sibilants and dentals it has medial cluster eu- which gives rise to palatalization of initials. f. Grade R I11 also has medial u-, and only after sibilants and dentals the medial cluster ju- as proposed by Karlgren. In my opinion, the medial u- was a sufficient cause to give rise to dentilabialization of bilabials during the Late T'ang. The main vowels of Grade R 111 are identical with those of Grade 111. g. Grade R IV has medial u-, but not iu- as proposed by Karlgren. It is composed of medial u- plus Grade IV. In groups 5R, 26R, 36R, 18R, 22R, and 24R, medial u- replaces medial i- of Grade IV. The non-palatalization'of dentals and sibilants in Grade R IV can be accounted for with medial u-.

According t o m y r e c o n s t r u c t i o n E a r l y Middle Chinese h a s t h e f o l l o w i n g seven vowels:
i
29
a o a 5 A l l vowels e x c e p t a r e n o t autonomous b u t must o c c u r i n cornb i n a t i o n w i t h o t h e r vowels o r f i n a l s , a s i s r e f l e c t e d i n t h e abs e n c e of t h e simplex i n t h e rhyme g r o u p s 2 9 , 9, and 1 1 , whereas s i m p l e u must be s u p p o r t e d by a i n Grade 37 I . S h o r t i , used as medial o r f i n a l , i s w r i t t e n j i n t h i s p a p e r . /A/ = [ a ] , i s a h y b r i d phoneme between /a/ and / o / , as e x t a n t i n Swed i s h , Norwegian, Danish e t c . . The r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of /b/ i s n e c e s s a r y f o r rhyme group 2 7 ( # 2 9 ) , 3 and 31 ( # 1 , 2 , 33, 3 5 ) . A s shown i n t h e Appendix ( p . 4 9 ) , Middle Chinese h a s immense numbers of d i - and t r i p h t h o n g s w i t h medial e-, j-, i- and w i t h f i n a l s -i,
- j , -u which have emerged p a r t i a l l y as compensation f o r l o s t f i -
n a l s t o p s . S i m i l a r developments of vowel c l u s t e r s a r e r e f l e c t e d i n w r i t t e n monuments o f Old Saxon, Old E n g l i s h , Danish, Old French etc. s e v e r a l c e n t u r i e s l a t e r , b u t may have occured synchronic a l l y . t o Chinese d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d of g r e a t m i g r a t i o n of n o r t h e r n tribes. Old Chinese h a s t h e same seven b a s i c vowels.
/s/
is a l s o in-
d i s p e n s a b l e f o r t h e rhyme group ( = mch. 31) which i n Old Chin e s e p o e t r y mostly rhymes i n s i d e t h e group, b u t o c c a s i o n a l l y c o n t a c t s t h e group a 9 ( = mch. 33, 35) a s w e l l as t h e group 03 ( = rnch. 1 , 2 ) . The c o r r e s p o n d i n g v o w e l i n Indo-European a l s o vati l l a t e s , and i s w r i t t e n / o / i n some d i a l e c t s , b u t /a/ i n o t h e r s ( c f t h e word " l o n g " , p . 17, N r . 197) /a/ i s t h e n e u t r a l vowel which c a n i n t e r c h a n g e w i t h a l l o t h e r vowels. The h i g h vowels i ,
e , u o c c u r f r e q u e n t l y i n company w i t h a . The autonomous /a/ i n Old Chinese became mostly /ai/, /i3/, / e i / e t c . i n Middle Chinese, and l a t e r / i / , /A/ i n E a r l y Mandarin. T h i s a f f i n i t y of /a/ and /i/ h a s i t s p a r a l l e l i n Old I n d i c where, t h e Proto-Indo-European /a/ changed t o / i / ( c f . Lehmann 1 9 5 5 , p. 9 7 ) .
On t h e b a s i s of t h e word examples g i v e n i n t h i s p a p e r , we may
p o s i t t h e f o l l o w i n g v o c a l i c correspondences between Indo-European and O l d Chinese:
30
IE IE IE IE
IE a = 3, a, i f oa, o IE ai = air a: IE e = e, a, ea IE ei = ai, ei o = o f oaf oaf i,ou IE oi = oi, ai, ou IE i = ia, i IE
au = au, au, a, eu = eu , au, io ou = ou, 0: iu = iu, io
0 :
The initials of Early Middle Chinese are well documented by the 30 characters1' chosen by the late T'ang monk Shou-wen'? ?a (cf. Chou Tsu-mo p. 796, 957). They are: labials: P 3 ? ph b M m 4 dentals : palatals : velars : postdentals: palatals : ts tsh % h
Brp+
@ d d z
5
4
Re! * %
% F m
laryngeals: % B% h I ! S fi @% 9 4 / total 30 It is noteworthy that the existence of phonemic laryngeals, which has been rejected for Proto-Indo-European for more than fifty years (cf. Lehmann 1955, p. 22, note 1; Szemerknyi p. 116), is well evidenced for Middle Chinese with four initials. Beside the Li-Fang-kui (1982, consonants given above, Karlgren (1940, P o 1 6 ) ~ p . 7) anu Pulleyblank (1984, p. 191,232) would restore series of supradental initials for Grade I1 and thus expand the number of Middle Chinese initials to 36, 37, and 42 respectively. But this is wrong and unnecessary, since the distinctive feature of Grade I1 is accounted for with medial e- (cf. p. 27 above). In my opinion, the retroflex initials have emerged not in Middle Chinese, nor in Early Mandarin, but as late as in Early Ch'ing, in consideration of the fact that all dialects except Modern Mandarin are at present still lacking retroflexes. In this respect the Szechwan dialect is most instructive, as it has typical Early Mandarin finals, but no.retroflex initials. All initials of Middle Chinese are monophonematic, The absence of consonant clusters is since then typical of Chinese.
1) In Late T'ang and Early Sung (9th century to 1125) the inven-
tory of initials was enlarged to 36 with labiodentals f v labiofricative / & , an6 palatals I + $& , lated in the foreword oz Y u n - c h i n g .
s,
3k,
,
fh & , as tabu-
Sirw-Platonic Papers, 7 (January, 1988)

For Old Chinese w e may r e s t o r e t h e f o l l o w i n g simple i n i t i a l consonants:
Probably v o i c e l e s s a s p i r a t e s ph, t h , k h , t s h w e r e s t i l l a b s e n t Old Chinese t o be developed l a t e r from p , l h , h , t s . The f i n a l
in
-9
was an a l l o p h o n e of n , followed by a v e l a r consonant. I n i -
tial
9-
may have emerged o n l y i n Middle Chinese from g o r
fi i n an
environment of i , 5 , o r n a s a l fina1s:Li Fang-kui ( p . 2 1 ) s u g g e s t s t h e r e s t o r a t i o n of i n i t i a l s /hm/, / h l / , / h n g j , /hngwj f o r Old Chinese as v o i c l e s s c o u n t e r p a r t s of /mi, / l / , / n g / , /ngw/. But i n rny o p i n i o n t h e r e w e r e p r e s e n t o n l y / m h / and / l h / , which are evidenced by Indo-European stems c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e Chinese words hai3 & ( c f . p . 1 0 , N r . 748 and 6 6 7 ) . C h a r a c t e r i s t i c of Old Chinese consonantism i s t h e absence of r- i n i t i a l which changes mostly t o 1-, z-, d-, h-, whereas t h e l a r y n g e a l s h- and 6- s u g g e s t an ininmte r e l a t i o n s h i p t o Germanic i n i t i a l h-. The e x i s t e n c e of i n i t i a l consonant c l u s t e r s i n 016 Chinese i s suggested by t h e f a c t t h a t s e r i e s of words whose sound i s r e p r e s e n t e d by t h e same g r a p h i c component o c c a s i o n a l l y have i n i t i a l s which d i f f e r from each o t h e r i n p o i n t s of a r t i c u l a t i o n . I n many c a s e s , Indo-European words c a n throw l i g h t upon t h i s enigma, s i n c e t h e y p r e s e r v e d consonant c l u s t e r s much b e t t e r t h a n Chinese. I n t h i s paper I c o n f i n e myself t o two examples: 2 The c h a r a c t e r f o r t h e word l i u m r i v e r , t o flow" h a s t h e and ti3
as i n t h e word shu 1 & "comb, t o comb". The p u r e l y t h e o r e t i c a l r e c o n s t u c t i o n o f consonant c l u s t e r / s l - / f o r t h i s grapheme c a n now be evidenced by t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g IndoEuropean s t e m s r e u = " r i v e r , t o flow" ( c f . above p . 2 2 , Pokorny
sound grapheme
b *
1003).
Secondly, t h e I n d o - ~ u r o p e a n s t e m smTk, Proto-German
smZh
(Pokorny p . 9 6 6 , Kluge p . 6 6 a "schmach") w i t h t h e meaning " s m a l l , l i t t l e " c a n a c c o u n t f o r t h e a l t e r n a t i v e i n i t i a l s of s- and mf o r a series of Chinese words with t h e graphemes I]\ and + which a l s o have the same b a s i c meaning "small, l i t t l e " :
sm-
: I]\ :
x i a o3 , miao
3
9 shao3
j$ miao
4
t 4
$ > I
, [V!,
miao
, $ .
miao 3
32
Furthermore, t h e b i s y l l a b i c Chinese word ! f miao3-xiao 3 " t i n y " can now be i n t e r p r e t e d a s a r e d u p l i c a t i o n o f k h e s t e m smZh, whereby t h e consonant c l u s t e r s m - i s d i v i d e d i n t o simple i n i t i a l s
m- and s- t o be a t t a c h e d t o each s y l l a b l e . I n t h i s way many Chin e s e b i s y l l a b i c words can be e t y m o l o g i c a l l y e x p l a i n e d by IndoEuropean stems w i t h i n i t i a l consonant c l u s t e r s .
O u r knowledge of r e g u l a r p h o n e t i c correspondences between
Old Chinese and Indo-European opens immense p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r l e x i c a l comparison. I n t h e l a s t f o u r y e a r s I have t r a c e d o u t a b o u t 1500 cognate words which would c o n s t i t u t e r o u g h l y two t h i r d s of t h e b a s i c vocabulary i n Old Chinese. The common words a r e t o be found i n a l l s p h e r e s of l i f e i n c l u d i n g k i n s h i p , a n i mals, p l a n t s , hydrography, l a n d s c a p e , p a r t s of t h e body, a c t i o n s , e m o t i o n a l e x p r e s s i o n s , p o l i t i c s and r e l i g i o n , and even f u n c t i o n words such a s pronouns and p r e p o s i t i o n s , a s p a r t l y shown i n t h e l i s t s of t h i s paper. Among Indo-European d i a l e c t s , Germanic languages seems t o have been mostly a k i n t o Old Chinese i n c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e following points: a . Among Indo-European d i a l e c t s , Germanic p r e s e r v e d t h e l a r g e s t number of c o g n a t e words a l s o t o be found i n Chinese. b. Germanic and Chinese belong t o t h e group of s o - c a l l e d c e n t u m l a n g u a g e s , i n which a l l Proto-Indo-European v e l a r s remain vel a r ~ ( w i t h o n l y a few e x c e p t i o n a l v a r i a n t s i n Chinese, c f . p. 1 8 , 449; p. 18, 4 4 9 ; p. 20, 6 4 4 ) . c . The i n i t i a l / h / i n Germanic c o r r e s p o n d s mostly t o /h/ and / h / been i n Old Chinese. Though Germanic / h / h a s h i t h e r t ~ ~ l n t e r p r e t e d as a s h i f t from Indo-European /k/, it must have e x i s t e d a l r e a d y i n Proto-Indo-European, s i n c e i n t e r r o g a t i v e s b o t h i n Germanic and Chinese have l a r y n g e a l i n i t i a l s ( c f p. 6 , 645; p. 20, 644, 647, 648) d. I n comparison w i t h S a n s k r i t , Greek and L a t i n , Chinese and n o r t h e r n Germanic languages a r e poor i n grammatical c a t e g o r i e s such a s c a s e , g e n d e r , number, t e n s e , mood e t c . I would s u r m i s e g e n e r a l l y t h a t t h e d a i l y speech of Germanic Peoples might have had a much s i m p l e r grammar t h a n t h a t s u g g e s t e d by t h e e a r l i e s t Germanic l i t e r a t u r e which c o n s i s t s w i t h o u t e x c e p t i o n s of b i b l i c a l t r a n s l a t i o n s from Greek o r L a t i n . German p r o v e r b s and idioms a r e f o r m u l a t e d w i t h o u t i n d i c a t i o n s of c a s e , gender and number, l i k e
Sino-PlafonicPapers, 7 (January, 1988)

" m i t Kind und Kegel", "schwarz auf weiB", " a l t und jung". Moreover, when t h e Franks s e t t l e d i n France as c o n q u e r o r s , t h e complex d e c l i n a t i o n system of Vulgar L a t i n c o l l a p s e d and Old French emerged w i t h o u t c a s e and number. This h i s t o r i c a l f a c t may s u g g e s t t h a t t h e Germans o r i g i n a l l y spoke a language w i t h o u t d e c l i n a t i o n s .
With Old Chinese a s e v i d e n c e , w e may conclude t h a t t h e G e r m a n i c group of Indo-European w a s c o n s e r v a t i v e i n i t s p h o n e t i c a l and grammatical developments because o f i t s p e r i p h e r a l n o r t h e r n l o c a t i o n , f a r from t h e e a r l y h i g h c i v i l i z a t i o n s i n t h e Near E a s t where n t h e o t h e r hand, t h e c o m p l i c a t e d Hamitic and S e m i t i c were spoken. O c o n j u g a t i o n system i n Greek, L a t i n and Southern Germanic might have emerged l a t e r under t h e i n f l u e n c e of a r i c h modal and temporal s y s t e m of A l t a i c t r i b e s , w i t h whom Indo-Europeans had coexisted f o r thousands of y e a r s i n C e n t r a l Asia and i n whose company t h e y e m i g r a t e d i n t o Europe. Chinese i s grammatically q u i t e d i f f e r e n t from i t s neighbouring languages of a g g l u t i n a t i v e t y p e , such as Mongolian, Manchu, T u r k i s h , Korean and J a p a n e s e , and h a s a l m o s t no b a s i c words i n common w i t h them, whereas numerous borrowings from Chinese i n t h e s e languages a r e w e l l i d e n t i f i a b l e . A s t o t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p of Chinese t o T i b e t a n , t h i s i s a dead-end branch o f comparative l i n g u i s t i c s where some " S i n o - T i b e t a n i s t s " have d e v o t e d t h e i r whole l i f e i n v a i n a t t e m p t s t o prove t h e p r e v a i l i n g h y p o t h e s i s of a Sino-Tibetan language f a m i l y . R e c e n t l y , Colbin (1986) p u b l i s h e d a l i s t i n which he h a s c o l l o c a t e d 489 Sino-Tibetan r o o t s mainly suggested by Paul K . B e n e d i c t , Nichol a s C. Bodman, Axel S c h i i s s l e r and o t h e r s ( s e e I n t r o d u c t i o n p. 8 ) . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , " S i n o - T i b e t a n i s t s " a l l o w t h e m s e l v e s t o o g r e a t freedom when doing p h o n e t i c and s e m a n t i c comparison. Moreover, a l a r g e number of words a r e claimed t o be common Sino-Tibetan, though t h e y are n o t t o be found i n T i b e t a n vocabulary a t a l l ( f o r i n s t a n c e t h e word cow, c f . Coblin p. 5 2 , c a t t l e / o x ) . Thus o n l y a b o u t a t h i r d of t h e words l i s t e d by C o b l i n may be a c c e p t e d a s common Sino-Tibetan. I t i s u n l i k e l y that t h e r e had e v e r e x i s t e d a "Sino-Tibetan" a s a common mother language of Chinese and Tibetan, s i n c e : a . T i b e t a n i s s y n t a c t i c a l l y an a g g l u t i n a t i v e language l i k e Mongolian . and Japanese. I t u s e s c a s e s u f f i x e s and h a s n e i t h e r p r e p o s i t i o n s nor c o n j u n c t i o n s a t t h e head of s e n t e n c e s as i s t h e c a s e i n Chinese and i n Indo-European.
34
Tsung-tung Chang, "Indo-EuropeanVocabuliny i n Old Chinese"
b. Though T i b e t a n word s t e m s are mostly monosyllabic a s i n Chinese and Indo-European, t h e y a r e r i c h i n i n i t i a l consonant c l u s t e r s l i k e P o l i s h and poor i n vowel c l u s t e r s a s o p p o s i t e t o t h o s e o f Middle Chinese and Germanic. Among t h e words common f o r C h i n e s e and T i b e t a n , t h e r e a r e many Indo-European s t e m s . I n comparison w i t h Old Chinese, however, t h e Tibetan words a r e l a c k i n g f i n a l s t o p s and t h e r e f o r e r a t h e r akin t o t h o s e o f Tocharian. A s T i b e t i s l o c a t e d i n t h e neighbourhood of Southern S i n k i a n g , it .is rat h e r p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e s e words o r i g i n a t e d from t h e r e . c . I t i s n o t d e n i a b l e t h a t t h e r e i s a s m a l l s t o c k o f Sino-Tibetan common vocabulary which i s a b s e n t i n Indo-European. But w e must i n v e s t i g a t e whether such T i b e t a n words a r e borrowings from Burmese o r from Old Chinese. d . I n t h e T'ang p e r i o d , when China and T i b e t e s t a b l i s h e d t h e f i r s t d i p l o m a t i c r e l a t i o ~ ~ n o b o dey v e r n o t i c e d any common v o c a b u l a r y o r gramrner of t h e two l a n g u a g e s . I n t h e f i n a l a n a l y s i s , I would s u r m i s e t h a t T i b e t a n may h a v e emerged as a mixed language w i t h an a b o r i g i n a l and Proto-Indo-European s u b s t r a t u m and an A l t a i c s u p e r s t r a t u m . The a d j a c e n t languages i n t h e s o u t h , such a s T h a i , Vietnamese, Miao and s o o n , have similar p h o n e t i c a l f e a t u r e s a n d an e q u a l l y simple grammer l i k e Chinese. However, d i r e c t o r a l communication w i t h t h e s e t r i b e s seems t o n e v e r have been p o s s i b l e from t h e v e r y beginning o f Chinese h i s t o r y , c e r t a i n l y because of g r e a t d i f f e r e n c e s i n d a i l y vocabulary as e x i s t i n g a t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e . M s . Manomaivibool ( 1 9 7 5 ) , by well-founded p h o n e t i c comparisons, i d e n t i f i e d 621 Thai words as r e l a t e d t o Chinese. But t h i s Sino-Thai common voc a b u l a r y , t o o , b r i s t l e s w i t h Indo-European s t e m s - . I n m y opinion t h e s e s o u t h e r n tribes were once t h e abor4gines o f Northern China, and immigrated t o t h e s o u t h because t h e y were n o t w i l l i n g t o become s u b j e c t s of t h e Chinese Empire e s t a b l i s h e d by Indo-European conquerors. N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e y c o u l d n o t e s c a p e s i n c e t h e n t h e i n f l u e n c e of Chinese l a n g u a g e s and c i v i l i z a t i o n . Thus, i n many cases it w i l l be d i f f i c u l t t o a s c e r t a i n whether a T h a i word i s o f Sino-Thai common o r i g i n , o r a l a t e borrowing from Chinese.
Sim-Platonic Papers, 7 (January, 1988)
35
Considering a l l t h e s e l i n g u i s t i c f a c t s , t h e t h e s i s p r e s e n t s i t s e l f t h a t Old Chinese emerged a s a mixed l a n g u a g e , though spoken w i t h Proto-Chinese n a t i v e t o n g u e , u s i n g mainly t h e Proto-IndoEuropean idiom which seems t o have s t r e t c h e d from Mongolia t o Europe d u r i n g t h e t h i r d millennium B.C. i n t h e n o r t h e r n p a r t o f . t h e t e m p e r a t e zone. H i s t o r i c a l l y t h e emergence of Old Chinese s h o u l d be connected ,,' the w i t h t h e founding of t h e Chinese Empire by Huang-ti Yellow Emperor, w i t h whom t h e Chinese s t i l l i d e n t i f y themselves today. According t o Chinese h i s t o r i o g r a p h y , he was t h e founder of t h e f i r s t s t a t e of China as w e l l a s i t s h i g h c i v i l i z a t i o n . The S h i h - c h i ( R e c o r d s of t h e Grand H i s t o r i a n ) i n f o r m s u s i n i t s f i r s t c h a p t e r t h a t towards t h e end o f t h e r u l e o f t h e c l a n of Shen-nung $$I (Divine Farmer) , Northern China w a s ravaged by war. Huang-ti d e f e a t e d Yen-ti & fi (God o f Flame C l e a r i n g ) and Ch ' ih-yu ft (Great F o o l ) , t h u s becoming emperor of China. I t i s noteworthy t h a t t h e d e c i s i v e b a t t l e t o o k p l a c e i n Chuo-lu (Deer F o r d ) , on t h e t h o r o u g h f a r e between t h e p r e s e n t Peking and I n n e r Mongolia. H u a n g - t i ' s name was Hsiian-yiian @f which means "wagon s h a f t " . A f t e r h i s enthronement, he o r d e r e d r o a d s t o be b u i l t , and was p e r p e t u a l l y on t h e move w i t h t r e k s of c a r r i a g e s . A t n i g h t he s l e p t i n a b a r r i c a d e of wagons. H e had no i n t e r e s t i n w a l l e d towns, s o o n l y one c i t y was b u i l t a t t h e bow of Chuo-lu. A l l of t h i s i n d i c a t e s h i s o r i g i n from a stock-breeding t r i b e i n I n n e r Mongolia. With i n t r o d u c t i o n of h o r s e - o r oxen-pulled wagons, t r a n s p o r t and t r a f f i c i n Northern China was r e v o l u t i o n i z e d . Only on t h i s new t e c h n i c a l b a s i s d i d t h e founding of a s t a t e w i t h c e n t r a l government become f e a s i b l e and f u n c t i o n a l . T h i s emperor must have had an app e a r a n c e of n o r t h e r n w h i t e p e o p l e , as t h e e p i t h e t "Huang-ti" can e t y m o l o g i c a l l y be i n t e r p r e t e d a s "blond heavenly god" ( c f . Word
l i s t p. 3 7 ) Huang-ti i s mentioned a l s o as t h e founder of Chinese language
in t h e ~ i - c h im g ((Book of R i t e s ) . I n t h e Chapter 23 c h i - f a $$$% ( R u l e s o f S a c r i f i c e s ) , which g i v e s t h e r e a s o n s f o r worship of a n c i e n t s o v e r e i g n s and h e r o e s , w e r e a d : "Huang-ti gave hundreds o f t h i n g s t h e i r r i g h t names, i n o r d e r t o i l l u m i n e t h e people a b o u t t h e common goods. And Chuan-hsii was able t o c a r r y on h i s work." ~ ~ i f & ? g @ , ~ ~ ~ # ~ . ~ ~ ~ f i ~
1 & ~

T h i s p o i n t s o u t t h e m e r i t of Huang-ti f o r t h e s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n of Chinese language, which took a l o n g t i m e and was c o n t i n u e d by h i s grandson and s u c c e s o r Chuan-nsu. The a b o r i g i n a l people had t h u s t o l e a r n new f o r e i g n words from t h e emperors. Probably t h e r e by t h e Proto-Indo-European vocabulary became dominant i n Old Chinese. The r u l e of Huang-ti i s t r a d i t i o n a l l y d a t e d back t o t h e 2 7 t h S u b . t r a c t i n g 200 o r 3 0 0 y e a r s a s h y p e r b o l i c p r e d a t i n g , c e n t u r y B.C. w e may assume t h a t t h e founding of t h e f i r s t Chinese empire took p l a c e a t t h e l a t e s t a t a b o u t 2400 B.C. T h i s would c o i n c i d e w i t h t h e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l d a t a of t h e beginning c l a s s i c a l Lung-shan c u l t u r e (2400-2000 B.C.) i n t h e e a s t e r n v a l l e y s o f Northern China, which i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a g r e a t l e a p i n s t o c k - b r e e d i n g , Not o n l y p i g s , p o u l t r y and dogs a s i n t h e p r e c e d i n g n e o l i t h i c c u l t u r e s , b u t a l s o sheep, c a t t l e and h o r s e s w e r e domesticated. Above a l l , c a t t l e and h o r s e s were i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e i r usage i n t r a n s p o r t s e r v i c e and w a r f a r e , and f o r improved p r o t e i n supply f o r t h e w a r r i o r s . The m i x t u r e of a g r i c u l t u r e and stock-breeding t h u s l a i d a sound economic b a s i s , on which a g r e a t empire c o u l d f u n c t i o n and be m a i n t a i n e d . The c o n c e n t r a t e d u s e o f new economic r e s o u r c e s t h r o u g h t h e s t a t e i m p e l l e d i n t u r n t h e f u r t h e r development of Chinese c u l t u r e t o become one of t h e l e a d i n g c i v i l i z a t i o n s i n t h e a n c i e n t world. M y t h e s i s takes f o r granted t h a t the c u l t u r e i n the s t e p p e was once s u p e r i o r t o t h a t o f Northern China. I t c e i v a b l e t h a t a t t h e beginning of t h e t h i r d millennium Inner. Mongolia (40-42N) was w a r m e r and damper t h a n i n northern i s conB m C -,
later times and t h u s more f e r t i l e t h a n Northern China (34-40 N) because of more s u n s h i n e h o u r s i n summer. The f a v o u r a b l e c l i m a t i c c o n d i t i o n s t h e r e must have r e s u l t e d i n a r i c h e r economy and h i g h e r c i v i l i z a t i o n t h a n i n t h e contemporaneous Northern China. T h i s d i f f e r e n t i a l may be a t t e s t e d by r e c e n t a r c h a e o l o g i c a l f i n d i n g s . For i n s t a n c e , t h e lower s t r a t u m c u l t u r e of H s i a - c h i a - t i e n gzj#j m@%+fL i n Ch'ih-feng j $ , d a t e d 2410: 140 B.C., a l r e a d y had a h i g h c h a l c o l i t h i c c u l t u r e w i t h d o m e s t i c a t e d sheep and c a t t l e , as w e l l as s m a l l - s i z e bronze c a s t i n g s . B e s i d e s , i t s p o t t e r y had forms and d e c o r , which seem t o be t h e p r o t o t y p e s of Shang p o t t e r y and bronze ( c f . Liu Kuan-min pp. 339 and c o l o u r p l a t e I X ) ,
Word List: Buang-ti and Names of Animals

rl
-3
Pokorny page stem

564
Ach.
Mch. fiosq?
Nch. ma9*
Ch
konak
germ. huna (n) ga (Kluge 315 Honig ) 185 d e : O
golden ( > honey, because hoig I of color) ai.kZ%cana- ,gr.k ~ 3 ~ 0 3 , aisl.hunang,ags.hunig, ahd.honag,hoang, engl. honey, nhd.Honig "f
xua32
32RI tei*
(
ti:
huang2 ti:4
god. of Heaven ai dgvg-h "god", devi "goddess", lat deus , divus, ags.Tig "Mars", ahd,Zio
deag
Ti?.
mag
13 IV mea
29 I1
700
mork
horse ir .marc, cymr etc ,march ahd-marah, ags-mearh, . aisl.marr,nhd.Wihre
'ma:
di4 ma: 3
ma3
1 ~ G :Y
,e
keu
'
448
gheul
horse (ch-horseof 2 years) mhd-gul, nhd.Gau1 ndl guil
kjouq lkeu1 12 111

pi:2
I@
jul pi: 4
per(e)d
(cf Kluge p. 543, Wadler p.363) 482 gWou
'
bait (Ch.horse for riding, bait perhaps a mule) nhd.Pferd "horse", lat.verEdus, ahd-pfarit, mhd.phart,aqs.perid ,%* hebr .pered "mule" cow, nhd.Kuh, cf.p.18 ai.gduh, gr.att.@oGs, lat.bSs, ahd-chuo, dog
n~pers salc, npers sag, tach. AB ku
,, I ,
u 37 I11 kauk 37 I khuen3 kau iu2
bi4
gOU
njou2 niu2 kou3

g0u3
9
kug
632
kuk
,I@
632
kun-k
dog, nhd.Hund , hound huan (g)khuenk gr.kd~v,k ~ d s , f 24 RIV lat.canis , toch.A.0bl.kon fi;
tFhyan3 quan3
1
841
pork
1 ags .fearh
1038
pig, (pork) lat.porcus, ahd. far (a)h,
Peg
pea?
2911
pa:'
pa: ba'
%Q
SU(O)
I
I
1092
trog
t [ e u l sow, nhd.S L U (, to(g) j o ! av.hii, gr.ds, u o s , ! lat.sus, suis, ahd. ags s i i , aisl.s~r,toch. B suwo : I lat.troia, air-torc, : acorn.torch, bret. tourch 1 1 I11
ttu: 1
& '
'
z hu
c .
Tsung-tung Chang,"Indo-European Vocabulary i n Old Chineset'
Pokorny page stem 1038

1038
meaning and word examples swine, nhd.Schwein got.swein,ags ahd swin
Ach
Mch
Nch
Ch
suwin suk
duan
don? 18 RI ?jiaL 4111

luk
thun
thun2 tun2
swine, sow, nhd. Sau ags-sugu, as.suga, nhd.schwabisch: suge roe ahd-re'h, ags.rZha,rSege nhd Reh , Ricke
sag
p:3
lu: 4
I I 5iz3
j
B
louk
shi3lu:4 lu4
2
859
roik
Efz
ka:t
1 I
409
ghaid
goat, nhd.Geil3 got-gaits, ahd.geiz, ags.gZt, as.gEt goat abg.koza "she-goat"; ags-hecen, mnd.h8ken, mndl.hoekijn "kid" crow, nhd Krahe ahd-kraja, krEiwa,Krghe and.krX; ags-crZwa, , crZwe, cr3
I
kjat 21 111 kouk 12 RI
kie3
, #&
ko g ho:
1i tFil jie
I
517 kog
ku:3
ku: 3 9u3 jal

1
384 grZ
?ea? 29 I1
ea I
i1
i
28
1
Ya 2 xau2/ xo: ean4 tshjau3
383
granug
crane, nhd Xranig ahd-kranuh, ags.cranoc, r n n d kranek
fiauk
fisk
31 I pan tsiik
xau2
'4 he
@
s@
412 ghans 991 sparg
goose, cf.p.12 sparrow, nhd-sperling ahd-sperk, sperch,spirch gr.persona1 name = ~ ~ o ~ llsperlingll y l n fish, to fish q lit.~uvis, gr. i x ~ g ~ 4, lett. zuvs zivs crayfish, crab ai-karka-h, latecancer, norw.roeke,aksl.rak~ , ; m : , u ; s q u i t o , ;louse 5nhd.Laus)Igr-~oucq, mire sned : ags hnitu, ahd. (h) niz , : nhd Nisse s &
jen4 F ~ h j a3 o siag3/ que 2
I
416 gh&u ghiu
A
31 IV eu2
glo/gio 3joT
Y:
%
f i o g
1 1 I11
yii2
531
kark
xeaj4
pje4 xie4
2
; g
muon
15 I1
752 m u n
608
@
sknid
lmuonT wun2 i 2 0 RIII

seat
wun2 wen
sit
1
I
. .
1 J ~ Z e4C ~ :
1711
136
>
bhera
bear,nhd. BHr,cf.p.l7
9 ' peia,R*pjiaF lphi:
,I
!1 shi1
iphi:2
4
39
The Shang Dynasty t o o bears s t r o n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f e a t u r e s of stock-breeding n o b i l i t y ( c f . Chang 1970, pp.79 and p.266 f o o t n o t e ) . S i n c e t h e language r e f l e c t e d i n i t s o r a c u l a r i n s c r i p t i o n s d i d n o t d i f f e r from t h a t o f c l a s s i c a l l i t e r a t u r e o f t h e f i r s t millennium B . C . , we may s t a t e t h a t t h e dominance of Indo-European vocabulary i n Chinese was a l r e a d y c o n s o l i d a t e d i n t h e second h a l f of t h e second millennium B.C. Probably s i n c e t h e middle of t h e t h i r d millennium B.C., unfav o r a b l e c l i m a t i c changes took p l a c e i n Northern E u r a s i a and caused p e r p e t u a l waves o f southword e m i g r a t i o n o f s t o c k - f a r m e r s . P a r a l l e l t o t h e emergence o f the Chinese Empire and t h e Chinese language i n E a s t Asia, t h e r e w e r e a l s o i n v a s i o n s o f Indo-European w a r r i o r s t o t h e Agean and A d r i a t i c a r e a , t o S y r o - P a l e s t i n a and even t o Egypt around 2500-2200 B.C. ( c f . Gimbutas 1970, pp. 1 9 1 ) .
I am w r i t i n g a n e x t e n s i v e work in German on t h e h i s t o r y o f
Chinese language and i t s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o Proto-Indo-European, and a m a l s o c o m p i l i n g a Sino-Indo-European Etymological D i c t i o n a r y w i t h more t h a n 1500 e n t r i e s . But t h i s w i l l t a k e two o r t h r e e more y e a r s f o r c o m p l e t i o n . So I a c c e p t e d w i t h g r e a t p l e a s u r e t h e k i n d invitation o f P r o f e s s o r V i c t o r H. Mair t o p u b l i s h t h i s paper i n E n g l i s h as a p r e l i m i n a r y r e p o r t f o r S i n o l o g i c a l and l i n g u i s t i c c o l l e a g u e s . I should l i k e t o thank him f o r a l l o f h i s e d i t o r i a l e f f o r t s and a l s o f o r s t y l i s t i c r e v i s i o n s , which a r e indispensable, s i n c e I a m not a n a t i v e speaker of English. Needless t o s a y , I a l o n e a m r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e e r r o r s t h a t may y e t remain.
Tsung-tung Chang, "Indo-EuropeanVocabulary i n Old Chinese" A b b r e v i a t i o n s (1) These are in common use among German Indo-Europeanists and taken from the Indogermanisches E t y m o l o g i s c h e s W i i r t e r b u c h by Pokorny and the E t y m o l o g i s c h e s W o r t e r b u c h der Deutschen S p r a c h e by Kluge Abbreviations for Chinese languages are of my own creation. Abbr
German altaltbulgarisch altchinesisch altenglisch altfriesisch altfranzosisch anglosachsisch althochdeutsch altindisch altirisch altisl2indisch altkirchenslavisch altnordisch altpreuSisch altrussisch altsachsisch avestisch bretonisch chinesisch cornisch kymrisch danisch
Enqlish
aabg ach ae(ng1.). afries. afrz. ags ahd ai. air. aisl. aksl. an. / anord. apr . aruss as. av
. .
. .
old Old Bulgarian (9-12th century) Old Chinese (1300 B.C.-316) Old English (700-1100) Old Friesian (till 1500) Old French (9913th c.) Anglo-Saxon ( = Old English) Old High German (740-1100) Old Indic (Vedic and Sanskrit) Old Irish Old Icelandic (9-16th c.) Old Church Slavic (9-12th c.) Old Nordian (700-1530) Old Prussian (till 16th c.) Old Russian (11th c.) Old Saxon (9912th c.) Avestan Celtic of Basse Bretagne, France Modern Mandarin (Peking 1913) Celtic of Cornwall Celtic of Wales Danish English (since -1500) French
bret
ch. corn. cymr

d-.
. .
engl frz.
englisch franzosisch
Sim-Platonic Papers, 7 (January, 1988) ~ b b r e v i a t i o n s( 2 )
got. gr* att. ion, hebr hitt.
gotisch griechisch attisch ionisch hebraisch hettitisch indogermanisch irisch kirchenslavisch lateinisch lettisch litauisch mittelmittelchinesisch mittelenglisch mittelhochdeutsch mittelirisch mittelniederdeutsch mongolisch mittelpersisch
Gothic (4th c. ) Greek Attic Ionic Hebrew Hittite (2nd Millennium B.C.)
idg., IE ir. ksl. lat. lett. lit. mmch mengl
Indo-European Irish Church Slavic Latin Latvian (since 16th c . ) Lithuanian (since 16th c. ) middle Middle Chinese (589-1126) Middle English (1100-1500) Middle High German (1100-1350) Middle Irish Middle Low German (1346th c.) Mongolian Middle Persian ( 3rd c B C )
. mir .
mhd
. . .
mnd mongl mpers nnch nd

nhd
... .)
)
nir. nl
neuneuchinesisch niederdeutsch neuhochdeutsch neuirisch niederlandisch
new Early Mandarin (1 3th c Low 'German New High German (1350New Irish Dutch
Tsung-tug Chang, "Indo-EuropeanVdcabulary in Old Chinese"

A b b r e v i a t i o n s plural polnisch Prateritum
(3)
P1. poln. Prat
plural Polish preterite (past tense)
russ.
russisch
Russian
schwed sem. serb. skr slav. span.
schwedisch semitisch serbisch sanskr it slavisch spanisch
Swedish Semitic Serbian Sanskrit (4th c. B.C. Slavic Spain
B i b l i o q r a p h y Chang , Tsung-tung
1970
(1)
%@ .%
irn S p i e g e l d e r Orakel-
Der K u l t d e r S h a n g - D y n a s t i e
inschriften. E i n e paldographische Studie zur Religion i m a r c h a i s c h e n C h i n a , Wiesbaden : Otto Harrassowitz
1972
"Die Bildungsregeln und Strukturen der altchinesischen Schriftzeichen" in: M i i n c h e n e r S t u d i e n z u r S p r a c h w i s s e n s c h a f t Heft 3 0 , Muchen: R. Kitzinger
Metaph y s i k , Chuang-Tzu.
Erkenntnis und P r a k t i s c h e P h i l o s o p h i e i m
1982
Zur Neu-Interpretation
und s y s t e m a t i s c h e n
Darstellung der klassischen chinesischen Philosophie,
Frankfurt: Vittorio Klostermann

1986
"Zur Herkunft der mittelchinesischen Tonkategorie. Eine Untersuchung aufgrund der Reimung im Shih-ching und des Indogermanischen Wortschatzes im archaischen Chinesisch" in: G a n z a l l m a h l i c h , F e s t s c h r i f t fur G u n t h e r D e b o n , Heidelberg: Heidelberger Verlagsanstalt
Chou, Fa-kao
1974
A
&
P r o n o u n c i n g D i c t i o n a r y o f Chinese C h a r a c t e r s i n
A r c h a i c and A n c i e n t Chinese, Mandarin and Cantonese,
Hongkong: The Chinese University Press Chou, Tsu-mo

1983
a
[~emnants o f t h e Rhyme L e x i c o n s
@fhRm#Ws
f r o m the T ' a n g a n d t h e Five D y n a s t i e s ] ,
Peking : Chung-hua shu-chii

Ch 'u-tz ' u
fSi3
@
@$
Kyoto :
1979
5 1[A
Concordance t o Ch Iu-tz l u ] ,
ed. by Takeji, Sadao Coblin, Weldon South

1986
A
~ * B & f, i 2nd. ~hEbunshuppansha I+ ft ttj jJj &
ed.,
Sinologist ' s Handlist o f Sino-Tibetan Lexical
: Steyler Verlag C o m p a r i s o n s , Nettetal (Germany)
44

(2)
B i b l i o g r a p h y
C r o t h e r s , John 1978 "Typology and U n i v e r s a l s of Vowel Systems" i n : Joseph H . Greenberg ( e d . ) , U n i v e r s a l s o f Human

Languages,
Vol. 2 , pp.
93-152
Edkins , Joseph 1871

C h i n a ' s P l a c e i n P h i l o l o g y . An A t t e m p t t o s h o w t h a t
t h e L a n g u a g e s o f E u r o p e a n d A s i a h a v e a common O r i g i n ,
London: Triibner & Co. Gimbutas , M a r i ja 1970 "Proto-Indo-European C u l t u r e : The Kurgan C u l t u r e d u r i n g

.
t h e F i f t h , F o u r t h , and Third M i l l e n n i a B.C." i n : I n d o - E u r o p e a n a n d I n d o - E u r o p e a n s e d . b y George P r e s s , pp. Heubeck , A l f r e d 1966

Aus d e r W e l t d e r f r u h g r i e c h i s c h e n L i n e a r t a f e l n ,
Cardona e t a l , P h i l a d e l p h i a : U n i v e r s i t y of Pennsylvania 155-197
G8ttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht H i r t , Hermann 1934

H a n d b u c h d e s U r g e r m a n i s c h e n , Vole 111, p . V I I , H e i d e l b e r g : Karl Winters Universitatsbuchhandlung
K a r l g r e n , Bernhard 1923 1940 1957 1970

A n a l y t i c D i c t i o n a r y o f Chinese a n d S i n o - J a p a n e s e ,
P a r i s , R e p r i n t T a i p e i 1970
G r a m m a t a S e r i c a , Stockholm G r a m m a t a S e r i c a R e c e n s a , Stockholm Compendium o f P h o n e t i c s i n A n c i e n t and A r c h a i c C h i n e s e ,
Goteborg [ R e p r i n t of B u l l e t i n No. 20 of B M F E A Stockholm] : Elanders B o k t r y c k e r i Aktiebolag Karstien; C a r l 1936 "Indogermanisch und Germanisch" i n : F e s t s c h r i f t fur
Hermann H i r t ,
Vo1. 11, pp. 297-327,
Heidelberg

B i b l i o q r a p h y
(3)
K i l i a n , Lothar 1983 Z u m U r s p r u n g d e r I n d o g e r m a n e n . F o r s c h u n g e n a u s
Linguistik, P r a h i s t o r i e und A n t h r o p o l o g i e ,
Bonn: D r . Rudolf H a b e l t GmbH Kluge, F r i e d r i c h 1975 E t y m o l o g i s c h e s W o r t e r b u c h d e r D e u t s c h e n S p r a c h e [1883], 2 1 s t E d i t i o n , B e r l i n and New York: Walter d e G r u y t e r
~ u a n ~ - ~ i i n
%*
R e p r i n t of t h e Sung-Edition of 1007, e d . by Chou Tsu-mo rfig@* ,

[~nlarged ~h y m e b o o k ]
Peking 1958: Chung-hua shu-chu Lehmann, Winfred P . 1955 P r o t o - I n d o - E u r o p e a n P h o n o l o g y Austin: The U n i v e r s i t y of Texas P r e s s
1970
1985
" L i n g u i s t i c S t r u c t u r e as Diacritic Evidence on Proto-Culture" i n : I n d o - E u r o p e a n a n d I n d o - E u r o p e a n s e d . b y George Cardona e t a l , P h i l a d e l p h i a : U n i v e r s i t y of Pennsylvania P r e s s , pp. 1-10, "Indogermanisch-Germanisch-Deutsch: Genealogische Einordnung und Vorgeschichte d e s Deutschen" i n : S p r a c h g e s c h i c h t e ed. by Werner Besch e t a l , B e r l i n and N e w York: Walter de G r u y t e r , pp. 949-962
Lewin, Bruno 1983 "Korean and Indo-German. E a r l i e r German T h e o r i e s a b o u t t h e R e l a t i o n s h i p o f t h e Korean Languages" i n : K o r e a J o u r n a l , V01. 23, NO. 11 (Nov. 1983) L i Fang-kui 1982
*2
@ @%
[~esearch o n A r c h a i c ~ h o n e t i c s, ]
Peking: Commercial Press

Li-chi
@%
2 *a , f r o m
SBOO~
of ~ i t e s ] w , i t h Glossaries of Cheng Hsiian
t h e E d i t i o n of Szu-pu pei-yao
@%
46
(4)
Liu , Kuan-min 8 f l 1984 3@
2 fE
Northern Steppe] in:

china],
**
"
[Bronze Culture of the
@%&&Tf%
a@%
[ ~ r c h a e o l o g i c a lD i s c o v e r i e s and I n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n New
edited by the Archaeological Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pp. 339-350 and colored plates IX, Peking: Wen-wu Press 2 @J tt] & Luo, Ch1ang-P'eiand Ts'ai Mei-piao
1959
B%%,sg%e%
' P h a g s - p a S c r i p t and C h i n e s e l a n g u a g e o f t h e M o n g o l i a n p e r i o d ] , Peking:
A ~ ; ~ ! E % % z R ~ she
Academia Sinica Press Manomaivibool, Prapin

1975
A Study o f Sino-Thai Lexical Correspondences
(Dissertation Ph.D., University of Washington) Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International Mayrhofer, Manfred
1978
Sanskrit-Grammatik m i t sprachvergl eichenden Erklarungen,
Berlin: Walter de Gruyter Pokorny, Julius

1959
Indogermanisches Etymologisches Worterbuch,
Bern und Miinchen: Francke Verlag Pulleyblank, Edwin G. 1962 "The Consonantal System of Old Chinese" in: A s i a M a j o r , Vo1. IX, Part I and 11, pp. 58-144,
206-265 196533 "Close-open Ablaut in Sino-Tibetan" in: L i n g u a 14, pp. 230-240
1966
"Chinese and Indo-Europeans" in: J o u r n a l o f t h e R o y a l A s i a t i c S o c i e t y , pp. 9-39 (In this paper Pulleyblank conjectures a very intimate relationship between Sino-Tibetan and Indo-European, but did not go so far as to start lexical comparisons.)

(5)
1983
"Stages i n t h e t r a n s c r i p t i o n o f I n d i a n words i n Chinese from Han t o Tang" in: Sprachen d e s Buddhismus i n Z e n t r a l a s i e n , e d . by Klaus Rohrborn and Wolfgang Veenker, pp. 73-102, Wiesbaden: H a r r a s s o w i t z
Middle C h i n e s e : A S t u d y i n h i s t o r i c a l phonology,
1984
Vancouver: U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia Press

~ h i - ~ h i
[~ecords o f t h e Grand ~ i s t o r i a n ]
1959
ed. by Szu-ma C h l i e n e d i t i o n of Ku Chieh-kang shu-chii
3JeB
@
(145-86 B.C.),
Rl ,
punctuated Peking : Chung-hua
Shih-=hing
ifg BOO^
o f poetry]
1934
A Concordance t o S h i h - c h i n g
% % 51 %$
ed. by
Harvard-Yenching I n s t i t u t e , Peking
Ting , Pang-hsin
Tg E
@ 7Zi
Et
1975
C h i n e s e Phonology of t h e Wei-Chin p e r i o d :
R e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e f i n a l s a s r e f l e c t e d i n p o e t r y
T a i p e i : I n s t i t u t e of H i s t o r y and P h i l o l o g y , Academia S i n i c a , S p e c i a l p u b l i c a t i o n s No. 6 5

Tdd6, Akiyasu 1957
&BS~#
[ o n C h i n e s e phonology]
Tokys: K6nan s h o y i n Tung T ' ung-ho

1944
W
[ p h o n e t i c Tables for Archaic
A raft], . . i . . *
k&gf.%%
Chinese.
*k!daas
R e p r i n t T a i p e i 1975
1953
[A P h o n e t i c H i s t o r y o f C h i n e s e ~ a n g u a g e l ,
R e p r i n t T a i p e i 1978
Ueda M a n n e n . See under Weda, Ulenbrook, Jan
Mannen.
1967
" E i n i g e Ubereinstimmungen zwischen dem Chinesischen und dem Indogermanischen" i n : Anthropos N r . 6 2 , pp- 533-551
48

(6)
B i b l i o g r a p h y
Ulving, Tor 1968 "Indo-European Elements i n Chinese?" i n : A n t h r o p o s N r . 63/64, 1968/69, pp. 943-951 Wadler, Arnold 1 9 3 5 Der T u r m von B a b e l . U r g e m e i n s c h a f t d e r S p r a c h e . [Paris 1935?] R e p r i n t Wiesbaden: F o u r i e r Verlag (Though I do n o t s h a r e t h e o p t i m i s t i c view of a s i n g l e o r i g i n f o r a l l languages i n t h e world, I have g a i n e d much from t h i s book with i t s numerous examples from Hebrew and Semitic languages and i n s t r u c t i v e h i n t s on p h o n e t i c comparisons.)
Wang L i
1957
1985
he H i s t o r y of C h i n e s e l a n g u a g e . A raft] @f Peking: K'e-hsiieh chlu-pan-she $** ffl r he H i s t o r y o f C h i n e s e P r o n u n c i a t i o n ] , Peking: Chinese Academy of S o c i a l S c i e n c e Press
2 @%eE
~~~~~
Weda, Mannen k @ % % et a1 1940 D a i j i t e n [A b i g d i c t i o n a r y of Chinese c h a r a c t e r s ] , Tokyo : H eibo nsha (Go-on and kan-on r e a d i n g s a r e taken from t h i s d i c t i o n a r y . ) Yang Nai-szu lg8I
fit JP\ ~ ~ ~ $ f 2 3 $ % he
@ i
P h o n e t i c S y s t e m of t h e C h u n g - y u a n
in-gun], Peking: Chinese Academy of S o c i a l Science P r e s s

Y i i e h - H a n tz I u - t i e n
&
[ ~ i e t n a m e s e - ~ h i n e s de i c t i o n a r y ]
1966
e d . by Ho d e n g
e t a l , Peking: Commercial P r e s s (Sino-Vietnamese r e a d i n g s c i t e d i n t h i s paper are t a k e n from t h e appendix of this d i c t i o n a r y : )
Y u n - c h i n g $S
h he Mirror of ~ h y r n e s ] A Japanese E d i t i o n of 1 5 6 4 , R e p r i n t Shanghai 1955:

Commercial P r e s s
~ z e m e r g n y i ,Oswald 1980 E i n f u h r u n g i n d i e V e r g l e i c h e n d e S p r a c h w i s s e n s c h a f t , Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche B u c h g e s e l l s c h a f t
49

Rhymes o f E a r l y Mandarin (Nch. 1 3 0 0 ) reconstructed according t o t h e c h u n g - y u a n - y i n - y u n
(1324)
and the p h o n e t i c a l t r a n s c r i p t i o n i n t h e ~ e n g - k u - t z u - y i i n ( 1 3 0 8 )
P
Rhyme g r o u p N r . Name
I
0:
with medial Simplex

0:&&%147
e-
i-, j-
u-
total
3
3
I
ea
j 0 & 6 ~ g - 1 4 9 ~ 0 3 j i f i j d 150
13 14 3 4
II
# j
&
a:
e:
a:&&a153
$&
i t :
t:jiggiQs8I i: 'S$&j&92
k~
151
I
11
j e $ $ % l 6 1
ua&# u
-3e
is9
i 2 6'
1
g&
"
%
=. -=.
i:
( -
11s
uai&/iQ
100 118
137
ai
aj
au
99
1I I
6
11
aj%$&i131eajqa au%$$
1361 e
i~
uaj
+$d
1 1
I
I
z
3
4
a u ~ ~ ~ jau,#$@ 1 4 0
uau:
174
16
l i ; f ~a u
,
u:
a u ~ ~ ~ f $ i 7 z l u: $ # g & 1 0 3eu
9
4
W
fijg
, z ~l o ?l h
*-
2 3 !
open s y l l a b i c
1
4
80
23
2 3 3
a
U3
u3!#34gq?77 ja9$+9$~82
eu9&&&
ua3j$+xas
2 , i ~ @ j a9
I
eeag;s@j
84
15
"
7
J&% "
4 X
#+&
0 %
y.
3 ,
iat,e&.$
!an
166
e u n i g
e3 7
an
6%
120
'I
B
un
an
~ u n + h x 123
'$.~ 121;~ 1241 Iin

I
1
4
1 1
w ia~$iii~7~a~#~~170
ie)
X,
171 u e g h q
171
2
2
129
l a n s ~ ~ 1 2eanfoj$fi 6
1281-
juan$j&l I
I
3 1
+~?g:, on
1 17
;on%@-&130
eam
im (94179
i!
134
en ~
!am&+
a m
3 9 ? $q
[ i e n k z 132 uen%$
E@am ! 19 %&@e m with n a s a l

18
(%$
am
178
181
j (
2 2
2
&(@
183
iem$m&~85 k
I 1 6
:9 I
5 1981
Ii
I
25
final
Italic numerals r e f e r t o Yang Nai-szu
Sin0 -Platonic Papers, 7 (January, 1988)

I n d e x o f W o r d E x a m p l e s
The f i r s t number r e f e r s t o t h e page i n t h i s p a p e r , t h e second t o t h a t i n Pokorny. E n g l i s h a i r , wqher a l s o , a g a i n , and arrowhead awake backbone, r i d g e t o bake t o bask i n t h e sun t o be, r e a l , t r u e bear belly t o bend a bow b e t w i x t , between t o boast body, corpse to boil bone, r i b book, t o book bowl, cup breast b r i g h t , shining t o burst t o c a l l , cry I n d e x c o t , hole c o u r t (of j u s t i c e )
COW
crane crayfish, crab crow day t o defy t o defame deposit t o d i e , death dog, hound door d r e a r y , sorrow dregs t o drown t o dwindle end to fall fart f e l l , skin few
23,1067 18,482 38,383 38,531 38,384
camp
can t o carve castle cheek t o clasp clew, b a l l t o conduct, l e a d contented w i t h t o cook
fish
flag, cloth t o float float t o flow, r i v e r t o fly folk
52

20,731 14,820 10,658 5,408 9,213 13,431 7,1017 38,409 517 king t o knead lazy, late l e a , open f i e l d leaf leak 10,688 6,690 16,657 6,657 5,3.7 1 idle impudent inclined 9,227 11,845 7,935 5,117
f r a u d , vagabund fright t o gather
i n d u s t r i o u s , t o s t r i v e 19,564 to insist
t o give, donation
glance, t o glance glimt , t o glimt t o go up goat god o f heaven golden g n a t , mosquito goose guilt hair h a l e , whole hames hap, happen help, t o help herd, heritage t o hew high hill
little
31,966 t o l o a n , bestow, g r a n t 16,669 long louse 17,197 38,608
mast, t o f a t t e n
membrane milk, curd
m i l l , t o grind
t o mix, t o b l e n d nasty
hollow
t o hurse, c u l t i v a t e o l d , former on outside pack, t o pack
holm, r o c k
hook horse
t o hum hunger how? why?
p i g , pork plow, f l e x e d stick plum, sloe
t o point t o pour
18,447

t o praise p r e p o s i t i o n (at, t o ) p r i c e , t o be work quick
a
son sorrow sour, salted sound

SOW
t o reach reign
t o remain
t o reside r i d g e , shore right roe t o rush a t , s t a r t sap,
SOUP
sparrow to split t o squat t o stear string strong t o sweep, broom swine sword 15,1049 38,1038 15,1050
scathe t o scoop sea, lake s e a r c h , t o seek seat self

P
t o take t h a t c h , r o o f , house t o tempt toe town ( - t o n ) 7,1013 10,687 9,188 17,263 9,257 17,214 16,276 16,1076
t o send
1
severe t o sew, repair

shall s h i p , rudder shit, to shit shoe s i g h t , t o see since t o s i n g , song sleep
t r a i l , way t r e e , wood
tricky, t o b e t r a y through t o turn t o t u r n sour v o i c e , song
13,627 21,907
want, wish 15,1147 watershed, d i s t r i c t . l 8 , 4 4 9 what? where? who? witch was ( h a v i n g b e e n ) 20,644 20,736 23,117 1
slit
to s l i t t o s l i p into
sister of husband S O , as, i f
54
P i n y i n

I n d e x
an1
an4 bal bao
5F
56
gao
1
fg bao2 @
bao3 beil fi
bi3
&
b i4 bi4 bu4 bu4
a.
, ! & -
gei3
goul $$!I 9ou3 gul gul #ti gu3 3 fi gu S x 1 gui
a
% fl1
2
44
can4 @ caol ce4
tun
chang 4 thou 1
h a i3
R E
h a i4
j p j
d a i4 dao 4 4 dao
9
haoZ
is
%!5
l a i4 M lai l a n 4m l a o 42iif lei3#! R
hao2 hao4 he2 he2 he2 @ J ! he2 he4 hu2 8 4 huai
lei3 &
li3
lie4 % 4
lie
B !
fei4 4 fei
tB
huangl huang 2 h u i l 8jt 2 hui h u i4 ji2
2zt
Z R
ma3 8 6 mang2 @ mei 8 rniao 3
WW&
miao4 &9 mo2

shui
2
shui4 ni
la n i e4 t r 2 niu +
#it
yaoL #j ye3 9 3 ye4 y i ZS you4
3%
yin2 6
you4 X y*2 f i
yii2 yiian 4 wang'
wei2 wei4
wen
2
E B
#&
@
% zhai2 %
zha4 zhangl @ zhenl zhi1 zhi3 zhi3 zhi zhi4 zhoul
wul
z
jg *lE
wu2 w2 B
tiIE
%
wu
qiu
4 A
qiu quan 3
S t $ '
2
xi'
xian1
xian2 xiao 3 /J\
8 5
31,966 5,554 38,531 7,921 22,915 zhuangl zhuang 4
xie2
xie4
a
@
zi
xie4
xiu"
4
z i4
Editor's Note: Tsung-tung Chang holds doctorate degrees in economics and in ~ i n o l o g y ; He 1 s the author of Der Kult der Shang-Dynastie im Spiegel der Orakelinschriften: Eine pallographische Studie zur Religion im archaischen China (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowltz, 1 9 / 0 ) and Metaphysik, Erkenntnis und Praktische Philosophie i m Chuang-Tzu: 2ur Neu-Interpretation und systematischen Darstelllung der klassischen chinesischen Philoso~hie (Frankfurt am Main: Vittorio ~lostermann, 1982).
Since June 2006, all new issues of Sino-Platonic Papers have been published electronically on the Web and are accessible to readers at no charge. Back issues are also being released periodically in e-editions, also free. For a complete catalog of Sino-Platonic Papers, with links to free issues, visit the SPP Web site.
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SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS

Number 7 January, 1988

Indo-European Vocabulary in Old Chinese

SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS is an occasional series edited by Victor H. Mair.

he p r e s e n t e d a number of Chinese words s i m i l a r t o t h o s e o f Indo-European.

Tsung-tung Chang, "Indo-European Vocabulary in Old Chinese"

Sino-Platonic Papers, 7 (January, 1988)

Sitw -Platonic Papers, 7 (January, 1988)

Pokorny page stem loo bhug

Mch. pjuk 1 111* buk

keap 39 I1 niet 23 I V kiep 39

t o knead, nhd .kneten , ahd k n e t a n , a g s .cnedan

cheek (nhd. K i e f e r ) kep a g s . c e a f e , rnengl.chavel/

god kot glag

cot, hole an.kot, ags .cot

Tsung-tung Chang, ''Indo-EuropeanVocabulary in Old Chinese"

Pokorny page stem

lje: lie ie4 Ye

moat 24RI mot 18RI

pao2 Pot2 bao

shi2 lie4 lie4

.9.2.6. slid 877

Sino-Platonic Papers, 7 (January, 1988)

Pokorny page stem

soup,.. nhd Suppe ,ai supaahd.s~f,souf,sopha,soffa

to shit, nhd. schei0en h a t ahd.scxzan, ags-scxtan, aisl skrta

tseak inclined, nhd-schrag mhd schraege, nd schrege #lJ

to g o u p , nhd-steigen, tiak got .steigan, aisl .stxga, ahd .ags.stTgan b b !

Tsung-tung C hang "Indo-EuropeanVocabulary in Old Chinese"

( o c c a s i o n a l l y ) < Ach. -b (cf.p.16) < Ach. -g

< Ach. -g < Ach. -g

Sino-Platonic Papers, 7 (January, 1988)

c. Mch. level tone (cf. pp. 24) (cf. pp. 24)

< < < < <

Ach. Ach. Ach. Ach. Ach.

IE -@ -i= IE -r, -1 = IE velars

meaning and word examples

* In Early Mandarin,Middle Chinese rising tone changed not into

Tsung-tung Chang, "Indo-EuropeanVocabulary i n Old Chinese"

Pokorny page stem

meaning and word examples

bright, shining, ai .%cati, sucyati

camp, nhd. Lager ags-lagu, rnnd-lach, engl-law, ahd.luog

thi: ti3 iu3

(mongl.morj, -rg>-rj as in Scandinavian languages)

Sino-Platonic Papers, 7 (January, 1988)

Pokorny page .stem

meaning and word examples

shi leu3 ly:

1ii 3 li: li:3 li3 ts2: 3 zi3

plum, sloe ahd.slEha, mhd.slehe, ags.slZh, nhd.Schlehe, poln.'sliwka, russ.sliva

Tsung-tung Chang, "Indo-EuropeanVocabulary i n Old Chinese"

meaning and .word examples

Ch. fei fei

10 R I I 7 tod tau 37 I tseik 15 I V k h e i a khi: 4

fei tau tou dou

keb t o carve, n h d - k e r b e n gr ahd k e r b a n , ags . c e o r f a n ked t o carve, nhd-kritzeln ahd . k r i z z d n , mhd . k r i t z e n

g o o s e , nhd .Gans, a i hahsd-h , g r X$V, l a t . a n s e r , ahd .gans, a g s .gBs, a i s l .gas

Sino-Platonic Papers, 7 (January, 1988)