| Proto-Hmong–Mien | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in | Ancient China |
| Language family |
Ancestor of the Hmong–Mien languages
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None |
|
Hmongic languages in red, Mienic languages in purple
|
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The Proto-Hmong–Mien language is the reconstructed ancestor of the Hmong–Mien languages. Lower-level reconstructions include Proto-Hmongic and Proto-Mienic.
Martha Ratliff's 2010 reconstruction contains the following phonemic inventory.
Medial consonants are *-j-, *-l-, and *-r-.
Proto-Hmong–Mien had the following syllable structure (Ratliff 2010:10):
(C) C [j/w/l] [i̯/u̯] (V) V C (C)T
Below are some reconstructed words roughly belonging to the semantic domains of agriculture and subsistence (Ratliff 2004; Greenhill et. al. 2008; Starling 1998). Terms for domesticated animals and non-rice crops are usually shared with Chinese, while vocabulary relating hunting, rice crops, and local plants and animals are usually not shared with Chinese.
| Proto- Hmong–Mien |
Proto-Hmongic | Old Chinese | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| *ntshu C1 | lhaŋʔ (象) | elephant | |
| *ʔlen A1 | w(h)an (猿) | monkey | |
| *ŋgeu B2 | krun (麇) | river deer | |
| *tʂo B1 | hlāʔ (虎) | tiger | |
| *Glɐn B2 | shōŋ (蔥) | Chinese onion | |
| *Nqa:n A1 | mrū (茅) | cogon grass | |
| *n̥Ak B1 | nhāʔ (弩) | crossbow | |
| *pwɒn B1 ~ *pənX |
m-lak-s (射) | to shoot | |
| *ɳõ C2 | łhuk (逐) | to track, follow | |
| *qəi A1 | kē (雞) | chicken | |
| *m-nɔk | ttiwʔ (鳥) | bird | |
| *qlAu B1 ~ *qluwX |
*hmaŋ C | kkhwirʔ (犬) | dog |
| *ʔa:p B1 | ʔrāp (鴨) | duck | |
| *mpɒ C1 | prā (豝) | pig | |
| *ʑwɒə:ŋ A2 | g(h)ʷān (羊) | sheep/goat | |
| *ŋɔ:ŋ A2 | lhijʔ (兕) | water buffalo | |
| *dəp D2 | d(h)ōs (豆) | bean | |
| *peu B1 | snikʷ (菽) | soybean | |
| *vəu C2 | was (芋) | taro | |
| *mblau A2 | lhūʔ (稻) | rice plant; growing/unhusked rice |
|
| *ntsə:i C1 | mhījʔ (米) | husked rice | |
| *ȵa:ŋ C1 | mhījʔ (米) | cooked rice |