Proto-Kra–Dai (typically abbreviated as PKD) is the proposed reconstructed ancestor of the Kra–Dai languages.
Background No full reconstruction of Proto-Kra–Dai has been published to date, although tentative reconstructions of many Proto-Kra–Dai roots have been attempted from time to time. Some preliminary Proto-Kra–Dai forms have been reconstructed by Benedict (1975)Benedict, Paul K. 1975. Austro-Thai: language and culture, with a glossary of roots. New Haven: Human Relations Area Files Press. and Wu (2002). Wu (2002) presents a reconstruction of Proto-Kra–Dai phonemes, which is based on data from the Tai, Kam-Sui, Hlai, and Kra branches.Wu, Anqi 吴安其. 2002. Hanzangyu tongyuan yanjiu 汉藏语同源研究. Beijing: Minzu University Press 中央民族大学出版社.
Liang & Zhang (1996) propose a reconstruction of Proto-Kra–Dai () initials and finals, using data from all Kra–Dai branches except for Kra and Jiamao.Liang Min 梁敏 & Zhang Junru 张均如. 1996. Dongtai yuzu gailun 侗台语族概论 / An introduction to the Kam–Tai languages. Beijing: China Social Sciences Academy Press 中国社会科学出版社.
Phonology Proto-Kra–Dai has the finals *-l and *-c, which have been lost in most present-day Kra–Dai languages.Ostapirat, Weera. 2009. Proto-Tai and Kra-Dai Finals *-l and *-c. Journal of Language and Culture, 28(2), 41–56. It also has the final stops *-p, *-t, *-k and final nasals *-m, *-n, *-ŋ.
Ostapirat (2023) proposes the following consonant inventory for Proto-Kra–Dai, which is relatively simple compared to that of Proto-Tai and other lower-level reconstructions. + Proto Kra-Dai consonants Ostapirat (2023) Labial Coronal Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal Nasal PlosiveVoiceless , Voiced Fricative , Approximant ,
Norquest (2020) proposes the preglottalized sonorants *ʔb, *ʔd, *ʔɖ, *ʔɟ for Proto-Kra–Dai, as part of a four-way phonation distinction in Kra-Dai sonorants consisting of preaspirated, voiceless, plain, and preglottalized sonorants. Norquest (2020) also reconstructs velarized initial consonants (*Cˠ-) in Proto-Kra–Dai.Norquest, Peter. 2020. A Hypothesis on the Origin of Preglottalized Sonorants in Kra-Dai. 38th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics. Vancouver: Department of Linguistics, University of British Columbia.
Below is a table of Proto-Kra–Dai pre-syllables and their developments as proposed by Norquest (2020).
p-Kra-Dai p-Lakkja p-Kam-Sui p-Ong-Be p-Tai p-Hlai *C-b *w̥ *C-b *ʔb *C-b *ʋ *C-d *l̥ *C-ʔɖ *r̥ *C-d *ɾ *C-ɖ *j̊ (< *r̥) *C-ʔɖ *r *C-ɖ *ɾ *C-ɟ *l̥ *ʔj *j̊ *ʔj *hj *Cəʔb *ʔb *ʔb *ʔb *ʔb *ɓ *Cəʔd *l̥ *ʔd *r̥ *ʔd *ɗ *Cəʔɖ *l̥ *ʔɖ *r̥ *ʔd *ɗ *Cəʔɟ *j̊ *ʔɟ *j̊ *ʔɟ *tɕ *Cəm *m̥ *ʔm *m̥ *m̥ *ʔm *Cən *n̥ *ʔn *n̥ *n̥ *ʔn *Cəȵ *ȵ̥ *ʔȵ *ȵ̥ *ȵ̥ *ʔȵ *Cəŋ *ŋ̊ *ʔŋ *ŋ̊ *ŋ̊ *ʔŋ *Cəl *l̥ *l̥ *l̥ *l̥ *ʔl *Cər *j̊ (< *r̥) *ʔr *ʃ *Cr *hr *Cəʀ (*j̊) *ʔʀ (*ʃ) (*ʀ̥) (*hr) *Cəw *w̥ *ʔw *w̥ *ʔw (*ʔw) *Cəj *j̊ *ʔj *j̊ *ʔj (*ʔj)
Ostapirat (2023) considers many Proto-Tai spirants and rhotics to have developed from the intervocalic lenition of Proto-Kra–Dai medial obstruents. Voicing in the Proto-Tai initial is determined by the voicing of the preceding consonant in the Proto-Kra–Dai form.
p-Kra–Dai p-Tai *(C)-p- *v- [β] *(C̥)-p- *f- [βʰ] *(C)-t- *r- *(C̥)-t- *rʰ- *(C)-ts- *z- [ɮ] *(C̥)-ts- *s- *(C)-k- *ɣ- *(C̥)-k- *x- *-q- *-ɢ-
Some Proto-Kra–Dai sesquisyllabic consonant onsets reconstructed by Ostapirat (2023) are:
Gloss p-Kra–Dai p-Tai p-Kam–Sui taro *b.r- *prɨak D *ʔraːk D thin *b.r- *proːm A *ʔruːm A forehead *p.r- *praːk D *praːk D hair *p.r- *prom A *pram A ribs *g.r- *kraːŋ C "Kra"; slave *k.r- *kraː C
Liang & Zhang (1996) Liang & Zhang (1996) propose the following reconstructions of Proto-Kra–Dai () initials and finals, using data from all Kra–Dai branches except for Kra and Jiamao.
Initial consonants Plain stop initials *p, *pw, *pl, *plw, *pr *t, *tl, *tr *k, *kw, *kl, *klw, *kr, *krw *q, *ql, *qr, *ʔ *b, *bw, *bl, *blw, *br *d, *dl, *dr *g, *gw, *gl, *glw, *gr, *grw, *ɢ Voiced aspirated initials *bɦ, *bwɦ, *brɦ *dɦ, *ndlɦ *gɦ, *gwɦ *ɣɦ, *ɣwɦ, *ɢɦ, *ʁɦ, *sɢrɦ Preglottalized initials *ʔb, *ʔbw, *ʔbl, *ʔblw *ʔd, *ʔdl, *ʔdr *ʔm, *ʔml, *ʔmr *ʔn, *ʔnl, *ʔnr, *ʔȵ, *ʔŋ, *ʔŋw Voiceless nasal initials *m̥, *m̥w, *m̥l, *m̥r, *m̥rw *n̥, *n̥l, *ȵ̥, *ȵ̥w, *ŋ̊, *ŋ̊w Plain nasal initials *m, *mw, *ml, *mr *n, *nr, *ȵ, *ŋ, *ŋw, *ŋr, *ɴl Prenasalized initials *mp, *mpl, *mpr *nt, *ntl, *ntr *ŋk, *ŋkw, *ŋkl *mb, *mbl, *mbr *nd, *ndl, *ndr *ŋg, *ŋgl, *ŋgr Glide and liquid initials *ʔw, *ʔr, *ʔj *w̥, *l̥, *r̥, *j̥ *w, *l, *r, *j Fricative initials *s, *sw, *sl, *sr, *ɕ, *x, *xw, *xl, *xr, *h *z, *zl, *zr, *ʑ, *ɣ, *ɣw, *ɣl, *ʁ, *ɦ Initial clusters beginning with fricatives *xp, *xpl, *xpr, *xt, *xk, *xkw, *xkl, *xklw, *xkr, *xkrw, *xq, *xql *sp, *spw, *spl, *st, *stl, *str, *sk, *skw, *skl, *skr, *skrw, *sq, *sqr *zb, *zd, *zdw, *zgr
Vowels and diphthongs *a, *a, *i̯a, *u̯a, *ɯ̯a *ə̯, *i̯ə, *u̯ə *ɛ, *i̯ɛ, *e, *i̯e *ɔ, *u̯ɔ, *ɯ̯ɔ, *o, *i̯o, *u̯o, *ɯ̯o *i̯, *u̯i, *ie, iə, *ia, *iɛ *u, *i̯u, *ɯ̯u, *ue, *uə, *ua, *uo, *uɔ, *uɯ *ɯ, *ɯe, *ɯə, *ɯa, *ɯɔ, *ɯu
Lexicon Ostapirat (2018, 2023) Weera Ostapirat (2018a)Ostapirat, Weera. 2018a. Reconstructing Disyllabic Kra-Dai. Paper presented at the 28th Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society, held May 17–19, 2018 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. reconstructs disyllabic forms for Proto-Kra–Dai, rather than sesquisyllabic or purely monosyllabic forms. His Proto-Kra–Dai reconstructions also contains the finals and .Ostapirat, Weera. 2009. Proto-Tai and Kra–Dai finals *-l and *-c. Journal of Language and Culture Vol. 28 No. 2 (July – December 2009). Ostapirat (2018b:113)Ostapirat, Weera. 2018b. "Macrophyletic Trees of East Asian Languages Re examined." In Let's Talk about Trees, ed. by Ritsuko Kikusawa and Lawrence A. Reid. Osaka: Senri Ethnological Studies, Minpaku. lists the following of his own Proto-Kra–Dai reconstructions.
Notes: : either or : unspecified consonant and are distinct from and .
Gloss Proto-Kra–Dai blood bone ear eye hand nose tongue tooth dog fish horn louse fire stone star water I (1.SG) thou (2.SG) one two die name full new
Some additional tentative Proto-Kra–Dai reconstructions by Ostapirat (2023) include the following.
Gloss Proto-Kra–Dai chin *ləqaːŋ A shoulder pole *ləqaːn A person *niqun A bitter *təqam A excrement *taqiː C rice *rəquː C young chicken *rəqaːŋ B fire *apuy A tooth *ipan A rain *kipun A millet *kipaːŋ C vomit *utaːk D we (incl.) *atuː A carry on pole *kətaːp D break *kətak D pestle *tsaːk D sour *qatsum C wash *(C)atsak D left *(C)itsaːy thatch grass *ikaː A field dike *ikal A knee *tukuː B to crow *tikal A moon *bulaːn A flower *baluːk D to weed *bəlaːy A spotted *bəlaːŋ B
Norquest (2020) Norquest (2020) lists the following of his own Proto-Kra–Dai and other lower-level reconstructions.
Gloss p-Kra-Dai p-Lakkja p-Kam-Sui p-Ong-Be p-Tai p-Hlai thin *C-báːŋ *w̥aːŋ *C-baːŋ *ˀbjaŋ *C-baːŋ – bone *Cudə́ːk – *C-ˀɖaːk *r̥ɯk *C-dwoːk *Cuɾɯːk boat *Cuɖáː *j̊waː *C-ˀɖrwaː *rwaː *C-ɖwaː *Cuɾaː borrow *C-ɟáːm *l̥aːm *ˀjaːm – *ˀjɯːm – village *Cəˀbáːnʔ *ˀbaːnʔ *ˀbaːnʔ – *ˀbaːnʔ – winnow basket *Cəˀdóŋʔ *l̥oŋʔ *ˀdɔŋʔ *r̥oːŋ X *ˀdoŋʔ *ɗoŋʔ to stand *Cəˀɟún *j̊uːn *ˀɟun *j̊un *ˀɟɯn *tɕuːn dog *kʰ[u]máː *kʰ-mwaː *k-hmaː *m̥aː *m̥aː *hmaː ditch *[t]-m̥ˠáːŋ – *T-m̥jaːŋ *m̥aŋ *m̥ɯəŋ – ant *r-móȶ *mot *r-mət *muːʔ *moc *hmuȶ bear *kəˀmˠúj *k-Nuːj *ˀmjeː – *m̥wiː *ˀmuj thick *tsəˀnáː *ts-Naː *ˀɳaː *n̥aː *n̥aː *ˀnaː cold *kəˀȵít *k-Niːt *ˀȵit *n̥iːt *n̥it – stupid *Cəˀŋáːŋh *ˀŋaːŋh *ˀŋaːŋh *ŋ̊əːŋ X – – gills *Cəˀŋˠáːk – *ˀȵaːk *ŋaːk *ŋ̊ɯək *ˀŋaːk taro *pəˀrˠáːk *j̊aːk (< *r̥aːk) *ˀrjaːk *ʃaːk *prɯək *hraːk moan *gəˀráːŋ *j̊aːŋ (< *r̥aːŋ) *ˀraːŋ – *graːŋ – hungry *məˀjáːk – *m-ˀjaːk *j̊ak *ˀjaːk – stupid *Cəˀwáːʔ – *ˀwaːʔ – *ˀwaːʔ –
Lower-level reconstructions Norquest (2021) provides the following lower-level reconstructions for each branch of Kra–Dai.
Gloss p-Biao–Lakkja p-Kam–Sui p-Kra p-Hlai p-Be p-Tai house *ljaːk *r̥aːn *qran *hrɯːn *raːn *rɤːn road *tsaːŋ *qʰwən *qron *kuːn *ʃwən *r̥wɤn heavy *N-tsak *C-dʑan *qχəl *kʰɯn *xən *n̥ak leg *puk *p-qaː *C-qaː *kʰok *kok *f-qaː neck *ʔən *ʔdənʔ *C-joː *hljoŋʔ *liəŋX *ɣoː beard *m-luːt *m-nrut *mumʔ *hmɯːmʔ *mumX *mumh wet field *raːh *ʔraːh *naː *hnaːɦ *njaː *naː crow *kaː *qaː *ʔak *ʔaːk *ʔak *kaː needle *tɕʰəm *tɕʰəm *ŋot *hŋuc *ŋaːʔ *qjem mortar – *krˠəm *ʔdru *ɾəw *ɦoːk *grok tongue *m-laː *maː *l-maː *hliːnʔ *liːnX *linʔ wing – *C-faːh *ʀwaː *pʰiːk *pik *piːk skin – *ŋʀaː *taː *n̥əːŋ *n̥aŋ *n̥aŋ to shoot – *pɛŋh – *hɲɯː *ɲəː *ɲɯː to fly *[C-]pənh *C-pˠənʔ – *ɓin *ʔbjən *ʔbil bee *mlet *luk *reː *kəːj *ʃaːŋX *prɯŋʔ vegetable – *ʔmaː *ʔop *ɓɯː ʈʂʰəj *ʃak *prak red – *hlaːnʔ – *hraːnʔ *r̥iŋ *C-djeːŋ to bite *kat *klət *ʈajh *hŋaːɲʔ *gap *ɢɦap to descend *lojʔ *C-ɭuːjh *caɰʔ *l̥uːj *roːŋ *N-ɭoŋ
Note that like Jiamao, Proto-Be does not distinguish between tone categories B and C, but rather only has an X category, which Chen (2018) names as tone category BC.
See also Austro-Tai languages Old Chinese Proto-Austronesian language Proto-Hmong–Mien language Proto-Austroasiatic language
Further reading Sagart, Laurent. 2019. A model of the origin of Kra-Dai tones. Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale, 48(1), 1–29. Sagart, Laurent. 2020. "Labial fortitions in Kra-Dai." In Sino-Tibetan-Austronesian.
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