Puroik

Puroik is clearly a Sino-Tibetan language, although it has undergone some sound changes that have created many unique-looking forms.

Lieberherr's (2015) Proto-Puroik reconstructions are cited here.

Some sound changes from Proto-Sino-Tibetan are (with Lieberherr's (2015) Proto-Puroik < my Pre-Puroik forms cited):

*m- > b-

fire: *bai < *mai

dream: *baŋ̄ < *maŋ

negator: *ba- < *ma-

*ŋ- > g-

'I (1.SG)': *goo < *ŋoo

*s- > zero

die: *ii < *sii

three: *ɨm̄ < *sum

Some body parts have formed as a result of erosion / reduction after sesquisyllabic nominal prefixes were added to the main noun roots.

'ear': *a-kun̄ < *a-k.na

'eye': *a-kəm̄ < *a-k.mjak

'nose' *a-poŋ̄ < *a-p.na

'mouth': *a-səm̄ < *a-s.mVC

Many forms are shared with Hrusish (Hruso-Miji) due to long-term contact, but Kho-Bwa and Hrusish do not form a subgroup together. These include the forms for bird, bone, breast, leech, leg, seven, and white.

Possible non-Sino-Tibetan forms borrowed from earlier non-Sino-Tibetan languages in Arunachal include Pre-Puroik *moh 'dog' and Proto-Puroik *kua 'water'.

Sources

Lieberherr, Ismael. 2015. A progress report on the historical phonology and affiliation of Puroik. North East Indian Linguistics (NEIL), 7. Canberra, Australian National University: Asia-Pacific Linguistics Open Access.

Lieberherr, Ismael; Bodt, Timotheus Adrianus. 2017. Sub-grouping Kho-Bwa based on shared core vocabulary. In Himalayan Linguistics, 16(2).