Proto-Sino-Tibetan reconstructions

Andrew Hsiu

January 2019 working draft

Below are my own Proto-Sino-Tibetan reconstructions, revised from Matisoff's (2015) STEDT reconstructions. In this reconstruction, Proto-Sino-Tibetan more closely resembles an actual Sino-Tibetan language rather than a compilation of unnaturally stuffed proto-forms.

Problems in PTB (Matisoff)

• • Proto-form stuffing

  • Significant repeating from Benedict 1972

  • bias towards Written Tibetan

  • Most PTB roots are actually non-stable and do not reconstruct to PTB.

  • actually no vowel length; this is a CST development

  • t- is actually very sporadic

  • Medial -r- is often from medial -j-.