Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/l(j)a(k/ŋ)

This Proto-Sino-Tibetan entry contains reconstructed words and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Sino-Tibetan

Etymology

Proto-Sino-Tibetan: *lek (Coblin, 1986)
- Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *l(j)ak ⪤ *l(j)aŋ (Matisoff, STEDT)

This root appears to be related with Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-tjak/ŋ ~ tik/ŋ, showing a very common alternation between *d and *l. As Matisoff (2013) points out, this *l ~ *d alternation is attested in many natural languages, even outside the Sino-Tibetan language family.

Alternatively, Tibetan ལེགས་པོ (legs po, “good, beautiful”) and ཡག་པོ (yag po, “good, fine”) could come from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *lwa(ː)j (“easy”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Adjective

*l(j)a(k/ŋ)

good
beautiful
real
straight

Adverb

*l(j)a(k/ŋ)

very
really

Descendants

Old Chinese: 良 /*[r]aŋ/ (B-S); /*raŋ/ ("good, virtuous")
- Middle Chinese: 良 /lɨɐŋ/

- →   Japanese:  良 (ろう, rō)
        Korean:  양 (良, yang)
        Vietnamese:  lương (良)

- - Modern Chinese
    - Beijing: 良 (liáng, /li̯ɑŋ³⁵/) ("good")
    - Cantonese: /lœːŋ²¹/
    - Hakka: /li̯oŋ¹¹/
- Min
  - Min Nan: /liɔŋ²⁴/
Tani
- Western Tani
  - Bokar: /lak/ ("good")
Himalayish
- Bodic
  - Tibeto-Kanauri
    - Tibetan
      - Written Tibetan: ལེགས་པོ (legs po, “good”), ཡག་པོ (yag po, “good, nice”), འཇག་པོ ('jag po, “calm, quiet”)
Tangut-Qiang
- Northern Tangut
  - Tangut: 𘝷 (lia, /*li̯a⁵⁵/) ("beautiful")
Lolo-Burmese
- Burmish
  - Achang: /liɑŋ⁵⁵pɑ⁵⁵/ ("beautiful")
- Loloish
  - Naxi: /lə²¹/ ("beautiful")