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Appendix:Old Chinese Swadesh list

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This is a Swadesh list of words in Old Chinese, compared with definitions in English.

Presentation

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For further information, including the full final version of the list, read the Wikipedia article: Swadesh list.

American linguist Morris Swadesh believed that languages changed at measurable rates and that these could be determined even for languages without written precursors. Using vocabulary lists, he sought to understand not only change over time but also the relationships of extant languages. To be able to compare languages from different cultures, he based his lists on meanings he presumed would be available in as many cultures as possible. He then used the fraction of agreeing cognates between any two related languages to compute their divergence time by some (still debated) algorithms. Starting in 1950 with 165 meanings, his list grew to 215 in 1952, which was so expansive that many languages lacked native vocabulary for some terms. Subsequently, it was reduced to 207, and reduced much further to 100 meanings in 1955. A reformulated list was published posthumously in 1971.

List

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No. English Old Chinese
上古漢語
IPA
pronunciation
1 I / ŋa/la
2 you (singular) naʔ
3 he qij
4 we ŋŋajʔ
5 you (plural) naʔ
6 they , tǝ, sə
7 this [d]eʔ
8 that pa[j]ʔ
9 here 此處 [tsh]e(j)ʔ t-qhaʔ
10 there 彼處 pa[j]ʔ t-qhaʔ
11 who duk
12 what gga[j]
13 where 何處 ggaj t-ʔhaʔ
14 when , (h)ǝʔ, [ɡ]ʕat
15 how 如何 na ggaj
16 not pəʔ
17 all bʀom
18 many tǝj
19 some sia
20 few tewʔ
21 other , slǝj
22 one ʔit
23 two ni[jtk]-s
24 three s-hhləm
25 four s-hlij-s
26 five ŋŋaʔ
27 big N-ttat-s
28 long N-traŋ
29 wide kkwaŋʔ
30 thick ttu[l]
31 heavy N-troŋʔ
32 small s-tewʔ
33 short ttunʔ
34 narrow N-kkʀep
35 thin ssəj-s
36 woman nraʔ
37 man (male) nnəm
38 man (human) nin/ŋ
39 child tsəʔ
40 wife s-hhləj
41 husband pa
42 mother mmoʔ
43 father baʔ
44 animal 動物 [Cə-m-]toŋʔ C-mut
45 fish ŋa
46 bird ttiwʔ
47 dog kkhwirʔ
48 louse srik
49 snake m-laj
50 worm linʔ
51 tree mhǝk
52 forest Cə-ləm
53 stick ke
54 fruit m-lit
55 seed toŋʔ
56 leaf lap
57 root kkən
58 bark (of a tree) phʕrok
59 flower GGwhʀa
60 grass ttshuʔ
61 rope mləŋ
62 skin m-paj
63 meat k(r)ij
64 blood hhmik
65 bone kkut
66 fat (noun) kij
67 egg Cə-llorʔ
68 horn krǝk
69 tail məjʔ
70 feather waʔ
71 hair mmaw
72 head hluʔ
73 ear nəŋʔ
74 eye miwk
75 nose m-Pit(-s)
76 mouth kkhoʔ
77 tooth m-ʔhra
78 tongue m-lat
79 fingernail , (?) mə-kijʔ, [ts]ʕ<r>uʔ
80 foot tsok
81 leg hhnujʔ
82 knee sit
83 hand hnuʔ
84 wing ɢwrəp ~ lək
85 belly m-ttaʔ
86 guts lraŋ
87 neck kkreŋʔ
88 back ppək-s
89 breast noʔ
90 heart sǝm
91 liver kka ~ s-kʕa[r]
92 to drink ʔəm
93 to eat m-lək
94 to bite det-s
95 to suck ttsəp
96 to spit tthaʔ
97 to vomit qqoʔ
98 to blow qqwha
99 to breathe sək
100 to laugh s-ŋawk-s
101 to see , [k]ˁen-s, ttaʔ
102 to hear mun
103 to know tre
104 to think nəmʔ
105 to smell qhuk-s
106 to fear quj-s
107 to sleep tshimʔ
108 to live sreŋ
109 to die sijʔ
110 to kill ssret
111 to fight tǝks
112 to hunt Cə-rap
113 to hit kkek
114 to cut tto[n]ʔ
115 to split ret
116 to stab tshek-s
117 to scratch kkʀot
118 to dig m-k(h)ut
119 to swim wraŋ-s
120 to fly pər
121 to walk ggʀaŋ
122 to come mə-rrə(k)
123 to lie (as in a bed) ŋŋoj-s
124 to sit ddʒojʔ
125 to stand kə-rəp
126 to turn (intransitive) tronʔ
127 to fall llo[j]
128 to give pas
129 to hold t-nəp
130 to squeeze (?) ʔrep
131 to rub chrǝt
132 to wash sǝrʔ
133 to wipe hǝk
134 to pull inʔ
135 to push thǝj
136 to throw ddo
137 to tie kkej-s
138 to sew boŋ
139 to count sroʔ
140 to say wat
141 to sing kəj
142 to play , , [ŋ]ʕo[n]-s, [r]ʕoŋ-s, ŋ̊(r)ar-s
143 to float , / m-b(r)u, ph(r)[o]m-s
144 to flow Cə-lu
145 to freeze [ŋ](r)əŋ
146 to swell [b](r)ʕaŋ
147 sun njit
148 moon ŋwat
149 star sseŋ
150 water hlujʔ
151 rain waʔ
152 river , t-lu[n], khʕe
153 lake ga
154 sea hhməjʔ
155 salt rraʔ
156 stone dak
157 sand ssʀaj
158 dust drən
159 earth tthaʔ
160 cloud wən
161 fog mo(k-)s
162 sky hllin
163 wind prəm
164 snow [s]ot ~ swat
165 ice , p-rəŋ
166 smoke ʔin
167 fire hhməjʔ
168 ash hmə
169 to burn bən
170 road kə-rrak-s
171 mountain , s-ŋrar, [ŋ](ʕ)rok
172 red t-qhak
173 green ttsheng
174 yellow N-kkwaŋ
175 white N-ppʀak
176 black hhmək
177 night lak-s
178 day ni[k,t]
179 year , C.nˤi[ŋ], s-qwat-s
180 warm ŋet
181 cold ggan
182 full , , / thuŋ, pʀuʔ, n-ʀen(-s) ~ nər(ʔ)-s
183 new siŋ
184 old rruʔ
185 good qqhuʔ
186 bad qqak
187 rotten boʔ
188 dirty qqwa
189 straight , , C-teŋ, N-t<r>ək, m-qurʔ
190 round , , C-[d]ʕon, ɢw<r>en, [ɢ]wʕar ~ ɦwʕar (~ -n)
191 sharp (as a knife) tsəm
192 dull (as a knife) ddu[n]-s
193 smooth (Nə-)ɡʕrut
194 wet qhip
195 dry kkar
196 correct teŋ-s
197 near gə[n]ʔ
198 far wanʔ
199 right wəʔ-s
200 left tsarʔ-s ~ ttsajʔ
201 at ɢʕa
202 in , nʕ[u]p ~ nai, ɢʕa
203 with m-q(r)aʔ
204 and m-rʕəp ~ lləp
205 if na ~ nia
206 because ʔi[n] ~ qin
207 name meŋ

References

[edit]
Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
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