Reconstruction:Proto-Bodish/ni(t)

This Proto-Bodish entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.
This Proto-Bodish entry contains original research. The reconstruction in this entry is based on published research, but the specific form presented here is not found in prior works.

Proto-Bodish

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ni (existential copula). A verb meaning to "sit" becoming a copula is paralleled by Spanish ser (“to be”), from Latin sedeō (“to sit”). However, the semantics of the Spanish word turned out quite different from this Sino-Tibetan copula.

Verb

*ni(t)

  1. to sit
  2. to stay

Reconstruction notes

  • This entry is a combination of two etyma: a copula-turned-topic marker reconstructed by DeLancey (2022),[1] and a lexical verb meaning "to sit", reconstructed by Bodt (2023). The use of this verb as a possessive copula in Dakpa, a fact pointed out by Bodt,[2] would provide the missing link between the two etyma.
  • Bodt's proto-form *net is rejected here, since coronal codas seem to block non-Tibetic *i > *e shifts, making positing a proto-*e instead of *i unnecessary.

Descendants

  • Tibetic
    • Tibetan: ནི (ni, topic particle)
  • Dakpa-Dzala
    • Dakpa: ཉི (nyi /⁠ȵi35⁠/)
  • East Bodish
    • Bumthangkha: ཉིད (nyit, “to sit”)
    • Khengkha: ནིག (nik)
    • Kurtöp: ནི (ni), ནིད (nit)

References

  1. ^ DeLancey, Scott (2022) “The Trans-Himalayan Copula #ni and its Secondary Functions”, in Nepalese Linguistics‎[1], volume 36, number 1, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 73–79
  2. ^ Bodt, Timotheus Adrianus (2023) “East Bodish revisited”, in Bulletin of Tibetology‎[2], volume 54, number 1, Gangtok: Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, →ISSN, page 90
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