Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/ŋa

This Proto-Sino-Tibetan 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.

Proto-Sino-Tibetan

Reconstruction

Proto-Sino-Tibetan: *ngaɣ/ngay (Coblin, 1986); *ŋa (DeLancey, 2023)
- Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *ŋa (Chou, 1972; Benedict, 1972; DeLancey, 2019); *ŋɑ (Chou, 1972); *ŋay (Benedict, 1972); *ŋǎy (Matisoff, 1985); *ŋay (Weidert, 1987); *ka ⪤ ŋa (LaPolla, 1987); *ŋa-y (Matisoff, 2003); *ŋa-y ⪤ *ka (Matisoff, STEDT); *ŋa(-j) (DeLancey, 2019)

Pronoun

*ŋa (plural *i)

I, me

Derived terms

*-ŋa

Descendants

Old Chinese: 吾 /*ŋˤa/ (B-S); /*ŋaː/ (ZS) ("I"), 我 /*ŋˤajʔ/ (B-S); /*ŋaːlʔ/ (ZS) ("I")
(Note: Gong Hwang-cherng (Gong Huangcheng) argued that the distinction between 吾 and 我 was that of the nominative/accusative or subject/oblique cases. 吾 (*ŋag in his reconstruction) was the nominative case pronoun, and 我 (*ŋal) was the accusative case pronoun.)

(我 in the oracle bone script)
- Middle Chinese: 吾 (ŋuo), 我 (ŋɑX) (Both words survive in compounds and as literary readings. Listed below are the colloquial words for "I" in each dialect, all from this etymon.)
  → Japanese: 我 (が, ga)
  Korean: 아 (我, a)
  Vietnamese: ngã (我)
  - Modern Mandarin
    - Beijing: 我 /u̯ɔ˨˩˦/
    - Jinan: 我 /uə˥/, 俺 /ŋæ̃˥/ (fusion with 們 / 们)
    - Shenyang: 我 /uə˨˩˧/, /ə˨˩˧/
    - Xi'an: 我 /ŋə˥˧/
    - Chengdu: 我 /ŋo˥˧/
    - Kunming: 我 /uo˥˧/
    - Hefei: 我 /u˨˦/, /u˨˩˨/
    - Yangzhou: 我 /o˦˨/
  - Wu
    - Suzhou: 我 /ŋəu˧˩/
    - Shanghai: 我 /ŋu˨˧ ~ ɦu˨˧/, /ŋu˥˧/
    - Wenzhou: 我 /ŋ̍˨˦/
  - Xiang
    - Changsha: 我 /ŋo˦˩/
  - Gan
    - Nanchang: 我 /ŋə˨˩˧/
  - Hakka
    - Meixian: 𠊎 (ái) /ŋai˩/
  - Cantonese
    - Guangzhou: 我 /ŋo˩˧/
    - Yangjiang: 我 /ŋɔ˨˩/
- Min
  - Amoy: 我 /ɡua˥˧/
  - Teochow: 我 /ua˥˧/
  - Fuzhou: 我 /ŋuai˧˩/
Kamarupan
- Bodo-Garo = Barish
  - Bodo:
    - Dimasa: ang
  - Garo: aŋ, anga
Himalayish
- Tibeto-Kanauri
  - Bodic
    - Kurtöp: ངད (ngat)
    - Tibetan: ང (nga, “I”) /ŋa˩˨/
- Mahakiranti
  - Kham-Magar-Chepang-Sunwar
  - Kiranti
    - Eastern Kiranti = Rai
      - Chamling: ka-ŋa
      - Limbu: ᤀᤅ (aṅa) /əŋa/
      - Waling: aŋ-ka
      - Yamphu: का (kā)
    - Western Kiranti
    - Kulung: aŋ
rGyalrongic
- West rGyalrongic
  - Tangut: 𗧓 (*ŋa², “I, me”)
- East rGyalrongic
  - Situ: ŋa (“I”)
  - Zbu: ŋəʔ (“I”)
Jingpho-Asakian
- Nungic
  - Anong: ŋa
Proto-Kuki-Chin: *kaj ~ kaj-maʔ (VanBik, 2009)
- Central Chin
  - Mizo: ka, kei
Proto-Lolo-Burmese: *ŋa¹ (Weidert, 1987)
- Burmish: *C-ŋa¹ (Bradley, 1979)
  - Achang: ngos
  - Burmese: ငါ (nga, “I”) /ŋà/
  - Lashi: ngoo
- Proto-Loloish: *C-ŋa¹
  - Northern Loloish
    - Yi (Liangshan): ꉢ (nga), ꉡ (ngax, “I, me”)
Naic:
- Namuyi: nga
Proto-Tani: *ŋoo
- Nyishi: ngo
- Tangam: ŋoo
Proto-Kuki-Chin: *kay
- Khomic
  - Khumi Chin: kai
Proto-Kho-Bwa:
- Proto-Western Kho-Bwa: *ga (see there for further descendants)
- Proto-Puroik: *goo (see there for further descendants)