Proto-Munda is the reconstructed proto-language of the Munda languages of South Asia. It has been reconstructed by Sidwell & Rau (2015). According to Sidwell, the Proto-Munda language split from Proto- Austroasiatic in Indochina and arrived on the coast of Odisha around 4000 – 3500 years ago.[1]
| Proto-Munda | |
|---|---|
| Reconstruction of | Munda languages |
Reconstructed ancestor | |
Reconstruction
editThe following Proto-Munda lexical proto-forms have been reconstructed by Sidwell & Rau (2015: 319, 340-363).[2] Two asterisks are given to denote the tentative, preliminary state of the proto-language reconstruction.
| Gloss | Proto-Munda |
|---|---|
| belly | **(sə)laɟ |
| big | **məraŋ |
| to bite | **kaˀp |
| black | **kE(n)dE |
| blood | **məjam |
| bone | **ɟaːˀŋ |
| to burn (vt.) | **gEˀp |
| claw/nail | **rəmAj |
| cloud | **tərIˀp |
| cold | **raŋ |
| die (of a person) | **gOˀj |
| dog | **sOˀt |
| to drink (water) | **uˀt, **uˀk |
| dry (adj./stat.) | **(ə)sAr |
| ear | **lutur, **luˀt |
| earth/soil | **ʔOte |
| to eat | **ɟOm |
| egg | **(ə)tAˀp |
| eye | **maˀt |
| fat/grease/oil | **sunum |
| feather | **bəlEˀt |
| fire | **səŋal |
| fish (n.) | **ka, **kadO(ŋ) |
| fly (v.) | **pEr |
| foot | **ɟəːˀŋ |
| give | **ʔam |
| hair (of head) | **suˀk |
| hand | **tiːˀ |
| to hear/listen | **ajɔm |
| heart, liver | **(gə)rE, **ʔim |
| horn | **dəraŋ |
| I | **(n)iɲ |
| to kill | **(bə)ɡOˀɟ |
| leaf | **Olaːˀ |
| to lie (down) | **gətiˀc |
| long | **ɟəlƏŋ |
| louse (head) | **siːˀ |
| man/husband, person/human | **kOrOˀ |
| meat/flesh | **ɟəlU(Uˀ) |
| moon | **harkE, **aŋaj |
| mountain/hill | **bəru(uˀ) |
| mouth | **təmOˀt |
| name | **ɲUm |
| neck | **kO, **gOˀk |
| new | **təmI |
| night | **(m)ədiˀp |
| nose | **muːˀ |
| not | **əˀt |
| one | **mOOˀj |
| rain | **gəma |
| red | **ɟəŋAˀt |
| road, path | **kOrA |
| root (of a tree) | **rEˀt |
| sand | **kEˀt |
| see | **(n)El |
| sit | **kO |
| skin | **usal |
| sleep | **gətiˀc |
| smoke (n.) | **mOˀk |
| to speak, say | **sun, **gam, **kaj |
| to stand | **tənaŋ, **tƏŋgə |
| stone | **bərƏl, **sərEŋ |
| sun | **siŋi(iˀ) |
| tail | **pata |
| thigh | **buluuˀ |
| that (dist.) | **han |
| this (prox.) | **En |
| thou/you | **(n)Am |
| tongue | **laːˀŋ |
| tooth | **gənE |
| tree | **ɟiːˀ |
| two | **baːˀr |
| to walk, go | **sEn |
| to weave | **ta(aˀ)ɲ |
| water | **daːˀk |
| woman/wife | **selA, **kəni |
| yellow | **saŋsaŋ |
Proto-Munda reconstruction has since been revised and improved by Rau (2019).
Syntax
editAnderson (2011, 2017) proposes that syntax of the archaic stage of proto-Munda might have been possibly SVO or VOS. Evidence for SVO order has been founded in noun incorporation verbal morphology in the Sora-Gorum languages, and to a lesser extent in Gutob, Remo, Kharia, and Juang.
Remo:
gui-ti
wash-hand
"wash hand"
Sora:
ɲen
1SG
dʒum-te-ti-n-ai
eat-banana-NPST-1.INTR-1.SUBJ
"I am eating banana"
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Sidwell, Paul. 2018. Austroasiatic Studies: state of the art in 2018 Archived 2019-05-03 at the Wayback Machine. Presentation at the Graduate Institute of Linguistics, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, 22 May 2018.
- ^ Sidwell, Paul and Felix Rau (2015). "Austroasiatic Comparative-Historical Reconstruction: An Overview." In Jenny, Mathias and Paul Sidwell, eds (2015). The Handbook of Austroasiatic Languages. Leiden: Brill.