Genesis and time-depths of
Formosan ethnic groups
------From the Austronesian
languages and the Sino-Tibetan
languages
Department of Anthropology,
Xiamen University
Deng Xiaohua
2012.11.9-11 Peking University
1
Study scope：
Tibeto-Burman
Kam-Tai
• Sino-tibetan Hmong-Mien (Miao-Yao)
Chinese
• Austronesian——Taiwan-centered
languages of Pacific islands
2
3
Did Tibeto-Burman originate from Nepal in
the Himalayas? Is Nepal the civilized cradle
of Tibeto-Burman? (van Driem)
4
5
6
7
• Theoretical basis：the etymological
method (the glottochronological
method)
– In the preliminary study on the relationship
between Sino-Tibetan languages, we found
that a slightly revised Swadesh 100-word list
can be used as the prototype for the
comparative research of the genetic
relationship between languages.
8
• Two methods often used in the molecular
anthropology:
The distance- and- feature- based methods
• Classification standard and methods:
– Swadesh 100-word list and the computational
methods
9
Major steps in computational
classification：
(1) Similarity Matrix
– Choose cognates and design cognate
vocabulary list，then calculate the retention
rate of cognates among lanuages
(2) Distance Matrix
– Because the distance relationship is indicated by
the branch lengths of the mathematical tree
diagram, so the similarity matrix should be
coverted to distance matrix.
10
• Research purpose
– Aims to provide a scientific identification of the
genetic relationship and the time depths of the
languages and dialects of Sino- Tibetan family.
11
• The study, based on cognate
database, aims to explore the
classification of the genetic
relationship between the languages
and dialects of Sino-Tibetan family
and measurement of their timedepths, with the computational
method, the Phylogenetic methods in
molecular anthropology and the
etymological statistics.
12
Having made prominent achievements
in human origins, the computational
phylogenetic methods ,used for identifying
the classification of the genetic
relationship between human species, can
be applied to studies of linguistic evolution,
exactly, the classification of the genetic
relationship among languages and their
time-depths.
13
• Some of the main research concerning
this interdisciplinary field ( such as IndoEuropean, Austronesian) have been
published in Science, Nature,
Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences etc. (Gray & Fiona 2000, Gray
& Atkinson 2003，Gray et al.2009).
• And these research mainly uses
Swadesh 100-word list as the basis for
cognate calculation (Hamed & Wang
2006).
14
Genesis of Formosan ethnic
groups
Have Formosan ethnic groups a
separate origin?
Mainstream viewpoints in Taiwan:
Austronesian peoples originated
separately in Taiwan and diffused to the
Pacific islands, so Taiwan is the
homeland of Austronesian peoples.
•
The research seems exploited by politics.
15
Genesis of Formosan ethnic
groups
Have Formosan ethnic groups a
separate origin?
• Paul Jen-kuei Li: the Austronesian
race originated in Taiwan, and have no
genetic relationship with Kam-Tai in the
Chinese mainland, even without contact.
（1997,1999,2001）.
–
Sapir’s drift as the evidence
16
Genesis of Formosan ethnic groups
Have Formosan ethnic groups a separate origin?
•
Li(1999) proposed problems under
suspicion:
–
•
Why didn’t Austronesian races exist in the Chinese
mainland?
–
Why didn’t Hmong-Mien (Miao-Yao) and Kam-Tai
races disappear with sinification, if it explained by
sinification?
–
Some similarities in part of Chinese and Formosan
vocabulary can not establish the systematic sound
correspondences, so it is considered as the results
of borrowing.
The results of the molecular anthropological
research in Maxie Hospital of Taiwan support the
above-mentioned conclusion.
17
•
•
Genesis of Formosan ethnic groups mainly
involves the interdisciplinary research of the
molecular anthropology, linguistics,
archaeology, ethnography and so on.
The studies of linguistics (Deng Xiaohua) and
of the molecular anthropology (Jin Li, Li Hui)
show that：the indigenous peoples of Taiwan
and the Malay both originated from Zhuang and
Dong ethnic groups of Mainland China, but
have different processes of evolution. So the
Tai-speaking people could not be excluded
from Austronesian population. Formosan races
have closer relation to Kam-Tai races of
Mainland China than Malay ethnic groups in the
South Asia.
18
Linguistic anthropology：My
research
1. Major linguistic approaches to homelands：
– linguistic paleontology: utilize cognates to
reconstruct geographical environment.
– Drift( Sapir): homeland of races is the area
where languages diverged from the main
stock
– Toponymy (study of place names)---same
place names share common experience
19
Linguistic anthropology：My
research
• From a linguistic perspective, the
universal adaptability of these methods
has been doubtable.
– Take the Min and Hakka for example. The Min
and Hakka dialects were diverged early from the
proto-language, and the Min and Hakka dialect
areas have been highly divergent from other. And
so is Fujian the proto-homeland of Chinese?
It is obviously inconsistent with historical facts.
20
Linguistic anthropology: My
research
2. As a matter of fact, numerous powerful
non-Han ethnic groups in Chinese history
“disappeared” or became minor ethnic
groups for sinification.
The definition of “nationality” in China, especially
identification of the Han nationality is not greatly related
to the physical makeup, gene and language, so should be
mostly understood it from the perspective of cultural
identity.
21
Linguistic anthropology：My
research
3. According to Greenberg’s research on
American Linguistic Classification，the
cognates in conformity with the
rigorous sound correspondences
between the languages can not reflect
completely the origins and the
evolution direction of languages.
22
Linguistic analysis of cognates
• Differed with Jen-kuei Li , we hold the view that
there is the genetic relationship between KamTai and Austronesian with some basic
vocabulary as evidences .
• Rigorously examined the data, we find that the
cognate ratio between Kam-Tai and
Austronesian is quite high in Swadesh 100-word
list.
Eg. Swadesh
100-word list: sun, moon, rain, fire, paddy fields,
water, night, leaf, head louse, horn (cattle horn), tail, eye,
nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, hand, foot, belly, blood, meat
(muscle), bone, road , name, know, bite, eat, die, fly, come,
stand, new, red, black, green, I, you, this
Yakhontov 35-word list: salt, wind etc.
23
24
• This study compares the reconstructed protoAustronesia cognates recognized by a number
of linguistic experts of Austronesian
( Dempwolff 1934,1937,1938; Dyen1971; Dahl1973;
Blust1980,1983-84,1988,1989 etc.) to the proto-
Kam-Tai cognates reconstructed by Li FangKuei etc., in order to identify and explain the
genetic relationship between them. （PAN for
proto-Austronesian；PA for proto-Atayal ；PMP for
proto-Bahasa Melayu ；PP for proto-Paiwan ；PFN
for proto-Formosan-Austronesian；AA for protoAustronesian；PT for proto-Kam-Tai ；PTB for
proto-Tibeto-Burman）
25
1. moon，PAN *bulal; PA*bural; Zhuang dɯːn¹；
Daixi dɤn¹ ；Daide lən⁶；Dong naːn¹；
Li naːn¹；PT*ʔmblɯen。
2. rain，PAN *quzan; Zhuang fɯn¹；Daixi fun¹；
Dong pjən¹；Li fun¹；PT*p-run。
3. fire，PAN *sapuy; PA*hapuy; Zhuangfei²；Daixi
fai²；Dong pui¹；Li fei¹；PT*pui。
4. paddy fields，PAN qumaɦ；PA quma；
PMP*tanah；Zhuangna²；Daixi na²；Li ta²；
PT*na。
5. water，PAN *jalum; PA*zalum; Zhuangɣam⁴
Daixi nam⁴ Dong nam⁴ Li nom³ PT*nam。
6. eye，PAN maca；PAmaca；PMP*mata；
Zhuangta¹；Daixi ta¹；Dong ta¹；Shui da¹；Li
26
tsha¹；PT*pra。
7.nose，PMP*hiduŋ；Proto-Cham *ʔiduŋ；
Zhuang daŋ¹；Daixi daŋ¹；Dong naŋ¹；Shui
ʔnaŋ¹；PT*q-diŋ。
8.mouth，PAN *baqbaq； Proto-Cham *babah；
Zhuang paːk⁷；Daixi paːk⁹；Shui paːk⁷；PT*Cbak。
9.teeth，PAN *（ŋ）ipən；Zhuang fan²；Dong
pjan¹；Li fan¹； PT*plan。
10.tongue ，PAN *dilaq；Sanya-Hui la⁵⁵；Paiwan
səma； Zhuang lin⁴；Daixi lin⁴；Dongshui ma²；
Li ɬin³； PT*lin; *ma。
11.hand，PAN *lima；Zhuang fɯ²；Daixi mɯ²；
Dong mja²；Shui mja1¹；Li meɯ¹； PT*mwiɯ
27
Analysis of cognates: dog
Dog in ancient Chinese literature:
1)Shuo Wen: sou
2) The Book of Songs: lu
3) Shuo Wen: mang
28
Analysis of cognates: dog
1)Shuo Wen: sou
“南越名犬夔獀”
Kuisou, a famous canine in Nanyue.
---《说文》
---Shuo Wen
Dog:
Proto-Austronesian:*wasu
Tagalog: a´so，
Huihui:Öa42 sau33
29
Analysis of cognates: dog
(1)Shuo Wen: sou
The second syllable of Proto-Austronesian form
corresponds to sou, so it is no doubt that ther is
homologous relation.
Norman, Jerry and Tsu Lin Mei(1976) believe
that sou is a Chinese borrowed word from
Austro-Asiatic languages. But we take this
word as an Austronesian word, for Nanyue and
Austronesian race share the system of culture
at least before the Neolithic Period.
30
Analysis of cognates: dog
(2) Shiji(the Book of Songs）: “lu”
“卢令令，其人美且仁”。毛传：“卢，田犬”。
Ling-ling go the hounds;
Their master is admirable and kind.
-----Luling, Qifeng, Shiji
Li Fang-Kuei * ljag，dog”， Hmong Yang Hao l†a3， Hmong
Gaopo tl†æ3，Biaomin-Yao klu3，Mian-Yao ku3，Mian Luoxiang
klo3，Jiongnai kla3; Wang Fushi,Mao Zongwu * qlAu.
31
Analysis of cognates: dog
2)Shiji( the Book of Songs) : “lu”
Austra-Asiatic ：VN cho‚;Palaung sh„;Khum,
Wa soÖ;Kharia s„´l„Ö; Ju solok; Gutob,Pareng,Remo
guso;Khasi ksew;Mon kluw;
Old Mon cluw;Khmer chkÆ.
A. Haudricourt：VN ch- < kl-。
Therefore, lu in Shiji has genealogical relation with dog
in Austronesian and Hmong-Mien.
32
• According to Sagart’ s study, u()kuq (dog)
in the original Hesperonesian MalayoPolynesian is homologous with dog in
Chinese * kroÖ  * kuÖ.
compare to Formosan:
Zou Yu*- kuqabÖu。
Dah-an Ho *kukur
Two different origins：Sino-Tibetan and
Austro-Asiatic
33
(3) Shuo Wen: mang
“南昌谓犬善逐兔草中为莽”
In Nanchang, the dog good at catching rabbits is
called mang.
-------Shuo Wen
Li Fang-kuei(1977) Proto-Tai: “gou” →hmaA1
Kam-Tai “gou”：
Zhuang ma1;Mulao Çäwa1; Shui mäa1，Thai ma5; Dong Bei kwa1;Gelao mpau1;Hlai
pou1;
Bigong qew2;Qiaoshan qwau2;
34
(3) Shuo Wen: mang
It is noticeable that the main residents are Yue people in Nanchang
county before the Han Dynasty, and their descendants the Zhuang and
Dong clans in the Tang and Song Dynasty.
Different linguistic forms of dog and distribution show that the 5 language
groups in the East Asia( Austronesian, Sino-Tibetan,
Kam-Tai, Hmong-Mien and Austro-Asiatic) share
Isomorphism and heterogeneity
35
• Similar examples: crossbow , paddy field,
wind, foot, thunder, pig, paddy rice, rice,
fire, road, salt, Shaman etc.
• “nu”，PAN:*panaq;
• Archaic Chinese(LFK)*na，AA:VN na’；
Proto-Mnong *sóna；Proto-Tai *hna ；
Proto- Hmong-Mien *n̊Ak。
36
Analysis of cognates: paddy field
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
PAN*qumaɦ
Paiwan( Ferrell,1982) *pana
Western Malayo-Polynesian (Dempwolff) *bena;
Proto-Tai *naA;
AA *lioŋ;
Proto-Hmong-Mien *ljiːŋ;
Chinese：“ru, low wetland”: *na
Tibetan, Kachin: na，“grassland, lowland,
meadow”
37
Analysis of cognates: wind
• PFN:*bali; Proto-Tai: *dluom;
Archaic Chinese (LFK):*pjêm
“飛廉”(feilian): frequently used in literature of
Archaic Chinese.
“前望舒使先驅兮，後飛廉使奔屬。”
“The pale moon’s charioteer I then bade lead,
The master of the winds swiftly succeed”
----Li Sao, The Song of the South
Feilian is the transliterated word of proto-
Austronesian “feng (wind)”. (Deng 1994)
38
The homogeneities in different
aspects shared by 5 language groups
in the East Asia
1) of the primitive Mongoloid:
eg. fire, smoke, pig, road, bone, bird,
head etc.
2）of Southern Mongolian (Malayan)
eg. dog, tiger, snake, kill, paddy field,
village, shaman (”wu” in North China
vs. “tang” in South China), hand, five
etc.
39
The homogeneities in different
aspects shared by 5 language groups
in the East Asia
（3）engendered by cultural
transmission and diffusion from the
Neolithic period
Eg. Cognates: horse, dog, crossbow,
paddy rice, needle, iron etc.
40
Two models of population
expansions and language evolution
in East Asia
Physical migration and cultural diffusion
1. “express-train”
2. “entangled-bank”
41
Split of Kam-Tai from Austronesian:
possible explanations
• Punctuated equilibrium (Dixon1997）&
Reticulate models (Bellwood1996）
– The Qin and Han Empire ruled over almost all
Baiyue-Austronesian Baiyue- Austronesian areas
in the southeast China, which engendered
sweeping changes of the primitive Austronesian,
and the state of equilibrium was punctuated .
42
Split of Kam-Tai from Austronesian:
possible explanations (cont.)
• Punctuated equilibrium (Dixon1997）&
Reticulate models (Bellwood1996）
– Massive migrations southward resulted in the
ascendancy of Han culture from the North China.
This may accelerate the sinification of BaiyueAustronesian and triggered Split of Kam-Tai from
Austronesian, which is considered as the
fundamental reason for Austronesian’ s abruptly
disappearing from the Chinese mainland
43
Split of Kam-Tai from Austronesian:
possible explanations (cont.)
• Complex Adaptive System
– Nonlinearity
– phase transitions
44
Multi-direction of language
diffusion
• The traditional view that Austronesian
races expanded unidirectionally needs reexamined.
• Two routes from recent studies:，
a. the southeast coastal area of China
（4000B.P.）→Yunnan and the Southeast
Asian islands
→Taiwan
Eg. Cognates shared by Austronesian and AustroAsiatic: paddy rice, crossbow, Shaman “dang”，
45
Multi-direction of language
diffusion
• Two directions from recent studies:，
b. the southeast coastal area of China
→Taiwan
eg. dog, foot, pangolin etc.
This shows that different language forms
may have different directions of
transmission, namely, drift has no fixed
forms.
46
Multi-direction of language
diffusion
• We hold that Kam-Tai languages have the
genetic relationship with Austronesian, but
there are still unsettled questions.
• Where is the proto-homeland of
Austronesian languages? What are their
directions of diffusion, from the Chinese
mainland or Taiwan to the Pacific islands?
47
Time-depths of Austronesianspeaking group
• Generally accepted views of linguistic
chronology:
Austroasiatic: 6000B.P., the Southwest China
Austronesian : 6000B.P.，Taiwan
Hmong-Mien: 2500B.P.，downstream of
the Yangtse River
Kam-Tai: 2500B.P.，the Southeast China
Sino-Tibetan: 6000B.P.- 7000B.P.，the middle upper reaches of the Yellow River
48
• The computational Phylogenetic methods to
work out the time-depth of language split, are
heavily criticized, because it is thought that basic
vocabulary , disturbed greatly by Horizontal
transmission, is not as stable as genes.
• Any scientific method has its limitation. But the
method has high reliability, if the results are
roughly consistent with the conclusions of other
relevant disciplines, such as archaeology,
ethnography and so on.
[i] Colin Renfrew, April McMahon, Larry Trask eds.,
Time Depth in Historical Linguistics（2000）
49
Figure1: Language Evolution Tree and
Divergence-time Estimates
50
• Note that we adopt the data of protoSino-Tibetan as the rooting node of the
tree, because it seems certain that
proto-Sino-Tibetan is distantly related
with the other 13 languages in this
study.
51
• In the 100 words, 8 words in the protoSino-Tibetan have correspond to in
Austronesian, fire, horn, eye, blood, fly,
salt, wind. Some other core words have a
great probability of borrowing, such as
paddy field, crossbow, head, hair,belly,
snake, road, witchery, horse.
52
• In fact, it is quite different to identify the
homologous or borrowing relations of these
words.
• Zhang Guanzhi and van Driem believe that
powerful Longshan Culture (around 6000
B.P. )in North China had deeply influenced
the proto-Austronesian culture in the
Southeast China. If archaeological
conclusions are available，most of these
words are loan words, the results of
“Northnization”.
• Because the genetic relationship between
the proto- Sino-Tibetan and the protoAustronesian has been much debated, the
data of the proto- Sino-Tibetan just are used
for reference.
53
• As figure 1 shows, the time depths roughly
accord with the chronology from ethnic
history:
– Baiyue-Austronesian group came into
being in approximately 4000 B.P. in
Southeast China;
– the Austronesian retreated from the
Chinese mainland after the reign of the Qin
and Han Empire ;
– based on the Hainan indigenes, the Li
lineage around 2700 B.P.;
54
• As figure 1 shows, the time depths roughly
accord with the chronology from ethnic
history:
– Lingao splitted gradually from Li around 2,000
years BP, influenced by the Han migration
befor the Tang and Song Dynasty;
– in the Wei and Jin Dynasty, taken Baiyue as
the main body, Li-Liao ethnic groups took
shape in about 1900 B.P ;
– Zhuang diverged in 900 B.P., and the ancient
name of Zhuang, “tongding”, was found in the
literature of the Southern Song Dynasty.
55
Conclusion ：
• Austronesian races lived in the large area
around the South China, and began to
separate from 4000B.P. and expanded to
Taiwan and the Araucaria islands along
the Southeast coastal area or the IndoChina Peninsula.
• Finally, we attempt to adopt different
theories of language evolution to explain
the formation process of the East Asian
language area, in order to establish a
multidisciplinary framework.
56
Theoretical significance
• continuity and discontinuity of linguistic traditions
• interruptive change of Austronesian in the
Chinese mainland
• Hypothesis ：
– It is unbelievable for the family tree model that all
have descended from a single ancestral language to
make clear the above-mentioned language facts.
– In comparison with the viewpoint that a language may
has more than one parent，it is a better explanation
that in a limited geographic area, different languages
with similar structure and forms merge a new
daughter language(Dixon,1997）
57
Welcome comments
58