Reconstruction:Proto-Tai/naːjᴬ

This Proto-Tai 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-Tai

Alternative reconstructions

• *naaiᴬ (Li, 1971)
• *taːjᴮ (Liao, 2017)

Etymology

Cognate with Southern Kam deel, Maonan tɛ¹, Ai-Cham te¹, Mak (China) te⁶, Biao ta¹, Proto-Hlai *hnaːʔ (Liao, 2017).

Li (1971) connects it Old Chinese 嬭 (OC *niei, “mother”).

Noun

*naːjᴬ (Pittayaporn, 2009)

1. maternal grandmother

Reconstruction notes

The reconstruction of this word has been problematic due to correspondences that are difficult to reconcile, including the rare correspondence of initials /n/ and /t/ and the different tone categories reflected in the daughter languages.

Descendants

• Tai
  • Northern Tai
    • Zhuang: daiq
  • Southwestern Tai
    • Thai: ยาย (yaai)
    • Lao: ຍາຍ (nyāi)
    • Shan: ၼၢႆး (náai)