Talk:釐

old chinese pronunciation?

Shuowen's definition of 釐 is "家福也。", which I assume refers to pronunciation 2 in the Wiktionary entry. However, there is no reconstructed Old Chinese pronunciation for this, despite it likely being the original definition and thus original pronunciation. Pronunciation 2 also inexplicably begins with an /h/ initial(not accounting for h>ɕ shift in mandarin), while both reconstructed Old Chinese pronunciations have /r/ initials. Shuowen also says "荲...讀若釐。", meaning 釐's reading is similar to 荲's. 荲's readings though, are /*r̥ʰɯɡ/, /*l̥ʰuɡ/, /*hluɡ/, in contrast to 釐's reading of /*rɯ/. This seems to suggest /h/ or aspirated voiceless alveolar consonant was present in 釐's Old Chinese reading, but shifted to /l/ by the time of Early Middle Chinese. 三河孝達(雝之) (talk) 02:26, 8 November 2022 (UTC)