User:Benwing2/Sinitic Swadesh lists
This is a Swadesh list of Sinitic languages, specifically Undetermined, compared with that of English. Sinitic languages are alternatively known as Chinese dialects.
Presentation edit
- For further information, including the full final version of the list, read the Wikipedia article: Swadesh list.
American linguist Morris Swadesh believed that languages changed at measurable rates and that these could be determined even for languages without written precursors. Using vocabulary lists, he sought to understand not only change over time but also the relationships of extant languages. To be able to compare languages from different cultures, he based his lists on meanings he presumed would be available in as many cultures as possible. He then used the fraction of agreeing cognates between any two related languages to compute their divergence time by some (still debated) algorithms. Starting in 1950 with 165 meanings, his list grew to 215 in 1952, which was so expansive that many languages lacked native vocabulary for some terms. Subsequently, it was reduced to 207, and reduced much further to 100 meanings in 1955. A reformulated list was published posthumously in 1971.
List edit
The following varieties that are referenced are listed below. Please refer to their respective pages for more information.
- Mandarin:
- Yue:
- Hakka:
- Yuetai Hakka (粵台客家話／粤台客家话) (includes Moiyannese (梅縣話／梅县话) and Siyennese (四縣話／四县话)) (PFS)
- Min:
- Wu:
- Northern: Shanghainese (上海話／上海话), Suzhounese (蘇州話／苏州话) (both with Wugniu)
- Xiang:
- New: Changshanese (長沙話／长沙话)
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See also edit
- Appendix:Mandarin Swadesh lists
- Appendix:Cantonese Swadesh list
- Appendix:Hakka Swadesh list
- Appendix:Min Swadesh lists
- Appendix:Wu Swadesh lists
- Appendix:Gan Swadesh list
- Appendix:Xiang Swadesh list