Proto-Loloish is the reconstructed ancestor of the Loloish languages. Reconstructions include those of David Bradley (1979), James Matisoff (2003), and Ziwo Lama (2012).

In later publications, in place of Loloish, David Bradley instead uses the term Ngwi based on a conservative autonym in the Sanie language.[1]

Li (2011)

Li Yongsui (2011) reconstructs Proto-Lolo-Burmese (Proto-Mian-Yi 缅彝) based on 30 languages.

Lama (2012)

Lama (2012) reconstructs 37 consonants for Proto-Loloish (which he calls Proto-Nisoic), 7 of which (marked in green) can occur as syllable finals. The glides /w/ and /j/ occur medially.

Proto-Nisoic consonants (Lama 2012)
LabialDentalAlveolarAlveolo-palatalVelarGlottal
StopsVoicelessp t ts tɕk ʔ
Voicelessaspiratedpʰ tʰ tsʰ tɕʰkʰ h
Voicedb d dz dʑɡ
Prenasalizedmb nd ndz ndʑ ŋɡ
FricativesVoicelesss x
Voicedz ʑ ɣ
NasalsVoicedm n ɲ ŋ
Liquidsand SemivowelsVoiced-w- l r -j-
  • Vowels (8): /i/,/y/,/ɯ/,/u/,/e/,/o/,/ɔ/,/a/
  • Tones (5): 1, 2, 3 (unchecked tones), H, L (checked tones)

References and notes

  1. ^Bradley, David. 2005. "Sanie and language loss in China".International Journal of the Sociology of Language. Volume 2005, Issue 173, Pp. 159–176.

See also