Old Yue language

{{Short description|Ancient language of China}}{{Cleanup lang|date=November 2024}}{{Infobox language | name = Old Yue | familycolor = Unclassified | family = [[Unclassified languages|Unclassified]] ([[Kra–Dai languages|Kra-Dai]]?<br>[[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]]?<br>[[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]]?<br>[[Hmong–Mien languages|Hmong-Mien]]?) | extinct = c. 1st century AD | region = [[Northern and southern China|Southern China]] | states = [[Yue (state)|Yue]], [[Dong'ou]], [[Minyue]], [[Nanyue]], [[Âu Việt|Ou Yue]] | altname = Yue | iso3 = none | ethnicity = [[Baiyue]] | glotto = none | mapcaption = Map of the Chinese plain at the start of the [[Warring States Period]] in the 5th century BC. | map = Chinese plain 5c. BC-en2.png }} [[File:Early Warring States Period.png|350px|thumb|Map of the Warring States Period, after Yue conquered Wu. Other [[Baiyue]] peoples are shown in the south.]] The '''Old Yue language'''{{efn|{{zh|c=古越語|poj=Kó͘-oa̍t-gí / Kó͘-oa̍t-gír / Kó͘-oa̍t-gú|j=Gu2 Jyut6 Jyu5|p=''Gǔyuè yǔ''}}; [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]: Tiếng Việt cổ}} is an [[unclassified language]] or set of languages spoken in the state of [[Yue (state)|Yue]] during the [[Eastern Zhou]] dynasty. It may also refer broadly to the languages spoken by [[Baiyue|Yue peoples]] in any of the Yue polities in [[Northern and southern China|southern China]] and [[northern Vietnam]] c. 700 BCE – c. 100 BCE.

Knowledge of Yue speech is limited to fragmentary references and possible loanwords in [[Sinitic languages]]. The longest attestation is the ''[[Song of the Yue Boatman]]'', a short song transcribed phonetically in [[Chinese characters]] in 528 BC and included, with a Chinese translation, in the ''[[Garden of Stories]]'' compiled by [[Liu Xiang (scholar)|Liu Xiang]] five centuries later.{{sfn|Zhengzhang|1991|pp= 159–168}} Scholars disagree about which languages the Yue spoke, and draw candidates from the non-Sinitic language families still represented in areas of southern China.

==Classification theories== Candidates for the Old Yue language include [[Kra–Dai languages|Kra–Dai]], [[Hmong–Mien languages|Hmong–Mien]], and [[Austroasiatic languages]].<ref name="DeLancey (2011)">{{cite book |last=DeLancey |first=Scott |date=2011 |chapter=On the Origins of Sinitic |chapter-url= https://www.academia.edu/3894773 |title=Proceedings of the 23rd North American Conference on Chinese Lingusitics |volume=1 |pages=51–64 |doi=10.1075/scld.2.04del |series="Studies in Chinese Language and Discourse" series |isbn=978-90-272-0181-2}}</ref> Chinese, Kra–Dai, Hmong–Mien, and the [[Vietic languages|Vietic]] branch of Austroasiatic have similar tone systems, syllable structure, grammatical features and lack of inflection, but these features are believed to have spread by means of diffusion across the [[Mainland Southeast Asia linguistic area]], rather than indicating common descent.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Enfield |first=N. J. |title=Areal Linguistics and Mainland Southeast Asia |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |volume=34 |date=2005 |pages=181–206 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.34.081804.120406 |url= http://pubman.mpdl.mpg.de/pubman/item/escidoc:57458:2/component/escidoc:57459/Enfield_2005_areal.pdf |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-0013-167B-C |hdl-access=free |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130524220414/http://pubman.mpdl.mpg.de/pubman/item/escidoc:57458:2/component/escidoc:57459/Enfield_2005_areal.pdf |archive-date=2013-05-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=LaPolla |first=Randy J. |author-link=Randy LaPolla |date=2010 |title=Language Contact and Language Change in the History of the Sinitic Languages |journal=Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences |volume=2 |issue=5 |pages=6858–6868|doi=10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.05.036 |doi-access=free }}</ref> *Scholars in China often assume that the Yue spoke an early form of Kra–Dai. According to Sagart (2008), this is far from self-evident, because the core of the Kra–Dai area geographically is located in [[Hainan]] and the China–Vietnam border region, which is beyond the extreme southern end of the Yue area. The linguist Wei Qingwen gave a rendering of the "[[Song of the Yue boatman]]" in [[Standard Zhuang]]. [[Zhengzhang Shangfang]] proposed an interpretation of the song in written [[Thai language|Thai]] (dating from the late 13th century) as the closest available approximation to the original language, but his interpretation remains controversial.{{sfn|Zhengzhang|1991|pp= 159–168}}{{sfn|Sagart|2008|p= 143}} *[[Ilia Peiros|Peiros]] (2011) shows with his analysis that the homeland of Austroasiatic is somewhere near the [[Yangtze]]. He suggests southern Sichuan or slightly west from it, as the likely homeland of proto-Austroasiatic speakers before they migrated to other parts of China and then into Southeast Asia. He further suggests that the family must be as old as proto-Austronesian and proto-Sino-Tibetan or even older.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.jolr.ru/files/(68)jlr2011-6(101-114).pdf |title=Some thoughts on the problem of the Austro-Asiatic homeland |date=2011 |website=JOLR.ru |publisher=Peiros}}</ref> The linguists Sagart (2011) and Bellwood (2013) support the theory of an origin of Austroasiatic along the Yangtze river in southern China.{{cn|date=July 2024}}<!-- verification failed for this reference: <ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Jenny |editor1-first=M. |editor2-last=Sidwell |editor2-first=P. |chapter=Reconstructing Austroasiatic prehistory |date=2015 |title=Handbook of the Austroasiatic Languages |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill |page=1 |quote=Sagart (2011) and Bellwood (2013) favour the middle Yangzi}}</ref> the citation points to an unpublished chapter by Roger Blench, not included in the cited book. should probably locate his sources Sagart 2011 and Bellwood 2013. --> *[[Laurent Sagart|Sagart]] (2008) suggests that the Old Yue language, together with the [[proto-Austronesian language]], was descended from the language or languages of the Tánshíshān‑Xītóu culture complex (modern-day [[Fujian]] province of China), making the Old Yue language a [[sister language]] to proto-Austronesian, which Sagart sees as the origin of the Kra–Dai languages.{{sfn|Sagart|2008|pp= 141-145}}

Behr (2009) also notes that the [[Chu (state)|Chǔ]] dialect of Old Chinese was influenced by several [[Stratum (linguistics)|substrata]], predominantly Kra-Dai, but also possibly Austroasiatic, Austronesian and Hmong-Mien.<ref name="Behr 2009">Behr, Wolfgang (2009). "Dialects, diachrony, diglossia or all three? Tomb text glimpses into the language(s) of Chǔ", ''TTW-3, Zürich, 26.-29.VI.2009, "Genius loci"''.</ref>{{full citation needed|date=June 2024|reason=This needs to be formatted properly into a citation template, with unabbreviated parts; no one but the person who wrote this citation is going to have any idea what most of this jumbled string of characters (other than author, title, date) is trying to convey.}}

=== Kra–Dai arguments === The [[proto-Kra–Dai]] language has been hypothesized to originate in the [[Yangtze|Lower Yangtze valleys]]. Ancient Chinese texts refer to non-Sinitic languages spoken across this substantial region and their speakers as ''"Yue"''. Although those languages are extinct, traces of their existence could be found in unearthed inscriptional materials, ancient Chinese historical texts and non-Han substrata in various Southern Chinese dialects. Thai, one of the [[Tai languages]] and the most-spoken language in the [[Kra–Dai languages|Kra–Dai language family]], has been used extensively in historical-comparative linguistics to identify the origins of language(s) spoken in the ancient region of South China. One of the very few direct records of non-Sinitic speech in pre-Qin and Han times having been preserved so far is the ''"[[Song of the Yue Boatman]]"'' (Yueren Ge 越人歌), which was transcribed phonetically in Chinese characters in 528 BC, and found in the 善说 Shanshuo chapter of the Shuoyuan 说苑 or 'Garden of Persuasions'.

Willeam Meacham (1996) reports that Chinese linguists have shown strong evidence of Tai vestiges in former Yue areas: Lin (1990) found Tai elements in some [[Min Chinese|Min dialects]], Zhenzhang (1990) has proposed Tai etymologies and interpretations for certain place names in the former states of [[Wu (state)|Wu]] and [[Yue (state)|Yue]], and Wei (1982) found similarities in the words, combinations and rhyming scheme between the "Song of the Yue Boatman" and the [[Kam–Tai languages]].<ref name="Meacham">{{cite journal| title = Defining the Hundred Yue| first = William | last = Meacham| journal = Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association | volume = 15 | year = 1996 | pages = 93–100| url = http://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/BIPPA/article/view/11537/10170| doi = 10.7152/bippa.v15i0.11537 | doi-broken-date = 12 July 2025 | url-access = subscription }}</ref>

James R. Chamberlain (2016) proposes that the Kra-Dai language family was formed as early as the 12th century BCE in the middle of the [[Yangtze basin]], coinciding roughly with the establishment of the [[Chu (state)|Chu state]] and the beginning of the [[Zhou dynasty]].<ref name="Chamberlain 2016">{{harvp|Chamberlain|2016}}</ref> Following the southward migrations of [[Kra languages|Kra]] and [[Hlai people|Hlai]] (Rei/Li) peoples around the 8th century BCE, the Yue (Be-Tai people) started to break away and move to the east coast in the present-day [[Zhejiang province]], in the 6th century BCE, forming the state of Yue and conquering the state of Wu shortly thereafter.<ref name="Chamberlain 2016" /> According to Chamberlain, Yue people (Be-Tai) began to migrate southwards along the east coast of China to what are now Guangxi, Guizhou and northern Vietnam, after Yue was conquered by Chu around 333 BCE. There the Yue (Be-Tai) formed the polities [[Âu Việt|Xi Ou]], which became the [[Northern Tai languages|Northern Tai]] and the [[Luo Yue]], which became the Central-Southwestern Tai.<ref name="Chamberlain 2016" /> However, Pittayaporn (2014), after examining layers of Chinese [[loanword]]s in proto-[[Southwestern Tai]] and other historical evidence, proposes that the southwestward migration of southwestern Tai-speaking tribes from the modern Guangxi to the mainland of Southeast Asia must have taken place only sometime between the 8th–10th centuries CE,{{sfn|Pittayaporn|2012|pp= 47-64}} long after 44 CE, when Chinese sources last mentioned Luo Yue in the [[Red River Delta]].{{sfn|Kiernan|2019|p=84}}

<gallery> File:Genesis of Daic languages and their relation with Austronesians.png|Proposed genesis of Daic languages and their relation with Austronesian languages ([[Roger Blench|Blench]], 2018)<ref name="Blench 2018">{{Cite book |last=Blench |first=Roger |url=https://www.academia.edu/37593287 |title=Tai-Kadai and Austronesian Are Related at Multiple Levels and Their Archaeological Interpretation (Draft) |date=2018 |quote=The volume of cognates between Austronesian and Daic, notably in fundamental vocabulary, is such that they must be related. Borrowing can be excluded as an explanation |via=Academia.edu}}</ref> File:Kra-Tai-Migration1.png|Kra-Dai (Tai-Kadai) migration route according to James R. Chamberlain (2016).<ref>{{harvp|Chamberlain|2016|page=67}}</ref> File:Gerner Tai-Kadai migration route.png|Tai-Kadai migration route according to Matthias Gerner's ''Northeast to Southwest Hypothesis''.<ref>{{Cite conference |last=Gerner |first=Matthias |date=2014 |title=Project Discussion: The Austro-Tai Hypothesis. The 14th International Symposium on Chinese Languages and Linguistics (IsCLL-14) |url=http://iscll-14.ling.sinica.edu.tw/files-pdf/Papers/Session4/Gerner.pdf |conference=The 14th International Symposium on Chinese Languages and Linguistics (IsCLL -14) |page=158 |access-date=2021-10-18 |archive-date=2022-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201201811/http://iscll-14.ling.sinica.edu.tw/files-pdf/Papers/Session4/Gerner.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> </gallery>

==== Ancient textual evidence ==== In the early 1980s, Zhuang linguist, Wei Qingwen (韦庆稳), electrified the scholarly community in Guangxi by identifying the language in the ''"[[Song of the Yue Boatman]]"'' as a language ancestral to [[Zhuang language|Zhuang]].{{sfn|Holm|2013|p= 785}} Wei used reconstructed [[Old Chinese]] for the characters and discovered that the resulting vocabulary showed strong resemblance to modern Zhuang.{{sfn|Edmondson|2007|p= 16}} Later, Zhengzhang Shangfang (1991) followed Wei’s insight but used Thai script for comparison, since this orthography dates from the 13th century and preserves archaisms relative to the modern pronunciation.{{sfn|Edmondson|2007|p= 16}}{{sfn|Zhengzhang|1991|pp= 159–168}} Zhengzhang notes that 'evening, night, dark' bears the C tone in Wuming Zhuang ''xam^C2'' and ''ɣam^C2'' 'night'. The item ''raa'' normally means 'we inclusive' but in some places, e.g. Tai Lue and White Tai 'I'.{{sfn|Edmondson|2007|p= 17}} However, Laurent Sagart criticizes Zhengzhang's interpretation as anachronistic, because however archaic that Thai script is, Thai language was only written 2000 years after the song had been recorded; even if the [[Kam-Tai languages|Proto-Kam-Tai]] might have emerged by 6th century BCE, its pronunciation would have been substantially different from Thai.{{sfn|Sagart|2008|p= 143}} The following is a simplified interpretation of the ''"Song of the Yue Boatman"'' by Zhengzhang Shangfang quoted by David Holm (2013) with Thai script and Chinese glosses being omitted:{{sfn|Holm|2013|pp= 784-785}}<ref group=lower-alpha name="Explanation">The upper row represents the original text, the next row the Old Chinese pronunciation, the third a transcription of written Thai, and the fourth line English glosses. Finally, there is Zhengzhang's English translation.</ref>

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|italics3=yes|glossing4=yes |濫 兮 抃 草 濫 |ɦgraams ɦee brons tshuuʔ ɦgraams |glamx ɦee blɤɤn {cɤɤ, cɤʔ} glamx |evening PTCL joyful {to meet} evening |Oh, the fine night, we meet in happiness tonight!}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|italics3=yes|glossing4=yes |予 昌 {枑 澤} 予 昌 州 |la {thjang < khljang} {gaah draag} la thjang {tju < klju} |raa djaangh {kraʔ - ʔdaak} raa djaangh cɛɛu |{we, I} {be apt to} {shy, ashamed} {we, I} {be good at} {to row} |I am so shy, ah! I am good at rowing.}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|italics3=yes|glossing4=yes |州 𩜱 州 焉 乎 秦 {胥 胥} |tju khaamʔ tju jen faak dzin {sai jai} |cɛɛu khaamx cɛɛu jɤɤnh faak djɯɯnh {sai jaiʔ} |{to row} {to cross} {to row} slowly deposit joy {into heart} |Rowing slowly across the river, ah! I am so pleased!}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|italics3=yes|glossing4=yes |縵 予 乎 昭 澶 秦 踰 |moons la haak {tjau < kljau} daans dzin lo |mɔɔm raa haak caux daanh djin ruux |{dirty, ragged} {we, I} if prince {Your Excellency} acquainted know |Dirty though I am, ah! I made acquaintance with your highness the Prince.}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|italics3=yes|glossing4=yes |滲 惿 隨 河 湖 |srɯms {djeʔ < gljeʔ} sɦloi gaai gaa |zumh jaï cua ha huan |{to hide} heart {forever, constantly} {to search} {to yearn}

|Hidden forever in my heart, ah! is my adoration and longing.}}

Some scattered non-Sinitic words found in the two ancient Chinese fictional texts, the ''[[Mu Tianzi Zhuan]]'' ({{lang-zh|穆天子傳}}) (4th c. B.C.) and the ''[[Yuejue shu]]'' ({{lang-zh|越絕書}}) (1st c. A.D.), can be compared to lexical items in Kra-Dai languages. These two texts are only preserved in corrupt versions and share a rather convoluted editorial history. Wolfgang Behr (2002) makes an attempt to identify the origins of those words:

*"吳謂善「伊」, 謂稻道「緩」, 號從中國, 名從主人。"{{sfn|Behr|2002|pp= 1-2}}

“The [[Wu (state)|Wú]] say ''yī'' for ‘good’ and ''huăn'' for ‘way’, i.e. in their titles they follow the central kingdoms, but in their names they follow their own lords.”

伊 ''yī'' < ʔjij < '''*^bq(l)ij''' ← Siamese ''dii^A1'', Longzhou ''dai¹'', Bo'ai ''nii¹'' [[Tai Ya language|Daiya]] ''li¹'', Sipsongpanna ''di¹'', [[Tai Nüa language|Dehong]] ''li⁶'' < [[Proto-Tai language|proto-Tai]] '''*ʔdɛi^A1''' | [[Sui language|Sui]] ''ʔdaai¹'', [[Kam language|Kam]] ''laai¹'', [[Maonan language|Maonan]] ''ʔdaai¹'', [[Mak language|Mak]] ''ʔdaai⁶'' < proto-Kam-Sui/proto-Kam-Tai '''*ʔdaai¹''' 'good' || [[Proto-Malayo-Polynesian language|proto-Malayo-Polynesian]] '''*bait'''

緩 [huăn] < hwanX < '''*^awan''' ← Siamese ''hon^A1'', Bo'ai ''hɔn¹'', Dioi ''thon¹'' < proto-Tai '''*xron^A1'''| [[Sui language|Sui]] ''khwən¹-i'', [[Kam language|Kam]] ''khwən¹'', [[Maonan language|Maonan]] ''khun¹-i'', [[Mulam language|Mulam]] ''khwən¹-i'' < proto-Kam-Sui '''*khwən¹''' 'road, way' | [[Proto-Hlai language|proto-Hlai]] '''*kuun¹''' || [[Proto-Austronesian language|proto-Austronesian]] '''*Zalan''' (Thurgood 1994:353)

*yuè jué shū 越絕書 (The Book of [[Yue (state)|Yuè]] Records), 1st c. A.D.{{sfn|Behr|2002|p= 2}}

絕 ''jué'' < dzjwet < '''*^bdzot''' ← Siamese ''cod^D1'' 'to record, mark' (Zhengzhang Shangfang 1999:8)

*"姑中山者越銅官之山也, 越人謂之銅, 「姑[沽]瀆」。"{{sfn|Behr|2002|p= 2}}

“The Middle mountains of ''Gū'' are the mountains of the Yuè’s bronze office, the [[Yue (state)|Yuè people]] call them ‘Bronze ''gū[gū]dú''.”

「姑[沽]瀆」 gūdú < ku=duwk < '''*^aka'''='''^alok'''

← Siamese ''kʰau^A1'' 'horn', [[Tai Ya language|Daiya]] ''xau⁵'', Sipsongpanna ''xau¹'', Dehong ''xau¹'', [[Tai Lü language|Lü]] ''xău¹'', Dioi ''kaou¹'' 'mountain, hill' < proto-Tai '''*kʰau^A2'''; Siamese ''luuk^D2l'' 'classifier for mountains', Siamese ''kʰau^A1''-''luuk^D2l'' 'mountain' || ''cf.'' [[Old Chinese|OC]] 谷 ''gǔ'' < kuwk << '''*^ak-lok'''/luwk < '''*^akə-lok'''/yowk < '''*^blok''' 'valley'

*"越人謂船爲「須盧」。"{{sfn|Behr|2002|pp= 2-3}}

"... The [[Yue (state)|Yuè people]] call a boat ''xūlú''. (‘beard’ & ‘cottage’)"

須 ''xū'' < sju < '''*^bs(n)o'''

? ← Siamese saʔ 'noun prefix'

盧 ''lú'' < lu < '''*^bra'''

← Siamese ''rɯa^A2'', Longzhou ''lɯɯ²'', Bo'ai ''luu²'', [[Tai Ya language|Daiya]] ''hə²'', [[Tai Nüa language|Dehong]] ''hə²'' 'boat' < proto-Tai '''*drɯ[a,o]''' | [[Sui language|Sui]] ''lwa¹''/''ʔda¹'', [[Kam language|Kam]] ''lo¹''/''lwa¹'', [[Ong Be language|Be]] ''zoa'' < proto-Kam-Sui '''*s-lwa(n)^A1''' 'boat'

*"[劉]賈築吳市西城, 名曰「定錯」城。"{{sfn|Behr|2002|p= 3}}

"[Líu] Jiă (the king of [[Chu (state)|Jīng 荆]]) built the western wall, it was called ''dìngcuò'' ['settle(d)' & 'grindstone'] wall."

定 ''dìng'' < ''dengH'' < '''*^adeng-s'''

← Siamese ''diaaŋ^A1'', Daiya ''tʂhəŋ²'', Sipsongpanna ''tseŋ²'', [[Malay language|Malay]] (Austronesian) ''dindiŋ²'', [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] ''diŋdiŋ²'' ''wall''

錯 ''cuò'' < tshak < '''*^atshak'''

? ← Siamese ''tok^D1s'' 'to set→sunset→west' (''tawan-tok'' 'sun-set' = 'west'); Longzhou ''tuk⁷'', Bo'ai ''tɔk⁷'', [[Tai Ya language|Daiya]] ''tok⁷'', Sipsongpanna ''tok⁷'' < proto-Tai '''*tok^D1s''' ǀ [[Sui language|Sui]] ''tok⁷'', [[Mak language|Mak]] ''tok⁷'', [[Maonan language|Maonan]] ''tɔk'' < proto-Kam-Sui '''*tɔk^D1''', [[Malay language|Malay]] (Austronesian) '''suntuk''' ''running out of time''

==== Substrate in modern Chinese languages ==== Besides a limited number of lexical items left in Chinese historical texts, remnants of language(s) spoken by the ancient Yue can be found in non-Han substrata in Southern Chinese dialects, e.g.: [[Wu Chinese|Wu]], [[Min Chinese|Min]], [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]], [[Yue Chinese|Yue]], etc. Robert Bauer (1987) identifies twenty seven lexical items in [[Yue Chinese|Yue]], [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]] and [[Min Chinese|Min]] varieties, which share [[Kra–Dai languages|Kra–Dai]] roots.<ref name="Bauer">Bauer, Robert S. (1987). 'Kadai loanwords in southern Chinese dialects', Transactions of the International Conference of Orientalists in Japan 32: 95–111.</ref> The following are some examples cited from Bauer (1987):<ref name="Bauer" />

*'''to beat, whip''': [[Cantonese language|Yue-Guangzhou]] ''faak^7a'' ← [[Wuming Zhuang]] ''fa:k⁸'', [[Thai language|Siamese]] ''faat^D2L'', Longzhou ''faat'', Po-ai ''faat''. *'''to beat, pound''': [[Cantonese language|Yue-Guangzhou]] ''tap⁸'' ← [[Thai language|Siamese]] ''thup⁴''/''top²'', Longzhou ''tup^D1'', Po-ai ''tup³''/''tɔp^D1'', Mak/Dong ''tap^D2'', Tai Nuea ''top⁵'', [[Sui language|Sui]]-Lingam ''tjăp^D2'', [[Sui language|Sui]]-Jungchiang ''tjăp^D2'', [[Sui language|Sui]]-Pyo ''tjăp^D2'', [[Then language|T'en]] ''tjap^D2'', White Tai ''tup⁴'', Red Tai ''tup³'', [[Shan language|Shan]] ''thup⁵'', Lao Nong Khai ''thip³'', Lue Moeng Yawng ''tup⁵'', Leiping-Zhuang ''thop⁵''/''top⁴'', [[Nung language (Tai)|Western Nung]] ''tup⁴'', [[Bouyei language|Yay]] ''tup⁵'', [[Saek language|Saek]] ''thap⁶'', Tai Lo ''thup³'', [[Shan language|Tai Maw]] ''thup³'', Tai No ''top⁵'', [[Wuming Zhuang]] ''tup⁸'', [[Hlai languages|Li]]-Jiamao ''tap⁸''. *'''to bite''': [[Cantonese language|Yue-Guangzhou]] ''khap⁸'' ← [[Thai language|Siamese]] ''khop²'', Longzhou ''khoop⁵'', Po-ai ''hap³'', [[Ahom language|Ahom]] ''khup'', Shan ''khop⁴'', [[Tai Lü language|Lü]] ''khop'', White Tai ''khop²'', Nung ''khôp'', Hsi-lin ''hap^D2S'', Wuming-Zhuang ''hap⁸'', T'ien-pao ''hap'', Black Tai ''khop²'', Red Tai ''khop³'', Lao Nong Khai ''khop¹'', [[Nung language (Tai)|Western Nung]] ''khap⁶'', etc. *'''to burn''': [[Cantonese language|Yue-Guangzhou]] ''naat^7a'', [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]] ''nat⁸'' ← [[Wuming Zhuang]] ''na:t⁸'', Po-ai ''naat^D1L'' "hot". *'''child''': [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Chaozhou ''noŋ¹'' ''kiā³'' "child", [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Suixi ''nuŋ³ kia³'', Mandarin-Chengdu ''nɑŋ¹ pɑ¹ kər¹'' "youngest sibling", [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Fuzhou ''nauŋ⁶'' "young, immature" ← [[Thai language|Siamese]] ''nɔɔŋ⁴'', Tai Lo ''lɔŋ³'', [[Shan language|Tai Maw]] ''nɔŋ³'', Tai No ''nɔŋ³'' "younger sibling", [[Wuming Zhuang]] ''tak⁸ nu:ŋ⁴'', Longzhou ''no:ŋ⁴ ba:u⁵'', Buyi ''nuaŋ⁴'', Dai-Xishuangbanna ''nɔŋ⁴ tsa:i²'', Dai-Dehong ''lɔŋ⁴ tsa:i²'', etc. *'''correct, precisely, just now''': Yue-Guangzhou ''ŋaam¹'' "correct", ''ŋaam¹ ŋaam¹'' "just now", Hakka-Meixian ''ŋam⁵ ŋam⁵'' "precisely", Hakka-Youding ''ŋaŋ¹ ŋaŋ¹'' "just right", [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Suixi ''ŋam¹'' "fit", [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Chaozhou ''ŋam¹'', [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Hainan ''ŋam¹ ŋam¹'' "good" ← [[Wuming Zhuang]] ''ŋa:m¹'' "proper" / ''ŋa:m³'' "precisely, appropriate" / ''ŋa:m⁵'' "exactly", Longzhou ''ŋa:m⁵ vəi⁶''. *'''to cover''' (1): [[Cantonese language|Yue-Guangzhou]] ''hom⁶''/''ham⁶'' ← [[Thai language|Siamese]] ''hom²'', Longzhou ''hum⁵'', Po-ai ''hɔm^B1'', Lao ''hom'', Ahom ''hum'', Shan ''hom²'', Lü ''hum'', White Tai ''hum²'', Black Tai ''hoom²'', Red Tai ''hom³'', [[Nung language (Tai)|Nung]] ''hôm'', [[Tày language|Tay]] ''hôm'', [[Tày language|Tho]] ''hoom'', T'ien-pao ''ham'', Dioi ''hom'', Hsi-lin ''hɔm'', T'ien-chow ''hɔm'', Lao Nong Khai ''hom³'', [[Nung language (Tai)|Western Nung]] ''ham²'', etc. *'''to cover''' (2): [[Cantonese language|Yue-Guangzhou]] ''khap⁷'', Yue-Yangjiang ''kap^7a'', [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]]-Meixian ''khɛp⁷'', [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Xiamen ''kaˀ⁷'', [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Quanzhou ''kaˀ⁷'', [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Zhangzhou ''kaˀ⁷'' "to cover" ← Wuming-Zhuang ''kop⁸'' "to cover", Li-Jiamao ''khɔp⁷'', Li-Baocheng ''khɔp⁷'', Li-Qiandui ''khop⁹'', Li-Tongshi ''khop⁷'' "to cover". *'''to lash, whip, thrash''': [[Cantonese language|Yue-Guangzhou]] ''fit⁷'' ← [[Wuming Zhuang]] ''fit⁸'', Li-Baoding ''fi:t⁷''. *'''monkey''': [[Cantonese language|Yue-Guangzhou]] ''ma⁴ lau¹'' ← [[Wuming Zhuang]] ''ma⁴'' ''lau²'', Mulao ''mə⁶ lau²''. *'''to slip off, fall off, lose''': Yue-Guangzhou ''lat⁷'', [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]] ''lut⁷'', [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]]-Yongding ''lut⁷'', [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Dongshandao ''lut⁷'', [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Suixi ''lak⁸'', [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Chaozhou ''luk⁷'' ← Siamese ''lut^D1S'', Longzhou ''luut'', Po-ai ''loot'', Wiming-Zhuang ''lo:t⁷''. *'''to stamp foot, trample''': [[Cantonese language|Yue-Guangzhou]] ''tam⁶'', [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]] ''tem⁵'' ← [[Wuming Zhuang]] ''tam⁶'', Po-ai ''tam^B2'', Lao ''tham'', [[Tai Lü language|Lü]] ''tam'', [[Nung language (Tai)|Nung]] ''tam''. *'''stupid''': [[Cantonese language|Yue-Guangzhou]] ''ŋɔŋ⁶'', Hakka-Meixian ''ŋɔŋ⁵'', Hakka-Yongfing ''ŋɔŋ⁵'', [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Dongshandao ''goŋ⁶'', [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Suixi ''ŋɔŋ¹'', [[Min Chinese|Min]]-Fuzhou ''ŋouŋ⁶'' ← [[Ong Be language|Be]]-Lingao ''ŋən²'', [[Wuming Zhuang]] ''ŋu:ŋ⁶'', [[Hlai languages|Li]]-Baoding ''ŋaŋ²'', [[Hlai languages|Li]]-Zhongsha ''ŋaŋ²'', [[Hlai languages|Li]]-Xifan ''ŋaŋ²'', [[Hlai languages|Li]]-Yuanmen ''ŋaŋ⁴'', [[Hlai languages|Li]]-Qiaodui ''ŋaŋ⁴'', [[Hlai languages|Li]]-Tongshi ''ŋaŋ⁴'', Li-Baocheng ''ŋa:ŋ²'', Li-Jiamao ''ŋa:ŋ²''. *'''to tear, pinch, peel, nip''': [[Cantonese language|Yue-Guangzhou]] ''mit⁷'' "tear, break off, pinch, peel off with finger", [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]] ''met⁷'' "pluck, pull out, peel" ← Be-Lingao ''mit⁵'' "rip, tear", Longzhou ''bit^D1S'', Po-ai ''mit'', Nung ''bêt'', Tay ''bit'' "pick, pluck, nip off", [[Wuming Zhuang]] ''bit⁷'' "tear off, twist, peel, pinch, squeeze, press", Li-Tongshi ''mi:t⁷'', Li-Baoding ''mi:t⁷'' "pinch, squeeze, press".

===== Substrate in Cantonese ===== Yue-Hashimoto describes the [[Yue Chinese]] languages spoken in [[Guangdong]] as having a Tai influence.<ref>{{citation| given = Anne Oi-Kan | surname = Yue-Hashimoto| title = Studies in Yue Dialects 1: Phonology of Cantonese| publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1972 |isbn = 978-0-521-08442-0|page=6}}</ref> Robert Bauer (1996) points out twenty nine possible cognates between Cantonese spoken in [[Guangzhou]] and [[Kra–Dai languages|Kra–Dai]], of which seven cognates are confirmed to originate from [[Kra–Dai languages|Kra–Dai]] sources:{{sfnp|Bauer|1996|pp=1835-1836}}

* [[Cantonese]] ''kɐj¹'' ''hɔ:ŋ²'' ← [[Wuming Zhuang]] ''kai⁵'' ''ha:ŋ⁶'' "young chicken which has not laid eggs"{{sfnp|Bauer|1996|pp=1822-1823}} * [[Cantonese]] ''ja:ŋ⁵'' ← [[Thai language|Siamese]] ''jâ:ŋ'' "to step on, tread"{{sfnp|Bauer|1996|p=1823}} * [[Cantonese]] ''kɐm⁶'' ← [[Wuming Zhuang]] ''kam⁶'', [[Thai language|Siamese]] ''kʰòm'', [[Ong Be language|Be-Lingao]] ''xɔm⁴'' "to press down or suppress"{{sfnp|Bauer|1996|p=1826}} * [[Cantonese]] ''kɐp^7b'' ''na:³''<ref group=lower-alpha name="na:">The second syllable '''na:³''' may correspond to Tai morpheme for 'field'.</ref> ← [[Wuming Zhuang]] ''kop⁷'', [[Thai language|Siamese]] ''kòp'' "frog"{{sfnp|Bauer|1996|p=1827}} * [[Cantonese]] ''khɐp⁸'' ← [[Thai language|Siamese]] ''kʰòp'' "to bite"{{sfnp|Bauer|1996|p=1827}} * [[Cantonese]] ''lɐm⁵'' ← [[Thai language|Siamese]] ''lóm'', [[Maonan language|Maonan]] ''lam⁵'' "to collapse, to topple, to fall down (building)"{{sfnp|Bauer|1996|pp=1828-1829}} * [[Cantonese]] ''tɐm⁵'' ← [[Wuming Zhuang]] ''tam⁵'', [[Thai language|Siamese]] ''tàm'' "to hang down, be low"{{sfnp|Bauer|1996|p=1834}}

===== Substrate in Wu Chinese ===== Li Hui (2001) finds 126 Kra-Dai cognates in [[Minhang District|Maqiao]] [[Wu Chinese|Wu dialect]] spoken in the suburbs of [[Shanghai]] out of more than a thousand lexical items surveyed.{{sfn|Li|2001|p= 15}} According to the author, these cognates are likely traces of the Old Yue language.{{sfn|Li|2001|p= 15}} The two tables below show lexical comparisons between Maqiao Wu dialect and Kra-Dai languages quoted from Li Hui (2001). He notes that, in Wu dialect, final consonants such as -m, -ɯ, -i, ụ, etc don't exist, and therefore, -m in Maqiao dialect tends to become -ŋ or -n, or it's simply absent, and in some cases -m even becomes final glottal stop.{{sfn|Li|2001|p= 19}}

{| |- | {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" !style="background-color:#CECEF2" |Kra-Dai !style="background-color:#CECEF2" |Maqiao Wu<br>dialect !style="background-color:#CECEF2" |Gloss |- |align=center colspan=3|-m , -n become -ŋ |- |align=center |tam³³ <br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || təŋ³⁵⁴ ||step 跺 |- |align=center |fa:n³¹ <br>([[Sui language|Sui]]) || fəŋ⁵⁵ du⁵³ ||snore/to snore 鼾 |- |align=center |ɕam²¹ <br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || pəʔ³³ ɕhaŋ⁴³⁵ ||to have fun (游) 玩 |- |align=center colspan=3|final consonant/vowel missing |- |align=center |va:n³¹li⁵⁵ <br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || ɑ:³¹ li³³ ||still, yet 尚；还 |- |align=center |tsai⁵⁵ <br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || tsɔ:⁴³⁵ || to plow 犁(地) |- |align=center |thaŋ⁵⁵ <br>(Dai) || dᴇ³⁵⁴ || hole/pit 坑 |- |align=center |hai²¹ <br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || hɑ⁵³ ||filth 污垢 |- |align=center |za:n¹¹ <br>([[Bouyei language|Bouyei]]) || ɕhy⁵⁵ zᴇ⁵³ ||building/room 房子 |- |align=center |kăi¹³ <br>(Dai) || kᴇ⁴³⁵ ||to draw close to 靠拢 |- |align=center |fɤŋ¹³ <br>(Dai) || fɛ⁴³⁵ ||to sway/to swing 摆动 |- |align=center |ɕa:ŋ³³ <br>([[Bouyei language|Bouyei]]) || ɕhɑ⁵⁵ tsɑ⁵³ ||capable/competent 能干 |- |align=center |tjeu⁴⁴ <br>([[Maonan language|Maonan]]) || thɛ⁴³⁵ ||to crawl 爬 |- |align=center colspan=3|becoming final glottal stop -ʔ |- |align=center |loŋ²¹ <br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || lɔʔ³³ ||below/down 下(雨) |- |align=center |kem⁵⁵ <br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || tɕiʔ³³ ku⁵³ ||cheek 腮 |- |align=center |kam³³ <br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || kheʔ⁵⁵ ||to press 按 |- |align=center |kau³³ son²¹³ <br>([[Ong Be language|Lingao]]) || khəʔ⁵⁵ tɕoŋ⁵⁵ ||to doze/to nap 瞌睡 |- |align=center |tɯ¹¹ <br>([[Bouyei language|Bouyei]]) || ʔdəʔ⁵⁵ ||end/extremity 端 |- |align=center |ka:u¹¹ <br>([[Bouyei language|Bouyei]]) || kuaʔ⁵⁵ ||to split/to crack 裂 |- |align=center |peu⁵⁵ <br>([[Sui language|Sui]]) || pəʔ³³ ɕaŋ⁴³⁵ ||to have fun(游)玩 |} | {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" |- !style="background-color:#CECEF2" |Kra-Dai !style="background-color:#CECEF2" |Maqiao Wu<br>dialect !style="background-color:#CECEF2" |Gloss |- |align=center colspan=3|-m , -n become -ŋ |- |align=center |kam¹¹<br>(Dai) || kaŋ³⁵⁴ ||to prop up/to brace 撑住 |- |align=center |tsam¹³<br>([[Sui language|Sui]]) || tshoŋ⁵³ ||to bow the head 低头 |- |align=center colspan=3|final consonant/vowel missing |- |align=center |ve:n⁵⁵<br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || ve:⁵⁵ ||to hang/to suspend 悬挂；吊 |- |align=center |lɒi⁵⁵<br>(Dai) || lu³⁵⁴ ||mountain/hill 山(地名用) |- |align=center |xun—⁵⁵ (Dai)<br>ha:k⁵⁵ ([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || xɔ⁵⁵ lɔ⁵³ ||government official/official 官 |- |align=center |məu⁵³<br>([[Dong language (China)|Dong]]) || nɑ⁵⁵ mo⁵³ ||tadpole 蝌蚪 |- |align=center |pai²¹<br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || pɛ⁴³⁵ fu⁵³ ||classifier for times 趟；次 |- |align=center |la:m³³<br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || lɛ⁴³⁵ ||to tie up 拴(牛) |- |align=center |tsam³³<br>([[Sui language|Sui]]) || tsɿ⁵⁵ ||to bow the head 低头 |- |align=center |(ɣa:i⁴²) ɕa:i⁴²<br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || ɕɑ:³⁵⁴ || very, quite, much 很 |- |align=center colspan=3|becoming final glottal stop -ʔ |- |align=center |sa:ŋ³³ səu⁵³<br>([[Dong language (China)|Dong]]) || seʔ³³ zo⁵⁵ ɦɯ¹¹ ||wizard/magician 巫师 |- |align=center |tɕe³¹<br>([[Bouyei language|Bouyei]]) || tɕiʔ⁵⁵ ɕhiŋ⁵⁵ || market/bazaar 集市 |- |align=center |pleu⁵⁵<br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || pəʔ³³ ||to move 搬 |- |align=center |wen⁵⁵<br>([[Dong language (China)|Dong]]) || veʔ³³ || to pour 倒(水) |- |align=center |thăi⁵⁵<br>(Dai) || theʔ⁵⁵ ||to weed 耘 |- |align=center |ta⁵⁵ jɯ⁵⁵<br>(Dai) || teʔ⁵⁵ ||to narrow one's eyes 眯 |- |align=center |lom²⁴<br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || lɔʔ³³ nɒn³⁵ ||pitfall/to sink 陷 |- |align=center |ɣa:i⁴² (ɕa:i⁴²)<br>([[Zhuang language|Zhuang]]) || ʔɔʔ⁵⁵ ||very/quite/much 很 |- |align=center |tom¹³ <br>(Dai) || thoʔ⁵⁵ ||to cook/to boil 煮(肉) |} |}

=== Austroasiatic arguments === [[Jerry Norman (sinologist)|Jerry Norman]] and [[Mei Tsu-lin]] presented evidence that at least some Yue spoke an [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic language]]:<ref name="Norman&Mei">{{cite journal |title = The Austroasiatics in Ancient South China: Some Lexical Evidence |first1 = Jerry |last1 = Norman |author-link1 = Jerry Norman (sinologist) |first2 = Tsu-lin |last2 = Mei |journal = Monumenta Serica |year = 1976 |volume = 32 |pages = 274–301 |url = http://tlmei.com/tm17web/1976a_austroasiatics.pdf |jstor = 40726203 |doi = 10.1080/02549948.1976.11731121 |archive-date = 2022-06-09 |access-date = 2021-10-03 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220609221202/http://tlmei.com/tm17web/1976a_austroasiatics.pdf |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title = Chinese |first = Jerry |last = Norman |author-link=Jerry Norman (sinologist) | year = 1988 |publisher = Cambridge University Press |isbn = 978-0-521-29653-3 |pages = 17–19 }}</ref><ref name=Loewe>{{cite book |title = The Cambridge history of ancient China: from the origins of civilization to 221 B.C. |editor1-first = Michael |editor1-last = Loewe |editor2-first = Edward L. |editor2-last = Shaughnessy |chapter = Language and Writing |pages = 74–123 |first = William G. |last = Boltz |publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1999 | isbn = 978-0-521-47030-8 |title-link = The Cambridge History of Ancient China }}</ref> * A well-known loanword into Sino-Tibetan<ref>[http://stedt.berkeley.edu/~stedt-cgi/rootcanal.pl/etymon/5560 Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus]</ref> is '''k-la''' for [[tiger]] ([[Hanzi]]: 虎; Old Chinese (ZS): ''*qʰlaːʔ'' > Mandarin pinyin: ''hǔ'', Sino-Vietnamese ''hổ'') from [[Proto-Austroasiatic]] *'''kalaʔ''' (compare Vietic ''*k-haːlʔ'' > ''kʰaːlʔ'' > Vietnamese ''khái'' and Muong ''khảl''). * The early Chinese name for the Yangtze ({{zh|c={{linktext|江}}|p=jiāng}}; EMC: ''kœ:ŋ''; OC: *''kroŋ''; Cantonese: "kong") was later extended to a general word for "river" in south China. Norman and Mei suggest that the word is cognate with Vietnamese ''sông'' (from *''krong'') and Mon ''kruŋ'' "river".

They also provide evidence of an Austroasiatic [[Stratum (linguistics)|substrate]] in the vocabulary of [[Min Chinese]].<ref name="Norman&Mei"/><ref>{{harvp|Norman|1988|pp=18–19, 231}}</ref> For example: * *-dəŋ^A "shaman" may be compared with [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] ''đồng'' (/ɗoŋ²/) "to shamanize, to communicate with spirits" and [[Mon language|Mon]] doŋ "to dance (as if) under demonic possession".{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=18–19}}{{sfnp|Norman|Mei|1976|pp=296–297}} * *kiɑn^B 囝 "son" appears to be related to Vietnamese ''con'' (/kɔn/) and Mon kon "child".{{sfnp|Norman|1981|p=63}}{{sfnp|Norman|Mei|1976|pp=297–298}}

Norman and Mei's hypothesis has been criticized by [[Laurent Sagart]], who demonstrates that many of the supposed loan words can be better explained as archaic Chinese words, or even loans from Austronesian languages; he also argues that the Vietic cradle must be located farther south in current north Vietnam.{{sfn|Sagart|2008|pp= 141-145}}{{sfn|Sagart|2008|p=165-190}} *Norman & Mei also compares Min verb "to know, to recognize" {{linktext|捌}} ([[Proto-Min language|Proto-Min]] ''*pat''; whence [[Fuzhou dialect|Fuzhou]] {{IPA|/paiʔ˨˦/}} & [[Amoy dialect|Amoy]] {{IPA|/pat̚˧˨/}}) to Vietnamese ''biết'', also meaning "to know, to recognize". However, Sagart contends that the Min & Vietnamese sense "to know, to recognize" is semantically extended from well-attested Chinese verb {{linktext|別}} "to distinguish, discriminate, differentiate" ((Mandarin: ''bié''; MC: {{IPA|/bˠiɛt̚/}}; OC: ''*bred'');{{sfn|Sagart|2008|p=142}} thus Sagart considers Vietnamese ''biết'' as a loanword from Chinese. *According to the ''[[Shuowen Jiezi]]'' (100 AD), "In Nanyue, the word for dog is ({{zh|c=撓獀|p=náosōu}}; EMC: ''nuw-ʂuw'')", possibly related to other Austroasiatic terms. ''Sōu'' is "hunt" in modern Chinese. However, in ''[[Shuowen Jiezi]]'', the word for dog is also recorded as 獶獀 with its most probable pronunciation around 100 CE must have been ''*ou-sou'', which resembles proto-Austronesian '''*asu''', '''*u‑asu''' 'dog' than it resembles the palatal‑initialed Austroasiatic monosyllable Vietnamese ''chó'', Old Mon ''clüw'', etc.{{sfn|Sagart|2008|p= 143}} * [[Zheng Xuan]] (127–200 AD) wrote that {{linktext|扎}} (Middle Chinese: {{IPA|/t͡ʃˠat̚/}}, modern Mandarin Chinese ''zā'', modern Sino-Vietnamese: "trát") was the word used by the [[Yue people]] (越人) to mean "die". Norman and Mei reconstruct this word as OC *''tsət'' and relate it to Austroasiatic words with the same meaning, such as Vietnamese ''chết'' and Mon ''chɒt''. However, Laurent Sagart points out that {{linktext|扎}} is a well‑attested Chinese word also meaning "to die", which is overlooked by Norman and Mei.{{sfn|Sagart|2008|p=142}} That this word occurred in the Old Yue language in Han times could be because the Old Yue language borrowed it from Chinese.{{sfn|Sagart|2008|p=142}} Therefore, the resemblance of this Chinese word to an Austroasiatic word is probably accidental.{{sfn|Sagart|2008|p=142}} * According to Sagart, the resemblance between the Min word *-dəŋ^A "shaman" or "spirit healer" and the Vietnamese term ''đồng'' is undoubtedly by chance.{{sfn|Sagart|2008|p=142}}

Moreover, Chamberlain (1998) posits that the Austroasiatic predecessor of the modern Vietnamese language originated in modern-day [[Bolikhamsai Province]] and [[Khammouane Province]] in [[Laos]] as well as parts of [[Nghệ An Province]] and [[Quảng Bình Province]] in [[Vietnam]], rather than in the region north of the [[Red River Delta]].<ref name="Chamberlain">Chamberlain, J.R. 1998, "[http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/chamberlain1998origin.pdf The origin of Sek: implications for Tai and Vietnamese history]", in The International Conference on Tai Studies, ed. S. Burusphat, Bangkok, Thailand, pp. 97-128. Institute of Language and Culture for Rural Development, Mahidol University.</ref> However, Ferlus (2009) showed that the inventions of pestle, oar and a pan to cook sticky rice, which is the main characteristic of the [[Đông Sơn culture]], correspond to the creation of new lexicons for these inventions in Northern Vietic (Việt–Mường) and Central Vietic ([[Cuoi language|Cuoi-Toum]]).<ref name="Ferlus 2009">{{cite journal|last1=Ferlus|first1=Michael|title=A Layer of Dongsonian Vocabulary in Vietnamese|journal=Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society|date=2009|volume=1|pages=95–108|url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/file/index/docid/991634/filename/Ferlus2009_Dongsonian_JSEALS.pdf}}</ref> The new vocabularies of these inventions were proven to be derivatives from original verbs rather than borrowed lexical items. The current distribution of Northern Vietic also correspond to the area of Đông Sơn culture. Thus, Ferlus concludes that the Northern Vietic (Viet-Muong) speakers are the "most direct heirs" of the Dongsonians, who have resided in Southern part of Red River Delta and North Central Vietnam since the 1st millennium BC.<ref name="Ferlus 2009" /> In addition, archaeogenetics demonstrated that before the Dong Son period, the Red River Delta's inhabitants were predominantly Austroasiatic: genetic data from [[Phùng Nguyên culture]]'s burial site (dated to 1,800 BCE) at [[Mán Bạc]] (in present-day [[Ninh Bình Province]], [[Vietnam]]) have close proximity to modern Austroasiatic speakers, while "mixed genetics" from Đông Sơn culture's Núi Nấp site showed affinity to "Dai from China, Tai-Kadai speakers from Thailand, and Austroasiatic speakers from Vietnam, including the Kinh"; these results indicated that significant contact happened between Tai speakers and Vietic speakers.{{sfn|Alves|2019|p=7}}

Ye (2014) identified a few Austroasiatic loanwords in Ancient Chu dialect of Old Chinese.<ref name="Ye 2014">Ye, Xiaofeng ({{lang|zh|叶晓锋}}) (2014). [http://acad.cssn.cn/zt/zt_xkzt/zt_wxzt/bw7/nyxs/201507/W020150728818382888024.pdf {{lang|zh|上古楚语中的南亚语成分}}] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114031908/http://acad.cssn.cn/zt/zt_xkzt/zt_wxzt/bw7/nyxs/201507/W020150728818382888024.pdf |date=2021-01-14 }} (Austroasiatic elements in ancient Chu dialect). {{lang|zh|《民族语文》}}. 3: 28-36.</ref>

==Writing system== There is no known evidence of a writing system among the Yue peoples of the [[Lingnan]] region in pre-Qin times, and the Chinese conquest of the region is believed to have introduced writing to the area. However, Liang Tingwang, a professor from the [[Central University of Nationalities]], said that the ancient Zhuang had their own proto-writing system but had to give it up because of the [[Qin Shi Huang|Qinshi Emperor]]'s tough policy and to adopt the [[Chinese characters|Han Chinese writing system]], which ultimately developed into the [[Sawndip|old Zhuang demotic script]] alongside the classical Chinese writing system, during the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907).<ref name="BoHuang">Huang, Bo (2017). [https://books.google.com/books?id=c-lGDgAAQBAJ&pg=RA2-PA162 ''Comprehensive Geographic Information Systems''], Elsevier, p. 162.</ref>

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==Sources== {{refbegin}} * {{Cite conference |last=Alves |first=Mark |date=May 2019 |title=Data from Multiple Disciplines Connecting Vietic with the Dong Son Culture |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333720204 |conference=Contact Zones and Colonialism in Southeast Asia and China's South (~221 BCE - 1700 CE) |location=Pennsylvania State University |format=PPTX |doi=10.13140/RG.2.2.32110.05446}} * {{cite book |surname1=Bauer |given1=Robert S. |title=Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on Languages and Linguistics, Pan-Asiatic Linguistics V: 1 806- 1 844 |location=Bangkok |publisher=Institute of Language and Culture for Rural Development, Mahidol University at Salaya |year=1996 |chapter=Identifying the Tai substratum in Cantonese |chapter-url=http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/bauer1996identifying.pdf}} * {{cite journal |last=Behr |first=Wolfgang |year=2002 |title=Stray loanword gleanings from two Ancient Chinese fictional texts |url=https://www.academia.edu/1693935 |journal=16e Journées de Linguistique d'Asie Orientale, Centre de Recherches Linguistiques Sur l'Asie Orientale (E.H.E.S.S.), Paris |pages=1–6}} * {{cite book |surname1=Sagart |given1=Laurent |title=Past human migrations in East Asia: matching archaeology, linguistics and genetics |pages=133–157 |year=2008 |editor-last1=Sanchez-Mazas |editor-first1=Alicia |editor-last2=Blench |editor-first2=Roger |editor-last3=Ross |editor-first3=Malcolm D. |editor-last4=Ilia |editor-first4=Peiros |editor-last5=Lin |editor-first5=Marie |chapter=The expansion of Setaria farmers in East Asia |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/3077307 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-39923-4 |quote=In conclusion, there is no convincing evidence, linguistic or other, of an early Austroasiatic presence on the southeast China coast.}} * {{Cite journal |last=Chamberlain |first=James R. |date=2016 |title=Kra-Dai and the Proto-History of South China and Vietnam |url=https://so06.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/pub_jss/article/view/158051 |journal=Journal of the Siam Society |language=en |volume=104 |pages=27–77}} * {{cite journal |last=Li |first=Hui |year=2001 |title=Daic Background Vocabulary in Shanghai Maqiao Dialect |url=http://loca.fudan.edu.cn/lh/Doc/D02.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Proceedings for Conference of Minority Cultures in Hainan and Taiwan, Haikou: Research Society for Chinese National History |pages=15–26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327144856/http://loca.fudan.edu.cn/lh/Doc/D02.pdf |archive-date=2018-03-27 |access-date=2021-10-03}} * {{cite journal |last=Edmondson |first=Jerold A. |year=2007 |title=The power of language over the past: Tai settlement and Tai linguistics in southern China and northern Vietnam |url=http://www.uta.edu/faculty/jerry/pol.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Studies in Southeast Asian Languages and Linguistics, Jimmy G. Harris, Somsonge Burusphat and James E. Harris, ed. Bangkok, Thailand: Ek Phim Thai Co. LTD. |pages=1–25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101150947/http://www.uta.edu/faculty/jerry/pol.pdf |archive-date=2014-01-01 |access-date=2021-10-03}} * {{cite book |last=Holm |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fblyTyd9PlsC&q=Mapping%20the%20Old%20Zhuang%20Character%20Script%3A%20A%20Vernacular%20Writing%20System%20from&pg=PA785 |title=Mapping the Old Zhuang Character Script: A Vernacular Writing System from Southern China |publisher=BRILL |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-004-22369-1}} * {{cite book |last=Kiernan |first=Ben |title=Việt Nam: a history from earliest time to the present |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-190-05379-6}} * {{Cite journal |last=Pittayaporn |first=Pittayawat |date=2014 |title=Layers of Chinese Loanwords in Protosouthwestern Tai as Evidence for the Dating of the Spread of Southwestern Tai |url=http://www.manusya.journals.chula.ac.th/files/essay/Pittayawat%2047-68.pdf |journal=MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities |volume=Special Issue No. 20 |issue=3 |pages=47–68 |doi=10.1163/26659077-01703004 |doi-access=free}} * {{cite journal |last=Zhengzhang |first=Shangfang |year=1991 |title=Decipherment of Yue-Ren-Ge (Song of the Yue boatman) |url=http://www.persee.fr/doc/clao_0153-3320_1991_num_20_2_1345 |journal=Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=159–168 |doi=10.3406/clao.1991.1345}} {{refend}}

==Further reading== {{refbegin}} *[[Zhengzhang Shangfang]] 1999. "An Interpretation of the Old Yue Language Written in [[Goujian|Goujiàn]]'s ''Wéijiă lìng''" [句践"维甲"令中之古越语的解读]. In ''Minzu Yuwen'' '''4''', pp.&nbsp;1–14. *[[Zhengzhang Shangfang]] 1998. "Gu Yueyu" 古越語 [The old Yue language]. In Dong Chuping 董楚平 et al. Wu Yue wenhua zhi 吳越文化誌 [Record of the cultures of Wu and Yue]. Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 1998, vol. 1, pp.&nbsp;253–281. *[[Zhengzhang Shangfang]] 1990. "Some Kam-Tai Words in Place Names of the Ancient Wu and Yue States" [古吴越地名中的侗台语成份]. In ''Minzu Yuwen'' '''6'''. {{refend}}

{{languages of China}}

[[Category:Unclassified languages of Asia]] [[Category:Extinct languages of Asia]] [[Category:Yue (state)]] [[Category:Baiyue]] [[Category:Ancient languages]]