Pearic languages

Pearic
Chongic
Geographic
distribution		Indochina
Linguistic classificationAustroasiatic
  • Pearic
Proto-languageProto-Pearic
Subdivisions
Language codes
Glottologpear1246

  Pearic

The Pearic languages (alternatively called the Chongic languages) are a group of endangered languages of the Eastern Mon–Khmer branch of the Austroasiatic language family, spoken by Pear people (the Por, the Samré, the Samray, the Suoy, and the Chong) living in western Cambodia and eastern Thailand.

Pearic languages are remnants of the aboriginal languages of much of Cambodia, but have dwindled in numbers due to assimilation. "Pear" is a pejorative term meaning 'slave' or 'caste'.

Classification

Paul Sidwell proposed the following classification of the Pearic languages in Sidwell (2009:137), synthesizing analyses from Headley (1985), Choosri (2002), Martin (1974), and Peiros (2004) He divides Pearic into two primary branches (Pear and Chong), with Chong being further divided into four groups.

Pearic lexical innovations include 'fish', 'moon', 'water leech', 'chicken', and 'fire'.

Reconstruction

Headley (1985)

The Proto-Pearic language, the reconstructed ancestor of the Pearic languages, has been reconstructed by Robert Headley (1985). The 149 Proto-Pearic forms below are from Headley (1985).

  • *peːm 'angry'
  • *pe(ː)ʔ 'three'
  • *taːɲ 'to weave'
  • *kam 'arrow'
  • *keːv 'to call'
  • *caː 'to eat'
  • *ciʔ 'louse'
  • *ʔic 'excrement'
  • *ʔan 'here'
  • *Pa(ː)ŋ 'flower'
  • *Poːt 'to cut, hack'
  • *Tɔːŋ 'to fear'
  • *Teːv 'right (dexter)'
  • *Cak 'to hunt'
  • *Ceːv 'to go'
  • *Kaːŋ 'month'
  • *Kɔːj 'long(time)'
  • *Kic 'small'
  • *buːl 'drunk'
  • *beːt(?) 'knife'
  • *baːŋ 'morning'
  • *dɔːn 'must'
  • *deːv 'to buy'
  • *daːk 'water'
  • *ɟuːm 'vine'
  • *ɟeːv 'soup'
  • *ɟɔːr 'sap'
  • *graːɲ 'alcohol'
  • *gɨl 'to sit'
  • *guːm 'to winnow'
  • *suk 'hair'
  • *saŋ 'to hear'
  • *sɔːŋ 'to dance'
  • *huːm 'to bathe'
  • *hɔː 'not'
  • *h(ɨː)r 'to fly'
  • *hjɔk 'breast'
  • *hmɔːk 'bat'
  • *hmaːr 'field'
  • *hnoːk 'to stretch oneself'
  • *hŋɔːn 'thatch'
  • *hrɔːk 'to hide'
  • *hlɔːŋ 'banana'
  • *hluk 'salt'
  • *v(ɛː)ŋ 'raw, uncooked'
  • *rəvaːj 'tiger'
  • *jaːv 'scorpion'
  • *j(i)p 'to come'
  • *m(a)t 'eye'
  • *nɔːŋ 'mountain'
  • *nɨm 'year'
  • *ŋ(əː)r 'red'
  • *reːs 'root'
  • *rɔːj 'fly'
  • *raːj 'ten'
  • *loːm 'to ask'
  • *laːc 'lightning'
  • *_liɲ 'elder sibling'
  • *Pac 'to break'
  • *hoːc 'dead'
  • *hoːc 'dead'
  • *pah 'to slap'
  • *c(u)h 'to spit'
  • *tak 'broken apart'
  • *lɨk 'bran'
  • *-haːm 'blood'
  • *tɨm 'to cook'
  • *k(eː)n 'child'
  • *kɨn 'female'
  • *hlɨŋ 'deep'
  • *ɟiɲ 'foot'
  • *ʔɔːɲ 'to keep, put'
  • *Təp 'to bury'
  • *h(ɔː)p 'to eat'
  • *veːt 'blue'
  • *klaːv 'skink'
  • *knaːj 'elephant'
  • *Tɔːj 'before'
  • *sɨl 'sharp-edged'
  • *taːl 'to stand'
  • *coːl 'to plant'
  • *meːl 'fish'
  • *Peːr 'water leech'
  • *Keːr 'to bark'
  • *h(oː)r 'to blow'
  • *Ceːs 'kind of deer'
  • *loːs 'kind of deer'
  • *coːs 'hundred'
  • *cɨs 'old'
  • *pa(ː)s 'tail'
  • *c(ɔ)ʔ 'dog'
  • *rəgiʔ 'thin'
  • *tŋiʔ 'day'
  • *poʔ 'dream'
  • *teˀ 'earth'
  • *(c)kaː 'mouth'
  • *(c)mɨː 'civet'
  • *(c)ŋ(ɨ)n 'wife'
  • *(c)rɛːŋ 'ring'
  • *ɟrəlaʔ 'thorn'
  • *kdɔːŋ 'six'
  • *kleˀ 'ashamed'
  • *klɔːŋ 'bone'
  • *kmaːs 'smoke'
  • *kmɔk 'cough'
  • *gmaʔ 'rain'
  • *knɔːk 'to flail'
  • *gnuːl 'seven'
  • *grɨk 'to awaken'
  • *ks(ɨ)m 'star'
  • *kvak 'to hook'
  • *kjoŋ 'kind of lizard'
  • *gjaːŋ 'turtle'
  • *ml(ɔː)ŋ 'eel'
  • *pliː 'fruit'
  • *bluː 'thigh'
  • *pnaːk 'basket'
  • *bnaːm 'ugly'
  • *(p)ŋaːm 'bee'
  • *brɔːŋ 'Khmer'
  • *braːj 'cotton thread'
  • *psiː 'snake'
  • *skɛːŋ 'wing'
  • *smaɲ 'cramp'
  • *snɛːŋ 'after'
  • *sŋal 'to know'
  • *sriː 'to ask'
  • *tmoˀ 'stone'
  • *tpɔʔ 'winnowing basket'
  • *trɔːj 'wild cow'
  • *ʔiːn 'to get'
  • *briː 'forest'
  • *kriɲ 'drum'
  • *ksuː 'red ant'
  • *bleːv 'fire'
  • *ləkheːt 'to slide'
  • *ʔoːc 'to take'
  • *Coːj 'sore, wound'
  • *Toːs 'head'
  • *koːj 'tooth'
  • *(m)oːt 'younger sibling'
  • *b(oː) 'you'
  • *koj 'kind of lizard'
  • *hlɛːk 'chicken'
  • *Tɛːŋ 'left'
  • *bɛːk 'to laugh'
  • *tɛ(h) 'lightning'
  • *gɔŋ 'long'
  • *tɔŋ 'house'

Sidwell & Rau (2015)

The following Proto-Pearic lexical proto-forms have been reconstructed by Sidwell & Rau (2015: 303, 340-363).

  • *ʔɨːs 'all'
  • *bɔh 'ashes'
  • *ker 'to bark'
  • *tkɔːˀ 'bark (of tree)'
  • *guŋ 'belly'
  • *tak 'big'
  • *ciːˀm 'bird'
  • *tap 'to bite'
  • *caˀŋ 'black'
  • *pNhaːm 'blood'
  • *klɔːŋ 'bone'
  • *j̊ɔk, *tuh 'breast'
  • *pɔːs, *tuːt 'to burn (vt.)'
  • *ktraːˀs 'claw/nail'
  • *juːr 'cloud'
  • *saˀc 'cold'
  • *jip 'to come/arrive'
  • *hoːc 'die (of a person)'
  • *cɔː 'dog'
  • *taːˀl 'to drink (water)'
  • *bah, *jeːˀs 'dry (adj./stat.)'
  • *prlaːŋ 'ear'
  • *teːˀ 'earth/soil'
  • *caː 'to eat'
  • *tuŋ 'egg'
  • *mat 'eye'
  • *pɨːs 'fat/grease/oil'
  • *suk 'feather'
  • *pliːw 'fire'
  • *meːˀl 'fish (n.)'
  • *hɨːr 'fly (v.)'
  • *ɟɨŋ 'foot'
  • *briː 'forest'
  • *bɔːŋ 'full (vessel)'
  • *ʔɨs 'give'
  • *ceːw 'to go'
  • toːˀn 'good'
  • *weːt 'green'
  • *suk 'hair (of head)'
  • *tiː 'hand'
  • *saŋ 'to hear/listen'
  • *soːc, *sroːc 'horn'
  • *ʔiɲ 'I'
  • *pNhoːc 'to kill'
  • *-nuːl, *mkuːr 'knee'
  • *kah 'know'
  • *-laːˀ 'leaf'
  • *bic 'to lie (down)'
  • *lɔːm 'liver'
  • *goŋ 'long'
  • *ciː 'louse (head)'
  • *(c/k)lɔːŋ 'man/husband'
  • *lɔː 'many'
  • *pɔːm, *ɟuːc 'meat/flesh'
  • *kaːŋ 'moon'
  • *nɔːŋ 'mountain/hill'
  • *(c)kaː 'mouth'
  • *kɔːk 'neck'
  • *blaː 'new'
  • *klɛːˀŋ 'night'
  • *-toːt, *mu(ː)s 'nose'
  • *ʔih 'not'
  • *moːˀj 'one'
  • *kɟɨm 'person/human'
  • *kɔːˀn 'rat'
  • *gmaːˀ 'rain'
  • *ŋar 'red'
  • *ɟar 'resin'
  • *kraː 'road, path'
  • *reːs 'root (of a tree)'
  • *moːl 'round (object)'
  • *(g)laːŋ 'sand'
  • *daŋ 'see'
  • *kɨl 'sit'
  • *-loːˀ 'skin'
  • *bic 'sleep'
  • *kic 'small'
  • *kmaː⁽ˀ⁾s 'smoke (n.)'
  • *ɲaːj 'to speak, say'
  • *taːl 'to stand'
  • *ksɨm 'star'
  • *tmoːˀ 'stone'
  • *(t/s)ŋiːˀ 'sun'
  • *heːl 'to swim'
  • *paːs 'tail'
  • *dan 'that (dist.)'
  • *ʔan 'this (prox.)'
  • *boː 'thou/you'
  • *ɟrlaʔ 'thorn'
  • *ktaːˀk 'tongue'
  • *koːj 'tooth'
  • *neːˀm 'tree'
  • *baːˀr 'two'
  • *ceːw 'to walk, go'
  • *tuːˀ 'warm/hot'
  • *daːk 'water'
  • *hɛːŋ 'we (excl.)'
  • *taːɲ 'to weave'
  • *cmpiːˀj 'what?'
  • *broːŋ, *pruːs 'white'
  • *ʔmih 'who?'
  • *kɨn 'woman/wife'
  • *joːˀs 'yellow'

Lexical innovations

Paul Sidwell (2015:203) lists the following Pearic lexical innovations that had replaced original Proto-Austroasiatic forms.

GlossProto-PearicProto-Austroasiatic
fish*meːˀl*kaʔ
fire*pliːw*ʔus
bone*klɔːŋ*cʔaːŋ
chicken*hlɛːk*ʔiər

Sidwell (2021) subsequently revised the list of Pearic lexical innovations as follows.

GlossProto-AustroasiaticProto-PearicKasongChongSamrePear of Kompong Thom
‘fish’*kaʔ*meːˀwme̤ː⁴⁵³me̤ːˀwmiːɹmiəl
‘fire’*ʔuːs*pleːwple̤ːw²¹ple̤ːwpliːwphlou
‘bone’*cʔaːŋ*klɔːŋklɔːŋ³³klɑːŋkluəŋ–
‘chicken’*ʔiər*hlɛːklɛːk⁴⁵læːkliəklék
‘banana’–*hlɔːŋlɔːŋ³³lɑːŋluəŋlâng

References

  1. ↑ Sidwell, Paul. 2019. Proto-Pearic and the role of vowel height in register formation. Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Austroasiatic Linguistics (ICAAL8), Chiang Mai, Thailand, August 29–31, 2019.
  2. ↑ Ironside, Jeremy (April 2005). "Overview of the distribution of Pear (Por) people in Cambodia". ngoforum.org. Archived from the original on Jul 24, 2011. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
  3. ↑ "Pearic languages". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
  4. ↑ Sidwell, Paul (2009). "Classifying the Austroasiatic languages: history and state of the art" Archived 2019-03-24 at the Wayback Machine. LINCOM studies in Asian linguistics, 76. Munich: Lincom Europa.
  5. 1 2 Sidwell, Paul and Felix Rau (2015). "Austroasiatic Comparative-Historical Reconstruction: An Overview." In Jenny, Mathias and Paul Sidwell, eds (2015). The Handbook of Austroasiatic Languages. Leiden: Brill.
  6. ↑ Headley, Robert K. 1985. "Proto-Pearic and the classification of Pearic." In Suriya Ratanakult et al. (eds.), Southeast Asian Linguistic Studies Presented to Andre-G. Haudricourt. Institute of Language and Culture for Rural Development, Mahidol University. pp. 428-478.
  7. ↑ Sidwell, Paul. 2015. "Austroasiatic classification." In Jenny, Mathias and Paul Sidwell, eds (2015). The Handbook of Austroasiatic Languages. Leiden: Brill.
  8. ↑ Headley (1985)
  9. ↑ Sidwell, Paul (2021). "Classification of MSEA Austroasiatic languages". The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia. De Gruyter. pp. 179–206. doi:10.1515/9783110558142-011.

Further reading