THE TIBETAN ROLE IN SINO-TIBETAN COMPARATIVE LINGUISTICS

The establishment of a genetic affinity among Indo-European languages encouraged the assumption of a similar relation for some of the languages spoken in northern India, Burma, Thailand, Laos, northern Vietnam, and China (including Tibet). These languages are referred to by the general term 'Sino-Tibetan', which has replaced the earlier 'Indo-Chinese'. Four subgroups of Sino-Tibetan languages have been recognized: Chinese, Miao-Yao, Kam-Sui-Tai, and Tibeto-Burman. It is premature to argue whether Sino-Tibetan includes four, three, or two of these subgroups. We must first focus our attention on one of these groups at a time and make an exhaustive study of it. The Chinese language has so far received the most attention.