The Trans-Himalayan phylum and its implications for population prehistory

Abstract

The world's second most populous language family straddles the Himalayas along the northern and southern flanks. The Trans-Himalayan language phylum has been known by various names since it was first recognized in 1823, such as Tibeto-Burman, Sino-Himalayan, Indo-Chinese, Sino-Tibetan and Sino-Kiranti. Each label presumes a different model of phylogenetic relationship. It is high time that empirically unsupported models be discarded. The structure of the language family as a whole is presented with special reference to Sinitic. The Trans-Himalayan model is amenable to accommodating new historical linguistic insights and can better inform other disciplines about ethnolinguistic prehistory than the competing language family models.