Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus

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ABSTRACTS This project is producing an Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus of Sino-Tibetan (ST), comprising Chinese and its hundreds of relatives in the Tibeto-Burman (TB) family. The organization of STEDT is by semantic fields, ultimately yielding a thesaurus of the proto-lexicon. During the first grant period (1987-90), vast databases of ST lexical and etymological material were created, incorporating over 110 published and unpublished sources (some solicited by questionnaire). As of January 1990, the database contained over 75,000 quality-controlled records. The first fascicle of STEDT (to be completed by the end of 1990-91) is devoted to body-part terminology. Several hundred etyma have already been provisionally reconstructed in this key semantic area, most for the first time. As the basic work of database creation and management is perfected, the rate of fascicle production will accelerate. The STEDT project is an excellent training groud for students of SE Asian linguistics and computerized lexicography. The P.I. regularly conducts training seminars on historical semantics and comparative reconstruction. This work sheds light on ancient cultural patterns and thought-processes, and on long-standing puzzles about genetic vs. contact relationship in East and Southeast Asia. The STEDTS software will be readily adaptable for etymological work in other language families.