Is Chinese Genetically Related to Austronesian ?
[译]：汉语与南岛语言有继承关系吗?
Paul Jen-kuei Li 李壬癸

Abstract 摘要

1. INTRODUCTION
All human languages may ultimately be genetically related if we believe the generally accepted theory that mankind originated in or near Ethiopia, Africa about three million years ago. Anthropologists tend to believe that human language evolved long after the first human, “the son of Lucy,” came into being. “He has a protruding jaw, thick brow ridges and a braincase so small it leaves no doubt that our ancestors learned to walk long before they mastered complex thought” (Begley 1994). Human language may have evolved hundreds of thousands of years ago, but linguists are only successful in reconstructing the history of a language over shorter spans of a few thousand years.
Any pair of languages in the world can be demonstrated to be related in one way or another. It is a matter of how strictly we adhere to the rigorous comparative method, as generally adopted by historical linguists. As Yuen-ren Chao commented on a master’s thesis (Wang 1927) in regard to genetic relationship between languages, “It is easy to say there is one, but hard to say there isn’t.”

2. ON THE AUSTRO-CHINESE HYPOTHESIS

3. A COMPARISON
3.1 Numerals
3.2 Natural Phenomena and Objects
3.3 Body Parts
3.4 Animals
3.5 Plants
3.6 Kinship and Personal Relations
3.7 Pronouns
3.8 Verbs
3.9 Adjectives
3.10 Cultural Items
3.11 Miscellaneous