3 ms·

What terminology should we be using? Old Chinese reconstructions on Wiktionary always look so wildly divergent to me.

• singularity2001 10mo ago
  Old Chinese reconstructions drive me crazy, or the fact that some scholars insist these are 99% correct instead of 'best guesses'
  • earthboundkid 10mo ago
    They are pretty well founded. You can read old rhyme dictionaries and see how the words evolved eg when borrowed by Japan at one time and then when borrowed again a couple of hundred years later. We can’t ever know 100% but it’s not idle speculation either.
    • deleted 10mo ago
      [deleted]
    • demetrius 10mo ago
      Rhyme dictionaries describe Middle Chinese, not Old Chinese. Old Chinese involves much more guesswork.