The Historical Linguistics Analysis of the Word “Elephant” in Kui Language

Abstract

Kui people are an ethnic group whose ways of life and culture have been closely related to elephants since ancient times. Kui language is categorized as one of the Austro-Asiatic language families. However, the word for “elephant” in Kui language seems to be derived from the Tai language family. This study mainly discusses the origin of the word, “elephant.” Considering historic and linguistic fi ndings, the evidence can be interpreted in two ways. First, the word for “elephant” in Kui language was borrowed from Sino-Tibetan through the Tai language family. Second, the word is an original word in Kui language and was later disseminated among nearby communities, from the Tai ethnic group to Mon and Khmer, until expanding far beyond to China.