Proto-K(r)adai ‘hand’, ‘eye’, and ‘bird’ revisited

Abstract

This article revisits the traditional comparisons for K(r)adai and Austronesian ‘hand’, ‘eye’, and ‘bird’. In the case of ‘hand’ it attempts to improve the comparison by offering an unorthodox solution for Proto-K(r)adai reconstruction that, in my opinion, should be *lima, virtually identical to proto-Austronesian. It also provides additional evidence for reconstructing ‘eye’ and ‘bird’ as disyllabic words in K(r)adai, showing that these two were also very close to (with minor differences) to proto-Austronesian. Although these facts alone cannot be used as ultimate proof of K(r)adai and Austronesian genetic relationship, I believe that they constitute a further step in refining the arguments in this direction.