What evidence connects Old Chinese and Old Tibetan vocabulary?

The hypothesis that Sino-Tibetan languages share a common origin relies primarily on phonological correspondences found in basic vocabulary. A foundational study by Walter Simon in 1929 compared Old Chinese and Old Tibetan, identifying sound resemblances in essential items that are considered too consistent to be coincidental.1

These correspondences demonstrate that despite the distinct evolution of these languages, they share cognates in core areas of life. Examples of these similar words include:1

• Bent: Old Tibetan gug and Old Chinese gyuk
• Eye: Old Tibetan myig and Old Chinese myəkw
• Friend: Old Tibetan grogs and Old Chinese gyəgw
• Kill: Old Tibetan gsod and Old Chinese sriat
• Onion: Old Tibetan btsong and Old Chinese tshung
• Rise: Old Tibetan lang and Old Chinese rang
• Single, one: Old Tibetan gcig and Old Chinese tyik
• Sun: Old Tibetan nyi and Old Chinese nyit

Linguist Paul Benedict further refined this approach, establishing that comparative linguists should prioritize perfect phonetic correspondences over perfect semantic ones when evaluating these relationships.1