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(up one level to Rukai-Tsouic master post)
Wolff (2010, sub *táni) noticed the connection between PRT *cáni ‘one’, Itbayaten tanih ‘alone’, Ratahan tani ‘to separate’ and Bare’e tani ‘independent’; add Kavalan tani, utani ‘some, several, a few’. Bril (p.c. April 20, 2020) finds tani ‘only’ in Natauran Amis. The Rukai-Tsouic innovation consists of the semantic shift of *cáni to ‘one’ out of an original meaning something like ‘alone, only’.
Reference
Wolff, John U. (2010) Proto-Austronesian phonology with glossary. 2 vols. Ithaca: Cornell Southeast Asia program publications.
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Laurent Sagart (April 26, 2020). The etymology of PRT *cáni ‘one’. Sino-Tibetan-Austronesian. Retrieved April 28, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/ukcw