The Vietnamese Origin of the 12-Year Names in Saek
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Abstract
This research note shows that all 12 zodiac names in Tai-language Saek derive from Vietnamese rather than directly from Chinese. Eight names can be securely identified as premodern Vietnamese loans based on regular sound changes, while the remaining four suggest Vietnamese origins. These results provide new evidence for Vietnamese–Saek contact in the 16th to 18th centuries and underscore the role of Vietnamese as an intermediary in the spread of Chinese calendrical systems in mainland Southeast Asia.
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