This paper has presented a rich array of words shared by Chinese and Tai in the
lexical field of eating and drinking, as well as terms for food stuff, food preparation,
food processing, serving utensils and vessles, psychological words associated with
food tastes, among others. Several dozen correspondence sets can be established, of
which nearly a half show Tibeto-Burman connections. The findings are at variance
with the commonly-held view that Chinese and Tai are lacking in common vocabulary.
Sino-Tai words for ‘to eat’ supply compelling evidence for a close historical
relationship between Chinese and Tai. Although a definitive answer to the issue is
beyond the scope of the present paper regarding the nature of historical relationships
between the two groups and their higher genetic affiliation, it has provided fresh
insight into the debate. The data can be interpreted in different ways. Either they can
be regarded as genetic, or as loan contact. However, it is sobering to realize that at this
stage we are far from being able to sort out loans from cognate words. There is still a
lot to learn about the the complexities of the linguistic situation in Asia and Southeast
Asia. A task awaiting us is to build on earlier work (Wulff 1934, Manomaivibool 1975,
Li 1976, Xing 1999) by systematically investigating words which show clear Sino-Tai
relationships and which are also represented in other nearby languages. Until then, we
will be in a better position to form hypotheses about what the relationships might
mean.