{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.sino-tibetan","code":"thing-q45961","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q45961/","name":"Sino-Tibetan","alternateNames":["Meitei language in Bangladesh","Chu","Meitei language in Assam","Meitei language in Tripura","Sunam","Songlin","Dhimal","Sino-Bai","Karenic","Kuki-Chin–Naga","Taman","Hruso"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.MED"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A large language family of East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, including the Sinitic languages (Chinese varieties) and the many Tibeto-Burman languages such as Tibetan, Burmese and Meitei; its internal structure is debated.","purpose":"Let an agent handle the Sino-Tibetan family by branch, languages, speakers, scripts and scholarly debate, presenting competing classifications neutrally.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Second largest family by speakers","Includes Chinese varieties","Hundreds of languages","Internal classification debated"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"structure","name":"Structure","description":"Branches.","layers":[{"id":"branches","name":"Branches","description":"Subgroups.","findings":[{"id":"branches-finding","name":"Branches","description":"Branches.","questions":[{"text":"Which branches are commonly recognised?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which classifications disagree?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"membership","name":"Membership","description":"Languages.","findings":[{"id":"membership-finding","name":"Membership","description":"Member languages.","questions":[{"text":"Is this language part of the family, according to which catalogue?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is its position disputed?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"speakers","name":"Speakers","description":"Communities.","layers":[{"id":"numbers","name":"Numbers","description":"Speakers.","findings":[{"id":"numbers-finding","name":"Numbers","description":"Speaker numbers.","questions":[{"text":"How many speakers does the language have, according to which source?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"How current is the figure?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"vitality","name":"Vitality","description":"Endangerment.","findings":[{"id":"vitality-finding","name":"Vitality","description":"Language vitality.","questions":[{"text":"Is the language endangered?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which documentation projects exist?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"writing","name":"Writing","description":"Scripts.","layers":[{"id":"scripts","name":"Scripts","description":"Writing systems.","findings":[{"id":"scripts-finding","name":"Scripts","description":"Scripts.","questions":[{"text":"Which script is used for this language?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is there a romanisation standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"features","name":"Features","description":"Tone.","findings":[{"id":"features-finding","name":"Features","description":"Linguistic features.","questions":[{"text":"Is the language tonal, and how many tones?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which sources describe it?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"handling","name":"Handling","description":"Sensitivity.","layers":[{"id":"labels","name":"Labels","description":"Language or dialect.","findings":[{"id":"labels-finding","name":"Labels","description":"Naming sensitivity.","questions":[{"text":"Is the language or dialect label sensitive here?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"How can labels be attributed to sources?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"proposals","name":"Proposals","description":"Macro-families.","findings":[{"id":"proposals-finding","name":"Proposals","description":"Speculative proposals.","questions":[{"text":"Is a proposed macro-family being presented as accepted?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"How widely is it accepted?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe the Sino-Tibetan family and its branches with the classification debates stated.","Identify languages by standard codes and name the source of a classification."],"mustNot":["Present speculative macro-families or reconstructions as settled fact.","Treat a contested dialect or language label as politically neutral.","Use language classification to deny a community's identity or rights.","Rank Sino-Tibetan languages or their speakers as superior or inferior."],"requiresHuman":["Choosing a classification for a public reference where the labels are politically disputed."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Whether a variety is called a language or a dialect is tied to identity and politics.","Many Tibeto-Burman languages are endangered and poorly documented."],"affectedParties":["Speakers of minority languages","Linguistic communities","Researchers"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody: a scholarly classification held in common.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["ISO 639-3 language code registry"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q507968","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q7524744","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q97690709","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q98791755","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"language family","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"Chinese and Burmese","type":"related","note":"members"},{"target":"Glottolog and Ethnologue","type":"related","note":"catalogues"},{"target":"speculative macro-families","type":"related","note":"proposals"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.sino-tibetan","Wikidata: Q45961 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q45961)","ISO 639-5: sit language family code","Glottolog: sino1245 family id"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Sinitic and Tibeto-Burman groupings","Many tonal languages","Proposed macro-families are speculative","Not physical; seen in speech and in scripts such as Chinese characters, Tibetan and Burmese scripts."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["identify branches and member languages","find speaker numbers from sources","compare scripts used","present competing classifications"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Presenting speculative macro-families as fact","Treating dialect and language labels as neutral when politically sensitive"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["ISO 639 language codes","National language policies"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Classifying and studying related languages.","Sinitic languages","Tibetic languages","Lolo-Burmese languages","Kuki-Chin and Meitei","many smaller branches"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q45961: Sino-Tibetan","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q45961","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Sino-Tibetan languages","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Tibetan_languages","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each branch be a separate entry?","How should competing classifications be shown?","How should speaker numbers be dated?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q45961/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q45961/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-11T09:30:48Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:52:00+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane INF: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}