{
  "vercy": "1.0-draft",
  "publication": {
    "status": "research-draft",
    "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed",
    "publishableCanonical": false,
    "generatedAt": "2026-09-11T09:30:48Z",
    "providers": [
      "Claude"
    ],
    "breadth": "written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify",
    "pass": 2,
    "wave": 1,
    "engine": "claude",
    "enrichment": {
      "pass": 3,
      "engine": "claude",
      "producedAt": "2026-10-05T15:00:00Z",
      "ingestedAt": "2026-10-05T13:18:23+00:00",
      "fields": [
        "agent_conduct",
        "ethics",
        "owners"
      ]
    },
    "gate": {
      "passed": true,
      "version": "1.0",
      "at": "2026-10-06T19:52:00+00:00",
      "evidence": [
        "completeness 1.00",
        "sense: Wikidata description",
        "2 live sources",
        "review by codex: pass"
      ]
    }
  },
  "metaModel": {
    "id": "THING-Q45961",
    "registryId": "vr.tr.sino-tibetan",
    "name": "Sino-Tibetan",
    "version": "0.2.0-wave.1",
    "entryKind": "thing",
    "family": "Thing Registry",
    "domain": [
      "INF.MED"
    ],
    "status": "research-draft"
  },
  "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q45961/",
  "model": {
    "registry_id": "vr.tr.sino-tibetan",
    "name": "Sino-Tibetan",
    "purpose": "Let an agent handle the Sino-Tibetan family by branch, languages, speakers, scripts and scholarly debate, presenting competing classifications neutrally.",
    "definition": "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.",
    "what_it_is_for": "Classifying and studying related languages.",
    "affordances": [
      "identify branches and member languages",
      "find speaker numbers from sources",
      "compare scripts used",
      "present competing classifications"
    ],
    "distinguishing_features": [
      "Second largest family by speakers",
      "Includes Chinese varieties",
      "Hundreds of languages",
      "Internal classification debated"
    ],
    "appearance": "Not physical; seen in speech and in scripts such as Chinese characters, Tibetan and Burmese scripts.",
    "visual_identification": [
      "Sinitic and Tibeto-Burman groupings",
      "Many tonal languages",
      "Proposed macro-families are speculative"
    ],
    "physical_properties": [],
    "families_and_kinds": [
      "Sinitic languages",
      "Tibetic languages",
      "Lolo-Burmese languages",
      "Kuki-Chin and Meitei",
      "many smaller branches"
    ],
    "related_models": [
      {
        "relation": "is a kind of",
        "target": "language family",
        "why": "category"
      },
      {
        "relation": "includes",
        "target": "Chinese and Burmese",
        "why": "members"
      },
      {
        "relation": "is classified by",
        "target": "Glottolog and Ethnologue",
        "why": "catalogues"
      },
      {
        "relation": "is contrasted with",
        "target": "speculative macro-families",
        "why": "proposals"
      }
    ],
    "identifiers": [
      {
        "scheme": "ISO 639-5",
        "value_or_pattern": "sit",
        "note": "language family code"
      },
      {
        "scheme": "Glottolog",
        "value_or_pattern": "sino1245",
        "note": "family id"
      }
    ],
    "standards_and_regulation": [
      "ISO 639 language codes",
      "National language policies"
    ],
    "failure_modes_and_hazards": [
      "Presenting speculative macro-families as fact",
      "Treating dialect and language labels as neutral when politically sensitive"
    ],
    "in_scope": [],
    "out_of_scope": [],
    "characteristics": [],
    "agent_conduct": {
      "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."
      ],
      "must_not": [
        "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."
      ],
      "requires_human": [
        "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."
      ],
      "affected_parties": [
        "Speakers of minority languages",
        "Linguistic communities",
        "Researchers"
      ]
    },
    "owners": {
      "steward": "Nobody: a scholarly classification held in common.",
      "master_systems": [
        "ISO 639-3 language code registry"
      ]
    }
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "wikidata",
      "title": "Wikidata item Q45961: Sino-Tibetan",
      "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q45961",
      "url_status": "live",
      "what_it_supports": "identity and sense of the item",
      "checked_by": "wikidata-api"
    },
    {
      "id": "wikipedia-en",
      "title": "Wikipedia: Sino-Tibetan languages",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Tibetan_languages",
      "url_status": "live",
      "what_it_supports": "general description of the item",
      "checked_by": "wikidata-api sitelink"
    }
  ],
  "structure": {
    "bundles": [
      {
        "id": "structure",
        "name": "Structure",
        "description": "Branches.",
        "rationale": "Classification is debated.",
        "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.",
        "rationale": "Speaker data needs dates.",
        "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.",
        "rationale": "Scripts vary.",
        "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.",
        "rationale": "Labels can be political.",
        "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"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "openQuestions": [
    "Should each branch be a separate entry?",
    "How should competing classifications be shown?",
    "How should speaker numbers be dated?"
  ],
  "statistics": {
    "bundles": 4,
    "layers": 8,
    "findings": 8,
    "questions": 16
  }
}
