Sino-Tibetan kolo 'wheel'

This paper investigates the lexical item for "wheel" across Sino-Tibetan languages, focusing on phonological forms such as kolo, khorlo, and related variants. Drawing on data from Tibetan dialects, Menba, Luoba, and Chinese regional varieties, Bauer traces the diffusion and transformation of the term, highlighting its phonetic consistency and semantic stability. The study explores historical borrowing, internal reconstruction, and the influence of contact languages, particularly in the context of regional phonological shifts. By comparing forms like kho lo, khor lo, and fikhor, the paper illustrates how the concept of rotation and circularity is embedded in both lexical and morphological structures. This analysis contributes to understanding lexical convergence and semantic retention in the Sino-Tibetan linguistic landscape