1990年10月,沙加尔在第23届汉藏语言学国际会议上发表论文《论汉语、南岛语的亲属关系》(Chinese and Austronesian are genetically related),公布了其研究汉语-南岛同源论[1],并将假定的语系称为汉澳语系[6]。假说提出之初,沙加尔否认汉语和藏缅语具有发生学关系,认为汉语与南岛语关系较近,汉语与藏缅语是接触关系[7]:8-9,后来他注意到藏缅语在语音、词汇和形态上与南岛语也存在对应关系,因此提出汉-藏缅-南岛同源假说,2000年后,随着汉藏语系同源证据的不断增加,他转而支持汉藏语系的假说,将汉藏语视为一个整体与南岛语系进行比较。沙加尔的假设得到了郑张尚芳、潘悟云、邢公畹[8]、帅德乐等语言学家的支持,他们也从各自角度论证汉语与南岛语的关系。2005年后,帅德乐、沙加尔结合郑张尚芳超级华澳语系设想、白保罗及斯塔罗斯金的南方大语系设想,将南亚语、苗瑶语纳入,提出东亚所有种稻的民族可能均同源,由此提出“东亚超级语系”的猜想。[5]
^ 1.01.11.2Sagart, L. (1990) "Chinese and Austronesian are genetically related". Paper presented at the 23rd International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, October 1990, Arlington, Texas.
^Li, Paul Jenkuei. Is Chinese genetically related to Austronesian?. Wang, William S-Y. (编). The Ancestry of the Chinese Language. Journal of Chinese Linguistics Monograph Series 8. Chinese University Press. 1995: 92–112. JSTOR 23826144.|issue=被忽略 (帮助)
^Blust, Robert. An Austronesianist looks at Sino-Austronesian. Wang, William S-Y. (编). The Ancestry of the Chinese Language. Journal of Chinese Linguistics Monograph Series 8. Chinese University Press. 1995: 283–298. JSTOR 23826144.|issue=被忽略 (帮助)
^Vovin, Alexander. The comparative method and ventures beyond Sino-Tibetan. Journal of Chinese Linguistics. 1997, 25 (2): 308–336. JSTOR 23756693.
^van Driem, G. 1998. ‘Neolithic correlates of ancient Tibeto-Burman migrations’, pp. 67–102 in Roger Blench and Matthew Spriggs, eds., Archaeology and Language II. London: Routledge.
^van Driem, G. 2005. ‘Sino-Austronesian vs. Sino-Caucasian, Sino-Bodic vs. Sino-Tibetan, and Tibeto-Burman as default theory’, pp. 285–338 in Yogendra Prasada Yadava, Govinda Bhattarai, Ram Raj Lohani, Balaram Prasain and Krishna Parajuli, eds., Contemporary Issues in Nepalese Linguistics. Kathmandu: Linguistic Society of Nepal.
^van Driem, George. 2016. ‘The Eastern Himalayan corridor in prehistory (页面存档备份,存于互联网档案馆)’, pp. 467-524, Vol. II in Elena Nikolaevna Kolpačkova, ed., Проблемы китайского и общего языкознания — Problems in Chinese and General Linguistics. St. Petersburg: Izdatel’stvo Studija « NP-Print ».