On the chronology of the changes to Proto-Tai initial *pl-, *ml-, *kl- clusters in Northern Tai

Daniel Huber (1)

1 CLLE-ERSS - Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie

Reflexes of Proto-Tai initial *pl-, *ml-, *kl- clusters show a rich array of forms across modern Northern Tai, and these forms are worth studying for their phonotactic patterns. These lenitions to pj-, mj-, kj-, or pɣ-, mɣ-, kɣ-, or eventual palatalizations to tʃ- in Northern Tai are not extensively discussed in the literature: Li (1977) offers some crucial data but with little analysis, Qin (1997) offers further data with a chronology of the changes. It is precisely Qin's chronology that this paper challenges. The paper offers a chronology that is more plausible based on Qin's data and crosslinguistic evidence as well as Northern Tai phonotactics.

Keywords: Northern Tai; Proto-Tai; phonotactics; consonant clusters; phonological change

Domains: Linguistics

Daniel Huber. On the chronology of the changes to Proto-Tai initial *pl-, *ml-, *kl- clusters in Northern Tai. Cahiers de Linguisque-Asie Orientale, 2010, 39 ((2)), pp.129-155. ⟨hal-00985207⟩