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Initials with slightly misleading orthography under the effects of medials -j- and -w-, discussed in 3.3.1, are enclosed in parentheses: po- p- < nj-/yj- and 99- ‘y- < nj-/yj-; o- c- < ts(j)- and so c'- < ts’(j)-. The laryngeals are also incuded in parentheses: the rare initial oo— A- is shown in 5.2.4 not to be from original Lolo-Burmese; initial sa— ?- appears to be a vocalic place holder with a purely orthographic function. A few late changes in the pronunciation of initials, dated by Pe Maung Tin (1922:129-30) to have begun around the end of the 18” century, had no effect on the orthography: the appropriation of the original sibilant value of 59 s-, which was shifting to a new dental fricative articulation, by palatal © c- whose aspirated partner so c'- became a typologically rare aspirated sibilant; the merger of g r- with oo i

Figure 10 Initials with slightly misleading orthography under the effects of medials -j- and -w-, discussed in 3.3.1, are enclosed in parentheses: po- p- < nj-/yj- and 99- ‘y- < nj-/yj-; o- c- < ts(j)- and so c'- < ts’(j)-. The laryngeals are also incuded in parentheses: the rare initial oo— A- is shown in 5.2.4 not to be from original Lolo-Burmese; initial sa— ?- appears to be a vocalic place holder with a purely orthographic function. A few late changes in the pronunciation of initials, dated by Pe Maung Tin (1922:129-30) to have begun around the end of the 18” century, had no effect on the orthography: the appropriation of the original sibilant value of 59 s-, which was shifting to a new dental fricative articulation, by palatal © c- whose aspirated partner so c'- became a typologically rare aspirated sibilant; the merger of g r- with oo i

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1.1.1 Diphthongs
1.1.1 Diphthongs
With the exception of the secondary dissimilatory diphthongisations of Sizang e to ea in all environments except before -¢, -n and in open syllables, '° and Sizang o to aa before -/, the establishment of glide codas restricts diphthongs to two contrastive types distinguished by the presence or absence of rounding. Contrary to Stern’s (1963:229) suggestion that Sizang diphthongs have contrastive weight, which most likely stems from a confusion with Tedim, syllabic weight is manifested with the nucleus either at the end in Mizo, Zahau, Zo and Tedim or at the beginning in Thado and Sizang: '° The diphthong ea is not noted by Stern (1963), but is noted by Luce (1962:tablea).
With the exception of the secondary dissimilatory diphthongisations of Sizang e to ea in all environments except before -¢, -n and in open syllables, '° and Sizang o to aa before -/, the establishment of glide codas restricts diphthongs to two contrastive types distinguished by the presence or absence of rounding. Contrary to Stern’s (1963:229) suggestion that Sizang diphthongs have contrastive weight, which most likely stems from a confusion with Tedim, syllabic weight is manifested with the nucleus either at the end in Mizo, Zahau, Zo and Tedim or at the beginning in Thado and Sizang: '° The diphthong ea is not noted by Stern (1963), but is noted by Luce (1962:tablea).
The following surface variations may be noted: Zo vo and Sizang we surface as ve and ue respectively before -j; Mizo, Zahau and Sizang reduce the unrounded diphthong to ¢ before -n'' in inflected forms while all six languages, excepting Tedim, reduce the rounded diphthong to a in the same environment;"” all six languages reduce the rounded diphthong before -m'" to a in inflected forms. It should also be remarked that the Thado diphthongs -ou and -er tend to approximate the pure vowels [o:] and [e:] as noted by Luce (1962:57-9). In open syllables, they are very similar to the closed rhymes -aw [av]'® and -¢j from which they are nonetheless consistently discernible in words like koo'" burrow and kow" call or the inflected forms "ler snap and "lej" sift: '’ There is an exceptional case in the word for froth in Thado and Zo where the change does not appear tc occur. '8 This surface realisation is supported by Luce (1962:60, 1985:II.70-87) who has Jou].
The following surface variations may be noted: Zo vo and Sizang we surface as ve and ue respectively before -j; Mizo, Zahau and Sizang reduce the unrounded diphthong to ¢ before -n'' in inflected forms while all six languages, excepting Tedim, reduce the rounded diphthong to a in the same environment;"” all six languages reduce the rounded diphthong before -m'" to a in inflected forms. It should also be remarked that the Thado diphthongs -ou and -er tend to approximate the pure vowels [o:] and [e:] as noted by Luce (1962:57-9). In open syllables, they are very similar to the closed rhymes -aw [av]'® and -¢j from which they are nonetheless consistently discernible in words like koo'" burrow and kow" call or the inflected forms "ler snap and "lej" sift: '’ There is an exceptional case in the word for froth in Thado and Zo where the change does not appear tc occur. '8 This surface realisation is supported by Luce (1962:60, 1985:II.70-87) who has Jou].
Weidert’s (1981:31-2) rather arbitrary rejection of Henderson’s (1948:721) proposal to interpret the high vowel components in Mizo 1a and va as palatal and labial features of the syllable initial is questioned by Matisoff (1982:29) who suggests that in diachronic terms it is of little relevance whether one treats the feature as part of the initial or the nucleus. For most Tibeto-Burman languages Matisoff's comment would be valid, but treating the first part of the diphthong as part of the initial reopens the possibility in Northern Chin for contrastive syllable weight in individual languages, as Stern supposed for Sizang diphthongs, which does not occur. The two spectrograms of Tedim pran' and Sizang pien' come into being below exemplify the difference in syllable weight between the two languages: Benedict (1940:120, 19/2a:58, 19//:12) supposes the pure vowels ¢/e and d/o to be secondary derivations from 1a and va but, as similarly noted by Matisoff (1972b:281) for Tangkhul Naga, is unable to account for cases where the diphthongs remain. Luce (1962:55;57-9, 1985:II.70-87), who transcribes the Northern Chin distinctions ¢/e and a/o as &/e and 5/o or €/e: and 2/a:, follows a proposal originally made in Luce (1959a:tablelt), to suggest conversely that the diphthongs derived from the vowel-breaking of original [e] and [0] which he maintains to be still attested in Thado ov [0:] and er [e:]. However, in addition to the respective alternations of 1a and va with ¢/e and d/o in certain morphological inflections discussed above, Stern (1963:236), Henderson (1965:24), Weidert (1975:69-70) and Chhangte (1993:49-50) note that the diphthongs 1a and va surface as € and a when forming the short unstressed initial syllable of a disyllabic compound. Furthermore, sporadic alternations of these diphthongs with their pure vowel correlates may be found throughout the word list. In a purely synchronic description, the restriction of the diphthongs to combinations with a may simply be regarded as a feature of the phonological system requiring no further explanation; in diachronic terms, the discussion in 5.1 shows that the weaker a vowel in Sino-Tibetan ja and wa could not maintain a dipthongal articulation like ja and wa which gave 1a and va, although for reasons still to be elucidated sometimes developed into e and o. The source of the
Weidert’s (1981:31-2) rather arbitrary rejection of Henderson’s (1948:721) proposal to interpret the high vowel components in Mizo 1a and va as palatal and labial features of the syllable initial is questioned by Matisoff (1982:29) who suggests that in diachronic terms it is of little relevance whether one treats the feature as part of the initial or the nucleus. For most Tibeto-Burman languages Matisoff's comment would be valid, but treating the first part of the diphthong as part of the initial reopens the possibility in Northern Chin for contrastive syllable weight in individual languages, as Stern supposed for Sizang diphthongs, which does not occur. The two spectrograms of Tedim pran' and Sizang pien' come into being below exemplify the difference in syllable weight between the two languages: Benedict (1940:120, 19/2a:58, 19//:12) supposes the pure vowels ¢/e and d/o to be secondary derivations from 1a and va but, as similarly noted by Matisoff (1972b:281) for Tangkhul Naga, is unable to account for cases where the diphthongs remain. Luce (1962:55;57-9, 1985:II.70-87), who transcribes the Northern Chin distinctions ¢/e and a/o as &/e and 5/o or €/e: and 2/a:, follows a proposal originally made in Luce (1959a:tablelt), to suggest conversely that the diphthongs derived from the vowel-breaking of original [e] and [0] which he maintains to be still attested in Thado ov [0:] and er [e:]. However, in addition to the respective alternations of 1a and va with ¢/e and d/o in certain morphological inflections discussed above, Stern (1963:236), Henderson (1965:24), Weidert (1975:69-70) and Chhangte (1993:49-50) note that the diphthongs 1a and va surface as € and a when forming the short unstressed initial syllable of a disyllabic compound. Furthermore, sporadic alternations of these diphthongs with their pure vowel correlates may be found throughout the word list. In a purely synchronic description, the restriction of the diphthongs to combinations with a may simply be regarded as a feature of the phonological system requiring no further explanation; in diachronic terms, the discussion in 5.1 shows that the weaker a vowel in Sino-Tibetan ja and wa could not maintain a dipthongal articulation like ja and wa which gave 1a and va, although for reasons still to be elucidated sometimes developed into e and o. The source of the
Codas are always unreleased and are voiceless unless sonorant. A discussion of the correspondences of morphological inflections requires a separate analysis that will be addressed in 2.1. The correspondences of uninflected forms are noted below:'” The association of r with a velar articulation in Thado, Zo, Tedim and Sizang, further reduced in coda position to -? in Thado and Zo, is dicussed in 1.2.2. When derived from original -7, the Zo glottal coda is only retained after the mid-vowels ¢/e and 2/0; after 1/i, o/u and e/a it has vocalised to a.”° The resulting reflexes of 1a and va remain distinct from the original Zo diphthongs re and vo discussed in 1.1.1. The glottal coda in Zo is much weaker than in Thado; the distinction between Zo -? and Tedim -k in the spectrograms below for Zo pe?! back kick and Tedim pek' wag, bob is discernible but is not nearly as pronounced as in the Thado example discussed in 1.1.2.5.7!
Codas are always unreleased and are voiceless unless sonorant. A discussion of the correspondences of morphological inflections requires a separate analysis that will be addressed in 2.1. The correspondences of uninflected forms are noted below:'” The association of r with a velar articulation in Thado, Zo, Tedim and Sizang, further reduced in coda position to -? in Thado and Zo, is dicussed in 1.2.2. When derived from original -7, the Zo glottal coda is only retained after the mid-vowels ¢/e and 2/0; after 1/i, o/u and e/a it has vocalised to a.”° The resulting reflexes of 1a and va remain distinct from the original Zo diphthongs re and vo discussed in 1.1.1. The glottal coda in Zo is much weaker than in Thado; the distinction between Zo -? and Tedim -k in the spectrograms below for Zo pe?! back kick and Tedim pek' wag, bob is discernible but is not nearly as pronounced as in the Thado example discussed in 1.1.2.5.7!
An association of Tibeto-Burman -s with Mizo -? is noted by Shafer (1944:141-2) and Benedict (1972a:16). Focusing on Tedim, Ostapirat (1998:239-40) develops Benedict’s observation by proposing that -s developed regularly to -h but then glottalised after surface short vowels while developing into TC-III after surface long vowels. Notably the distinction between -? and TC-III only occurs in Mizo, Zahau and Tedim; Thado, Zo and Sizang unequivocally reflect TC-III.
An association of Tibeto-Burman -s with Mizo -? is noted by Shafer (1944:141-2) and Benedict (1972a:16). Focusing on Tedim, Ostapirat (1998:239-40) develops Benedict’s observation by proposing that -s developed regularly to -h but then glottalised after surface short vowels while developing into TC-III after surface long vowels. Notably the distinction between -? and TC-III only occurs in Mizo, Zahau and Tedim; Thado, Zo and Sizang unequivocally reflect TC-III.
Zahau -aw tends to be pronounced with a more open articulation than in the other five languages where it surfaces as [90]. Consequently words like tow? seat (v, are barely distinguishable from the inflected form tew? of taw” sulk:
Zahau -aw tends to be pronounced with a more open articulation than in the other five languages where it surfaces as [90]. Consequently words like tow? seat (v, are barely distinguishable from the inflected form tew? of taw” sulk:
A few exceptions may be noted: the status of Zo voj'— elephant as an Austroasiatic loanword is supported by its irregular initial in Sizang; Thado toj’ egg and toj" water contrast with Tedim tuj' and tuj", yet Luce (1962:59;85;tableA) has Thado tuj' egg and ti" water, while in Teizang, which would be expected to correlate with Tedim, Henderson (1963:551) has toj' egg and toj" water; Thado nuj" sad, sleepy compares with Tedim noj" tired out, but variations in initial and rhyme elsewhere suggest external influence.
A few exceptions may be noted: the status of Zo voj'— elephant as an Austroasiatic loanword is supported by its irregular initial in Sizang; Thado toj’ egg and toj" water contrast with Tedim tuj' and tuj", yet Luce (1962:59;85;tableA) has Thado tuj' egg and ti" water, while in Teizang, which would be expected to correlate with Tedim, Henderson (1963:551) has toj' egg and toj" water; Thado nuj" sad, sleepy compares with Tedim noj" tired out, but variations in initial and rhyme elsewhere suggest external influence.
There is a reduction of the surface length of vowels bearing syllabic weight in Thado syllables before a glottal stop. In words in TC-I and TC-II, this is not to the extent of a vowel not bearing syllable weight and the distinction is not noted in the transcriptions here; in words in Tc-1, the vocalism merges with that of a vowel without syllable weight and is noted as such in the transcription. Consequently the inflected form of Thado pe?’ back kick is pe?, which can no longer bear distinctive tone,” rather than pe?™ as would be expected by analogy with Zo which, excluding tonal distinctions, is homophonous in the uninflected form. The two Thado forms are shown below:
There is a reduction of the surface length of vowels bearing syllabic weight in Thado syllables before a glottal stop. In words in TC-I and TC-II, this is not to the extent of a vowel not bearing syllable weight and the distinction is not noted in the transcriptions here; in words in Tc-1, the vocalism merges with that of a vowel without syllable weight and is noted as such in the transcription. Consequently the inflected form of Thado pe?’ back kick is pe?, which can no longer bear distinctive tone,” rather than pe?™ as would be expected by analogy with Zo which, excluding tonal distinctions, is homophonous in the uninflected form. The two Thado forms are shown below:
The occasional failure of Thado, Zo, Tedim and Sizang to manifest > h- and instead develop as if from unaspirated r- most likely reflects the instability of preaspiration before sonorants noted by Luce (1962:43-4) and supported in Southern Chin by Léffler (2002a:133-4). Luce’s (1962:50) suggestion that the reflexes in A- may reflect a local variant of h- in Mizo and Zahau, manifested as Mp, is belied by statistical evidence; Solnit’s (1979:116) suggestion of an original Tibeto-Burman distinction of s7- and s-r- finds little supporting evidence in 5.2.
The occasional failure of Thado, Zo, Tedim and Sizang to manifest > h- and instead develop as if from unaspirated r- most likely reflects the instability of preaspiration before sonorants noted by Luce (1962:43-4) and supported in Southern Chin by Léffler (2002a:133-4). Luce’s (1962:50) suggestion that the reflexes in A- may reflect a local variant of h- in Mizo and Zahau, manifested as Mp, is belied by statistical evidence; Solnit’s (1979:116) suggestion of an original Tibeto-Burman distinction of s7- and s-r- finds little supporting evidence in 5.2.
In syllables with weight falling on the vowel or the sonorant coda, Mizo and Zahau have four possible tones while Thado, Zo, Tedim and Sizang have three. The tripartite division follows Luce’s (1959a:28-9, 1985:1.83) assumption that Mizo and Zahau have undergone a later split of Tc-11.*° Loffler’s (2002b:128) suggestion that TC-I and TC-II are primary fits well with the common association of TC-III with derived verbal and nominal forms, to be discussed in 2.1 and 2.2, that pertains equally to Old Burmese and Old Chinese.
In syllables with weight falling on the vowel or the sonorant coda, Mizo and Zahau have four possible tones while Thado, Zo, Tedim and Sizang have three. The tripartite division follows Luce’s (1959a:28-9, 1985:1.83) assumption that Mizo and Zahau have undergone a later split of Tc-11.*° Loffler’s (2002b:128) suggestion that TC-I and TC-II are primary fits well with the common association of TC-III with derived verbal and nominal forms, to be discussed in 2.1 and 2.2, that pertains equally to Old Burmese and Old Chinese.
1.3 Tonality
1.3 Tonality
Stopped syllables with syllable weight not falling directly on the vowel are generally no tone bearing units; their pitch tends to approximate that of TC-III. Consequently the occlusion of Mizo and Zahau -r to -? or -k in Thado, Zo, Tedim and Sizang usually involves concomitant re-assignation of syllable weight to the vowel if not already there. However, in Tedim and Sizang there are a few exceptions in TC-I in which the syllable weight has not shifted solely to the vowel but the syllable has curiously retained the distinctive tone contour. The case of Tedim t'ek! new, corresponding to Mizo t’er' new, is also noted by Henderson (1965:20), and may be contrasted with Tedim t"ek itch which along with Mizo t’ek itch, is unable to bear distinctive tone. In the spectrograms below the Tedim word for new has a higher pitch contour than the default contour in the followins word itch: The same word, usually after the animal prefix se-, also means serow; the irregular correspondence between the Mizo and Zahau forms, t'ar' and ter" respectively, suggests an external origin which is the case for Tedim kok' pee/ from Austroasiatic. The sole other case in the word list involves Tedim hek' difficult which is confined to a binomial form that allows Henderson (1965:94) to suggest that its curious behaviour may be attributable to its adverbial status.*” The Tedim cases above are all equally applicable to
Stopped syllables with syllable weight not falling directly on the vowel are generally no tone bearing units; their pitch tends to approximate that of TC-III. Consequently the occlusion of Mizo and Zahau -r to -? or -k in Thado, Zo, Tedim and Sizang usually involves concomitant re-assignation of syllable weight to the vowel if not already there. However, in Tedim and Sizang there are a few exceptions in TC-I in which the syllable weight has not shifted solely to the vowel but the syllable has curiously retained the distinctive tone contour. The case of Tedim t'ek! new, corresponding to Mizo t’er' new, is also noted by Henderson (1965:20), and may be contrasted with Tedim t"ek itch which along with Mizo t’ek itch, is unable to bear distinctive tone. In the spectrograms below the Tedim word for new has a higher pitch contour than the default contour in the followins word itch: The same word, usually after the animal prefix se-, also means serow; the irregular correspondence between the Mizo and Zahau forms, t'ar' and ter" respectively, suggests an external origin which is the case for Tedim kok' pee/ from Austroasiatic. The sole other case in the word list involves Tedim hek' difficult which is confined to a binomial form that allows Henderson (1965:94) to suggest that its curious behaviour may be attributable to its adverbial status.*” The Tedim cases above are all equally applicable to
Unlike the split of Old Chinese Tc-I in Early-Mandarin, as discussed by Pulleyblank (1978:192), and the split of Lolo-Burmese TC-I and Tc-II in Lahu and Lisu, as discussed by Matisoff (1970:14), the division of Tc-I1 in Mizo and Zahau is not associated with manner features of initials. Luce (1959a:28) suggests that TC-IIA and TC-I, excepting when an obstruent coda in Thado, Zo, Tedim and Sizang corresponds to an original -r, never occur with obstruent codas. Léffler (2002a:129) notes a general association of TC- IIB with obstruent codas in Mizo, and Weidert (1975:11) attributes the few cases outside of TC-IIB in Mizo to a mostly phonoaesthetic origin; Ostapirat (1998:235-7) and Léffler (2002b:139) similarly note an association of TC-II with obstruent codas in Tedim. Luce’s (1962, 1985:II.84-7) data also has no cases of TC-IIB with final sonorants; there are actually numerous instances but they can generally be attributed to morphologically derived forms, discussed in 2.1, which are not recorded in Luce’s word list.*’ In closed syllables, this allows TC-IIB to be limited to tone-bearing syllables with obstruent codas and to derived forms. Open syllables appear to occur in TC-IIA or TC-IIB, but while Luce (1962, 1985:1.83;II.82) and Weidert (1979:80;90;114-5) do not treat open rhymes in TC- IIA as aberrant, they do both note an abundance in Tc-1B.°* Cases of TC-IIA in the correspondence sets suggest them to be loanwords or a result of onomatopoeia. Consequently, for native uninflected tone-bearing syllables the following correspondences may be suggested: In his “redundancy-free” representation of Mizo, Weidert (1975:4-8) removes a vowel length notation from syllables with obstruent codas suggesting that vowel length is a concomitant realisation of TC-11B; Lehman’s (1978:720) logical counter that the argument could be inverted to treat syllabic shortness as the generator of reduced tone disregards the intrinsic association of TC-IIB, as opposed to TC-I, TC-IIA or TC-III, with obtruent codas.
Unlike the split of Old Chinese Tc-I in Early-Mandarin, as discussed by Pulleyblank (1978:192), and the split of Lolo-Burmese TC-I and Tc-II in Lahu and Lisu, as discussed by Matisoff (1970:14), the division of Tc-I1 in Mizo and Zahau is not associated with manner features of initials. Luce (1959a:28) suggests that TC-IIA and TC-I, excepting when an obstruent coda in Thado, Zo, Tedim and Sizang corresponds to an original -r, never occur with obstruent codas. Léffler (2002a:129) notes a general association of TC- IIB with obstruent codas in Mizo, and Weidert (1975:11) attributes the few cases outside of TC-IIB in Mizo to a mostly phonoaesthetic origin; Ostapirat (1998:235-7) and Léffler (2002b:139) similarly note an association of TC-II with obstruent codas in Tedim. Luce’s (1962, 1985:II.84-7) data also has no cases of TC-IIB with final sonorants; there are actually numerous instances but they can generally be attributed to morphologically derived forms, discussed in 2.1, which are not recorded in Luce’s word list.*’ In closed syllables, this allows TC-IIB to be limited to tone-bearing syllables with obstruent codas and to derived forms. Open syllables appear to occur in TC-IIA or TC-IIB, but while Luce (1962, 1985:1.83;II.82) and Weidert (1979:80;90;114-5) do not treat open rhymes in TC- IIA as aberrant, they do both note an abundance in Tc-1B.°* Cases of TC-IIA in the correspondence sets suggest them to be loanwords or a result of onomatopoeia. Consequently, for native uninflected tone-bearing syllables the following correspondences may be suggested: In his “redundancy-free” representation of Mizo, Weidert (1975:4-8) removes a vowel length notation from syllables with obstruent codas suggesting that vowel length is a concomitant realisation of TC-11B; Lehman’s (1978:720) logical counter that the argument could be inverted to treat syllabic shortness as the generator of reduced tone disregards the intrinsic association of TC-IIB, as opposed to TC-I, TC-IIA or TC-III, with obtruent codas.
° Following Osburne (1975:120) and Chhangte (1993:75), numerals may be classified as intransitive verbs. ° See Henderson (1965:84-9), Stern (1963:243-51), Chhangte (1993:135-75) and Lehman (1996). *' A reconstructed FORM-I base is used for simplicity of exposition. A coda *-s is not included due to its early convergence with -@” or, in the case of short surface vowel length in Mizo, Zahau and Tedim, its development into -? which can no longer inflect. See the discussions in 1.1.2.2, 2.1.3 and 5.1.2.2. The regular FORM-II derivations from a reconstructed FORM-I base are noted below:”!
° Following Osburne (1975:120) and Chhangte (1993:75), numerals may be classified as intransitive verbs. ° See Henderson (1965:84-9), Stern (1963:243-51), Chhangte (1993:135-75) and Lehman (1996). *' A reconstructed FORM-I base is used for simplicity of exposition. A coda *-s is not included due to its early convergence with -@” or, in the case of short surface vowel length in Mizo, Zahau and Tedim, its development into -? which can no longer inflect. See the discussions in 1.1.2.2, 2.1.3 and 5.1.2.2. The regular FORM-II derivations from a reconstructed FORM-I base are noted below:”!
3.1.1 Jones’ Three Vowel i/u/a System Jones’ (1976:45) three vowel system provides a symmetrical account for Old Burmese but struggles with the palatal codas. Following a line of thought similar to Duroiselle (1915:99-102), Jones (1988:207) later removes -ps -an due to its various non-nasal pronunciations in Modern Burmese; contrary to Duroiselle, and in line with the criticisms made by Blagden (1916a:94-5), Jones supposes that it once existed but was lost very
3.1.1 Jones’ Three Vowel i/u/a System Jones’ (1976:45) three vowel system provides a symmetrical account for Old Burmese but struggles with the palatal codas. Following a line of thought similar to Duroiselle (1915:99-102), Jones (1988:207) later removes -ps -an due to its various non-nasal pronunciations in Modern Burmese; contrary to Duroiselle, and in line with the criticisms made by Blagden (1916a:94-5), Jones supposes that it once existed but was lost very
Luce (1940:304, 1973:lista/B, 1985:1.100) suggests that most words with °o5 and °é, Jones’ -ik and -in, appear to be Mon, Shan and Pali/Sanskrit loanwords. Shorto, in Pulleyblank (1963:217), also supports Luce’s proposal for an external source. Unaware of, or unwilling to accept, Luce’s proposal, Benedict (1972a:76-7) proposes that the source of these rhymes was Tibeto-Burman long -w:k and -u:y in contrast to the short rhymes -wk and -uy which gave e005 and ¢-ré as in Jones’ scheme. Nishi (1997:983-4) marvels at Benedict’s ability to find such cognates in Tibeto-Burman when none are to be found in much more closely related Burmish languages. This conundrum is solved by Dempsey (2001:207-8) who, following Nishi’s (1999b:73-4) skepticism, shows that Benedict’s correspondence sets are based on faulty associations. Shafer’s (1941:22) proposal, with the additional observations by Luce and Shorto, allows Gong (1980:458- 61) to modify Jones’ scheme by omitting S05 and °é from consideration. 3.1.2 Gong’s Three Vowel i/u/a System
Luce (1940:304, 1973:lista/B, 1985:1.100) suggests that most words with °o5 and °é, Jones’ -ik and -in, appear to be Mon, Shan and Pali/Sanskrit loanwords. Shorto, in Pulleyblank (1963:217), also supports Luce’s proposal for an external source. Unaware of, or unwilling to accept, Luce’s proposal, Benedict (1972a:76-7) proposes that the source of these rhymes was Tibeto-Burman long -w:k and -u:y in contrast to the short rhymes -wk and -uy which gave e005 and ¢-ré as in Jones’ scheme. Nishi (1997:983-4) marvels at Benedict’s ability to find such cognates in Tibeto-Burman when none are to be found in much more closely related Burmish languages. This conundrum is solved by Dempsey (2001:207-8) who, following Nishi’s (1999b:73-4) skepticism, shows that Benedict’s correspondence sets are based on faulty associations. Shafer’s (1941:22) proposal, with the additional observations by Luce and Shorto, allows Gong (1980:458- 61) to modify Jones’ scheme by omitting S05 and °é from consideration. 3.1.2 Gong’s Three Vowel i/u/a System
3.1.4 A Two Vowel i/e System | ee Snorto § COMIMCNUS MW FUuLeyOlalce (1 705.216). * Nishi (1999a:678) suggests -wj > -wij on the basis of a few later inscriptional cases of 208, but the attestation of this form in a very early inscription, discussed by Luce (1969:1.108-9, 1973:81), suggests th« -w- may be original rather than derived. Particularly as regards Benedict’s (1972a:67) difficulty ir distinguishing -waj from -oj, Nishi’s (1999a:678) tentative suggestion that Benedict’s -wij may be bette: treated as -uj is nonetheless preferable to Matisoff’s (1992:170-3) treatment of © as -uj which falls victim tc the same overly literal orthographic interpretation as Pulleyblank. Pulleyblank (1963:217-8) literally interprets < and 5 the latter composed of the individual form p of — and the tonal variant © of ©, to support an underlying wi, but these are orthographic conventions of no phonological import.** Regardless of the symmetry afforded with wa, Nishi’s (1999a:678) suggestion that Pulleyblank’s system has little value is overly dismissive: Pulleyblank’s observation of the medial 5 -w- in the Written Burmese form e5 of -05 -wij, which rhymes with -ij e- / 205, is supported by Benedict (1972a:67) and provides a simpler diachronic account than Nishi’s (1999a:678) proposed vowel-breaking of -uj > -wij; °° Pulleyblank’s treatment of Jones’ and Gong’s phonological distinction of w and ww as wi and iw resolves the lack of any real phonetic distinction, unless distinctive vowel length is assumed, in their systems; Pulleyblank’s (1963:218) suggestion that his 7 may originally stem from i unwittingly resolves the similar lack of phonetic distinction between Jones’ and Gong’s -i and -ij7 which may be distinguished as -i and -#.
3.1.4 A Two Vowel i/e System | ee Snorto § COMIMCNUS MW FUuLeyOlalce (1 705.216). * Nishi (1999a:678) suggests -wj > -wij on the basis of a few later inscriptional cases of 208, but the attestation of this form in a very early inscription, discussed by Luce (1969:1.108-9, 1973:81), suggests th« -w- may be original rather than derived. Particularly as regards Benedict’s (1972a:67) difficulty ir distinguishing -waj from -oj, Nishi’s (1999a:678) tentative suggestion that Benedict’s -wij may be bette: treated as -uj is nonetheless preferable to Matisoff’s (1992:170-3) treatment of © as -uj which falls victim tc the same overly literal orthographic interpretation as Pulleyblank. Pulleyblank (1963:217-8) literally interprets < and 5 the latter composed of the individual form p of — and the tonal variant © of ©, to support an underlying wi, but these are orthographic conventions of no phonological import.** Regardless of the symmetry afforded with wa, Nishi’s (1999a:678) suggestion that Pulleyblank’s system has little value is overly dismissive: Pulleyblank’s observation of the medial 5 -w- in the Written Burmese form e5 of -05 -wij, which rhymes with -ij e- / 205, is supported by Benedict (1972a:67) and provides a simpler diachronic account than Nishi’s (1999a:678) proposed vowel-breaking of -uj > -wij; °° Pulleyblank’s treatment of Jones’ and Gong’s phonological distinction of w and ww as wi and iw resolves the lack of any real phonetic distinction, unless distinctive vowel length is assumed, in their systems; Pulleyblank’s (1963:218) suggestion that his 7 may originally stem from i unwittingly resolves the similar lack of phonetic distinction between Jones’ and Gong’s -i and -ij7 which may be distinguished as -i and -#.
Li’s (1974) four vowel system is premised upon the existence of three diphthongs ia, ia and wa. While the roundness of wa explains its lack before bilabial codas and velar codas which would presumably have merged with the labiovelar series, its lack of a counterpart ua before coronals is curious. Li (1974:260;264) suggests wa results from a phonological shift of a between a coronal initial and coda but can find no such conditioning environment for a which forces him to reconstruct va as a temporary measure. Li (1974:264) follows Pulleyblank (1963:208-9) by rejecting Yakhontov’s (1970) proposal, later adopted by Baxter (1992:236-40) below, that wa may represent vowel breaking of a rounded vowel o in a similar manner to uw for ua. Li’s pure vowels also suffer from distibutional difficulties with 7 only occuring before dentals or velars and u only before velars. Li (1974:250;261) accounts for the distributional difficulty between -d and -r by assuming that -ar developed as -ar into Middle Chinese while a possible -ad would have been very close to -ar in any case. Li’s proposals for -ar are actually hitting on a more fundamental a/a ablaut to be discussed below.
Li’s (1974) four vowel system is premised upon the existence of three diphthongs ia, ia and wa. While the roundness of wa explains its lack before bilabial codas and velar codas which would presumably have merged with the labiovelar series, its lack of a counterpart ua before coronals is curious. Li (1974:260;264) suggests wa results from a phonological shift of a between a coronal initial and coda but can find no such conditioning environment for a which forces him to reconstruct va as a temporary measure. Li (1974:264) follows Pulleyblank (1963:208-9) by rejecting Yakhontov’s (1970) proposal, later adopted by Baxter (1992:236-40) below, that wa may represent vowel breaking of a rounded vowel o in a similar manner to uw for ua. Li’s pure vowels also suffer from distibutional difficulties with 7 only occuring before dentals or velars and u only before velars. Li (1974:250;261) accounts for the distributional difficulty between -d and -r by assuming that -ar developed as -ar into Middle Chinese while a possible -ad would have been very close to -ar in any case. Li’s proposals for -ar are actually hitting on a more fundamental a/a ablaut to be discussed below.
Pulleyblank’s convincing reductionism is mitigated by his handling of Li’s diphthongs: Pulleyblank (1977-8:200-2) accounts for Li’s wa via an original -w coda _ that metatheisized with the -a- vowel via the addition of dental suffixes -/, -n and -t; Pulleyblank (1977-8:184) accounts for Li’s ia and ia via palatal features originally associated with initials. It seems unlikely that either proposal could account for all the relevant reflexes. Pulleyblank’s (1962:216-221, 1973b:371) replacement of Li’s voiced obstruents with glides follows a proposal by Haudricourt (1954b:364) to account for contacts between Ru and Yin rhymes as a result of suffixal -s on final obstruents. Pulleyblank (1977-8:185-6) follows Schuessler (1974a) in reconstructing final -/ which ne assumes to have merged with -~j very early on.
Pulleyblank’s convincing reductionism is mitigated by his handling of Li’s diphthongs: Pulleyblank (1977-8:200-2) accounts for Li’s wa via an original -w coda _ that metatheisized with the -a- vowel via the addition of dental suffixes -/, -n and -t; Pulleyblank (1977-8:184) accounts for Li’s ia and ia via palatal features originally associated with initials. It seems unlikely that either proposal could account for all the relevant reflexes. Pulleyblank’s (1962:216-221, 1973b:371) replacement of Li’s voiced obstruents with glides follows a proposal by Haudricourt (1954b:364) to account for contacts between Ru and Yin rhymes as a result of suffixal -s on final obstruents. Pulleyblank (1977-8:185-6) follows Schuessler (1974a) in reconstructing final -/ which ne assumes to have merged with -~j very early on.
Baxter’s (1992:294;414) treatment of Pulleyblank’s -/ as -j struggles to account for occasional rhyming contacts with -n. Schuessler’s (1974a:83) hypothesis that an original -r may have merged with -/ is developed in Starostin’s (1989:338-41) suggestion, adopted by Baxter (1995), that -r merged with -n and -j dialectally. However, Baxter’s (2005:4-21) and Baxter & Sagart’s (2008:25-7;48-51) treatment of the -7 reflex as a restricted dialect feature that was occasionally preserved mitigates its usefulness as a complete account for Shijing rhyme correspondences which Pulleyblank’s -/ better serves. Baxter’s (1992:257) broadening of the more restricted proposals in Pulleyblank (1991a:66) to suggest a complete merger of -iy/k with -in/t is well-founded, but difficulties with his further association of -iy/k with -ey/k will be discussed in 4.2 below. Baxter’s (1992:563) tentative suggestion that -i may have merged with -ij is unnecessary according to the discussion in 3.1.3; an explanation for the distributional lack of -ej will be found below.
Baxter’s (1992:294;414) treatment of Pulleyblank’s -/ as -j struggles to account for occasional rhyming contacts with -n. Schuessler’s (1974a:83) hypothesis that an original -r may have merged with -/ is developed in Starostin’s (1989:338-41) suggestion, adopted by Baxter (1995), that -r merged with -n and -j dialectally. However, Baxter’s (2005:4-21) and Baxter & Sagart’s (2008:25-7;48-51) treatment of the -7 reflex as a restricted dialect feature that was occasionally preserved mitigates its usefulness as a complete account for Shijing rhyme correspondences which Pulleyblank’s -/ better serves. Baxter’s (1992:257) broadening of the more restricted proposals in Pulleyblank (1991a:66) to suggest a complete merger of -iy/k with -in/t is well-founded, but difficulties with his further association of -iy/k with -ey/k will be discussed in 4.2 below. Baxter’s (1992:563) tentative suggestion that -i may have merged with -ij is unnecessary according to the discussion in 3.1.3; an explanation for the distributional lack of -ej will be found below.
4.1.4 A Two Vowel a/a System™ ? This is originally presented in Button (2010:7) without detailed discussion.
4.1.4 A Two Vowel a/a System™ ? This is originally presented in Button (2010:7) without detailed discussion.
The system adopted here essentially follows that of Sagart (1999b:25-42) and Baxter & Sagart (2008) without their uvular hypothesis.” Sagart & Baxter’s (2009) detailed proposal for uvulars tacitly expounds upon ideas briefly espoused, and later abandoned, by Pulleyblank (1977-8:198-9, 1982b). The unlikelihood of original uvular initials in Sino-Tibetan is discussed in 5.2.4.
The system adopted here essentially follows that of Sagart (1999b:25-42) and Baxter & Sagart (2008) without their uvular hypothesis.” Sagart & Baxter’s (2009) detailed proposal for uvulars tacitly expounds upon ideas briefly espoused, and later abandoned, by Pulleyblank (1977-8:198-9, 1982b). The unlikelihood of original uvular initials in Sino-Tibetan is discussed in 5.2.4.
5.1 Rhymes * See Miller (1988) and Beckwith (2002a) for dissenting views.
5.1 Rhymes * See Miller (1988) and Beckwith (2002a) for dissenting views.
Shafer’s (1940, 1941, 1966-7:57-73) vowel system is tentatively premised on vowel gradation between i ~ e/ei ~ai and u/ui ~ o ~ au in which diphthongs are limited to open syllables. Shafer’s (1940:332) speculative hankering for an original i/w/a system, in which Sino-Tibetan a has lowered to Tibeto-Burman a,” appears further influenced by the restricted occurrence of medial -w- before -i and -a, with phonotactic constraints preventing a parallel case before -w.
Shafer’s (1940, 1941, 1966-7:57-73) vowel system is tentatively premised on vowel gradation between i ~ e/ei ~ai and u/ui ~ o ~ au in which diphthongs are limited to open syllables. Shafer’s (1940:332) speculative hankering for an original i/w/a system, in which Sino-Tibetan a has lowered to Tibeto-Burman a,” appears further influenced by the restricted occurrence of medial -w- before -i and -a, with phonotactic constraints preventing a parallel case before -w.
In spite of Benedict’s (1972a:69) explicit rejection of Shafer’s vowel gradation, Egerod (1973) and Miller (1974) note that Benedict’s (1972a:57-9) system, replete with extra distinctions, struggles to achieve any completely convincing regularity. Excluding Benedict’s diphthongs -ew and -oj, which will be discussed separately below due to their exploitation of the blurring between open and closed syllables in Benedict’s counterintuitive treatment of Shafer’s diphthongs as open syllables closed with -j and -w, the above layout of Benedict’s phonemes demonstrates the pervasive influence of Shafer’s system.** Benedict (1972a:58;65) implicitly supports his reanalysis of Shafer’s diphthongs via a length distinction of -aj and -aw from -a;j and -a:w to account for a supposed merger of -aj and -aw with -ej and -ow in Northern Chin. Benedict’s separate patterning of -aj/-aw from -aj/-aw and -ej/-ow retains the association of the latter two pairs with their pure vowel counterparts -i/-u and -e/-o, included by Benedict in parentheses due to their rarity, that Matisoff (2003:160) notes could be viewed as a typologically curious vowel length distinction in open syllables.
In spite of Benedict’s (1972a:69) explicit rejection of Shafer’s vowel gradation, Egerod (1973) and Miller (1974) note that Benedict’s (1972a:57-9) system, replete with extra distinctions, struggles to achieve any completely convincing regularity. Excluding Benedict’s diphthongs -ew and -oj, which will be discussed separately below due to their exploitation of the blurring between open and closed syllables in Benedict’s counterintuitive treatment of Shafer’s diphthongs as open syllables closed with -j and -w, the above layout of Benedict’s phonemes demonstrates the pervasive influence of Shafer’s system.** Benedict (1972a:58;65) implicitly supports his reanalysis of Shafer’s diphthongs via a length distinction of -aj and -aw from -a;j and -a:w to account for a supposed merger of -aj and -aw with -ej and -ow in Northern Chin. Benedict’s separate patterning of -aj/-aw from -aj/-aw and -ej/-ow retains the association of the latter two pairs with their pure vowel counterparts -i/-u and -e/-o, included by Benedict in parentheses due to their rarity, that Matisoff (2003:160) notes could be viewed as a typologically curious vowel length distinction in open syllables.
Benedict’s dipthongs may be unequivocally analysed as closed rhymes with a -j or -w coda that pattern as all other closed syllables in the vertical vowel system. By treating Shafer’s dipthongs with -i and -w as -7 and -w, Benedict draws tantalizingly close to achieving a vertical a/a system which may be achieved by some reanalysis:*° Benedict (1972a:61-2) contrasts the pure vowels -i/-u with -aj/-aw, treated here as -aj/-wa and -ja/-aw respectively, to account for Old Burmese -i/-wi as opposed to -ijAw, yet Benedict’s -i and -w are actually the sources of Northern Chin -¢ and -aw thereby concomitantly removing the need for Benedict’s -ej and -ow;*’ Benedict’s (1972a:58-9) -e and -o may be removed due to his general identification of them with -ia and -wa, treated here as -ja and -wa respetively, and the lack of supporting evidence for the handful of cases where he retains pure vowels. It is perhaps not insiginifcant that Benedict (1972a:69-70) retains the possibility of Pulleyblank’s (1965) proposals for a Sino-Tibetan a/a ablaut as an account for Shafer’s vowel gradation. ** Furthermore, Matisoff (2003:159) compares Hockett’s (1947:266-7) two vowel system for Mandarin Chinese that Pulleyblank (1984a:46-57, 1984b) uses to justify his proposal for a basic a/a system underlying Old Chinese. 5.1.1.3 A Vertical a/a System
Benedict’s dipthongs may be unequivocally analysed as closed rhymes with a -j or -w coda that pattern as all other closed syllables in the vertical vowel system. By treating Shafer’s dipthongs with -i and -w as -7 and -w, Benedict draws tantalizingly close to achieving a vertical a/a system which may be achieved by some reanalysis:*° Benedict (1972a:61-2) contrasts the pure vowels -i/-u with -aj/-aw, treated here as -aj/-wa and -ja/-aw respectively, to account for Old Burmese -i/-wi as opposed to -ijAw, yet Benedict’s -i and -w are actually the sources of Northern Chin -¢ and -aw thereby concomitantly removing the need for Benedict’s -ej and -ow;*’ Benedict’s (1972a:58-9) -e and -o may be removed due to his general identification of them with -ia and -wa, treated here as -ja and -wa respetively, and the lack of supporting evidence for the handful of cases where he retains pure vowels. It is perhaps not insiginifcant that Benedict (1972a:69-70) retains the possibility of Pulleyblank’s (1965) proposals for a Sino-Tibetan a/a ablaut as an account for Shafer’s vowel gradation. ** Furthermore, Matisoff (2003:159) compares Hockett’s (1947:266-7) two vowel system for Mandarin Chinese that Pulleyblank (1984a:46-57, 1984b) uses to justify his proposal for a basic a/a system underlying Old Chinese. 5.1.1.3 A Vertical a/a System
Sagart’s (1999b:77, 2003, 2006b) discussion of m- in Old Chinese, discussed in 4.5.2, compares favourably with the former, but the role of s- in Old Chinese, which appears to require a separate series of aspirated initials, does not compare. Hartmann’s (1985, 2001) discussion of southern Chin prenasalisation and preglottalisation, discussed in 1.2.1, also bears some association but again a distinct aspirated series is required. In the correspondences, no attempt is made to identify s- or m- prefixes, although a distinct aspirated series may nonetheless be identified. Benedict (1972a:18) treats Tibeto-Burman ts- as a source of Northern Chin s-. However, the data here suggests that Tibeto-Burman ts- remains unchanged in Northern Chin while ts'- gives Northern Chin s-. Benedict’s (1972a:17) proposal that Tibeto-Burman f’- is the
Sagart’s (1999b:77, 2003, 2006b) discussion of m- in Old Chinese, discussed in 4.5.2, compares favourably with the former, but the role of s- in Old Chinese, which appears to require a separate series of aspirated initials, does not compare. Hartmann’s (1985, 2001) discussion of southern Chin prenasalisation and preglottalisation, discussed in 1.2.1, also bears some association but again a distinct aspirated series is required. In the correspondences, no attempt is made to identify s- or m- prefixes, although a distinct aspirated series may nonetheless be identified. Benedict (1972a:18) treats Tibeto-Burman ts- as a source of Northern Chin s-. However, the data here suggests that Tibeto-Burman ts- remains unchanged in Northern Chin while ts'- gives Northern Chin s-. Benedict’s (1972a:17) proposal that Tibeto-Burman f’- is the
The attestation of k"- and y”- in Old Chinese suggests an original Sino-Tibetan source. Although in Old Burmese there appears to have been a merger with kw- and yw-, Matisoff (1978b:6-7, 1980:11, 1986, 2006:101), and Matisoff in Benedict (1979:27), reconstructs Lolo-Burmese k"- to account for correspondences between velars and bilabials in daughter languages. The evidence here suggests that while the Old Burmese reflexes of k"- merged with those of kw-, in Northern Chin k”- remained distinct from kw- long enough to allow vowel lowering of a to a in spite of the labial environment.
The attestation of k"- and y”- in Old Chinese suggests an original Sino-Tibetan source. Although in Old Burmese there appears to have been a merger with kw- and yw-, Matisoff (1978b:6-7, 1980:11, 1986, 2006:101), and Matisoff in Benedict (1979:27), reconstructs Lolo-Burmese k"- to account for correspondences between velars and bilabials in daughter languages. The evidence here suggests that while the Old Burmese reflexes of k"- merged with those of kw-, in Northern Chin k”- remained distinct from kw- long enough to allow vowel lowering of a to a in spite of the labial environment.
Related topics:
Historical LinguisticsKuki StudiesBurmese StudiesOld ChineseBurmese languageKuki-Chin LanguagesOld CHinese LanguageTedim Zomi
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