Proto-Hlai language

The Proto-Hlai language is the reconstructed ancestor of the Hlai languages. Proto-Hlai reconstructions include those of Matisoff (1988), Thurgood (1991), Ostapirat (2004), and Norquest (2007).

Phonology

Peter K. Norquest reconstructs a total of 32 Proto-Hlai consonants (Norquest 2007:135), although Weera Ostapirat reconstructs only 19 proto-consonants (Ostapirat 2007:145).

Proto-Hlai Consonants
(Norquest 2007)

	Labial		Alveolar		Postalveolar		Palatal		Velar		Glottal
Glottal or Implosive	ɓ		ɗ				tɕ		k		(Ci/u)ʔ
Unvoiced Aspirated	pʰ		tʰ		tʃʰ(w)		tɕʰ		kʰ
Unvoiced Fricative	f(j)		s
Voiced Fricative	C-β										(Ci/u)ɦ
Unvoiced Nasal	ʰm		ʰn				ʰɲ		ʰŋ(w)
Voiced Nasal	C-m		C-n				C-ɲ		C(u)ŋ
Unvoiced Lateral			ʰl
Voiced Lateral	p-l		C-l
Tap or Trill			(Cu)ɾ, (Cu)r
Liquid or Glide			lj, ɾj
Unvoiced Approximant	ʰw						ʰj
Voiced Approximant	ʋ

In Ostapirat's (2004) reconstruction, Proto-Hlai forms can be both monosyllabic and disyllabic. Some disyllabic forms have medial consonants beginning with three penultimate vowels (*u-, *i-, *a-; the last of which is default). Vowels can also combine with *-i or *-u to form diphthongs. Tones (*A, *B, *C, *D) are also reconstructed.

In the table below, proto-Hlai consonants marked as green can occur at the end of syllables.

Proto-Hlai Consonants
(Ostapirat 2004)

	Labial		Labiodental		Alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Glottal or uvular
Nasal	m				n		ɲ		ŋ
Unvoiced Stop	p				t		c		k		ʔ
Voiced Stop	b				d		ɟ		ɡ
Unvoiced Fricative					s
Approximant	w		ʋ		l		j
Trill					r						ʀ

There is a total of 4-5 Proto-Hlai vowels in Norquest's reconstruction (Norquest 2007:238). Ostapirat (2004) reconstructs 5 vowels, which are /a, ə, i, ɨ, u/.

Proto-Hlai Vowels
(Norquest 2007)

Height		Front		Central		Back
Close		/iː/		/ɯː/		/uː/
Mid		(/eː/)
Open				/aː/

There are 7 possible closed rimes in Norquest's reconstruction of Proto-Hlai, not counting vowel length (Norquest 2007:330).

• *i(:)C
• *ɯ(:)C
• *u(:)C
• *e:C
• *ə:C
• *a:C
• *oC

Sound changes

For further information about the Pre-Hlai language as reconstructed by Norquest (2007), Proto-Tai language#Proto-Southern Kradai.

The transition from Pre-Hlai (the predecessor of the Proto-Hlai language ancestral to both Hlai and Jiamao) to Proto-Hlai involved the following series of sound changes (Norquest 2007:308). (Order follows that of the table of contents – not intended to be sequential)

1. Elimation of Uvulars – loss of Pre-Hlai uvulars *q, *C-q, *C-ɢ
2. Intervocalic Lenition – -p- > -ʋ-, -t- > -ɾ-, -k- > -ɦ-, etc.
3. Initial Devoicing – loss of voiced fricatives, etc.
4. Vocalic Transfer – vowel in penultimate syllable moved to last syllable
5. Initial Aspiration
6. Monosyllabification – Pre-Hlai, which was sesquisyllabic, was reduced to monosyllabic forms in Proto-Hlai.
7. Stop and Fricative Affrication – ʈʰ > tʃʰ, cʰ > tɕʰ, etc.
8. Peripheral Vowel Raising – e(:C) > i(:C), o(:C) > u(:C), ɛ:(C) > e:(C), ɔC > oC
9. Monophthongization – *ɯa(C) > *ɯə(C) > *ɯ:(C), *o:y > *wi: > *i:

Or, in the sequential order given in Norquest (2007:416-417), which excludes monophthongization:

1. Intervocalic lenition
2. Elimation of uvulars
3. Peripheral vowel raising
4. Initial devoicing
5. Vocalic Transfer
6. Initial aspiration
7. Monosyllabification
8. Stop and fricative affrication

After evolving from Pre-Hlai, Proto-Hlai initials went through 4 main types of sound changes (Norquest 2007:66).

1. Temporal compression – reduction of constituents in the syllable; most common
2. Gesture reduction
3. Onset fortition – change to initial aspiration, etc.
4. Systemic realignment – mergers, etc.

After the breakup of Proto-Hlai, the following sound changes occurred in various Hlai branches.

1. Devoicing
2. Registrogenesis – creation of tone registers (i.e., register splits); most likely influenced by Hainanese Min Chinese

References and further reading

• Norquest, Peter K. 2007. A Phonological Reconstruction of Proto-Hlai. Ph.D. dissertation. Tucson: Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona.
• Ostapirat, Weera. 2004. "Proto-Hlai Sound System and Lexicons." In Studies on Sino-Tibetan Languages: Papers in Honor of Professor Hwang-cherng Gong on His Seventieth Birthday. Edited by Ying-chin Lin, Fang-min Hsu, Chun-chih Lee, Jackson T.-S. Sun, Hsiu-fang Yang, and Dah-an Ho. Institute of Linguistics. Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan: 121-175.
• Matisoff, James. 1988. "Proto-Hlai initials and tones: a first approximation." In Comparative Kadai: Linguistic studies beyond Tai. Edited by Jerold A. Edmondson and David B. Solnit. Summer Institute of Linguistics and The University of Texas at Arlington Publications in Linguistics No. 86: 289-321.
• Thurgood, Graham. 1991. "Proto-Hlai (Li): a look at the initials, tones, and finals." In Kadai: Discussions in Kadai and SE Asian Linguistics III: 1-49.

See also

• Proto-Tai language
• Proto-Kra language
• Proto-Austronesian language
• Austro-Tai languages

External links

• ABVD: Proto-Hlai word list