Proto-Hlai is the reconstructed ancestor of the Hlai languages. Proto-Hlai reconstructions include those of Matisoff (1988), Thurgood (1991), Wu (2000), Ostapirat (2004), and Norquest (2007).
Phonology
Peter K. Norquest (2007) reconstructs 29 basic Proto-Hlai consonants (Norquest 2007:135), while Weera Ostapirat reconstructs only 19 proto-consonants (Ostapirat 2007:145).
Norquest additionally reconstructs six onsets suggesting consonant clusters: *pl,*fj,*lj,*ɾj,*tʃʰw,*ŋ̊w. Whether these were actual consonant clusters is not clear. The clusters with a glide as a second member may have been coarticulated consonants: palatalized*fʲ,*lʲ,*ɾʲ, labialized*tʃʰʷ,*ŋ̊ʷ, while *pl may have arisen from a sesquisyllable *p-l.
Norquest also reconstructs six bisyllabic root shapes:
*Ci + glottal: *Ciʔ-, *Ciɦ-
*Cu + glottal: *Cuʔ-, *Cuɦ-
*Cu + rhotic: *Cuɾ-, *Cur-
Pretonic syllables are later lost in all Hlai languages, but in these six combinations, they trigger in some languages conditional developments of the tonic syllable's onset consonant, allowing them to be distinguished in reconstruction.
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.
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)
Elimination of Uvulars – loss of Pre-Hlai uvulars *q, *C-q, *C-ɢ
A very rare correspondence set, with only one word ('tooth', *fjən) being reflected in both key languages, Cunhua and Changjiang.
*C-β
*Cup
p
f
f
f
kʷ
ɣ
f
*s
*s
t
t
t
t
tθ
f
s
tsʰ
*s > t is a late areal change, shared also by the only distantly related Be language.
*ɦ
*C-k
h
h
h
h
h
h
h
h
*m̥
*C-m
m
p
p
p ↓
pʰ ↓
p ↓
ɓ ↓
p ↓
p ↓
p
p
p ↓
In these correspondence sets, nasality is retained only in Bouhin. Norquest reconstructs prenasalized stops *mb, *nd, *ɲɟ, *ŋg as the proto-non-Bouhin intermediate stage.
Rhinoglottophilia in Cunhua through Run: *Cuɦ > *(Cu)ɦw > *ʔŋʷ.
*l̥
*C-l
ɗ
ɬ
ɬ
ɬ
tθ
l
ɬ
ɬ
*C-l
*l
l
l
l
l
l ↓
l
l
l
l
l
l ↓
*p-l
*p-l
pl
pl
p
pl
ɓ ↓, l ↓
pʲ ↓
p ↓
pl
pl
*ɾ
*C-r
r
r
r
r ↓
l ↓
l ↓
l ↓
l ↓
l ↓
r
r
r ↓
*r
*C-ʀ
r
g
g
g ↓
h ↓
h ↓
h ↓
ŋ ↓
g ↓
x
x
kʰ
*ʔ
*ʔ
ʔ
ʔ
ʔ
ʔ
ʔ
ʔ
ʔ
ʔ
*Ciʔ
*Ciʔ
ʔʲ
z
z
ʔʲ
z
ʔʲ
z
z
These onsets (as well as *Ciɦ-, *Cuɦ- above) showing characteristic cheshirization outside of Bouhin and Ha Em.
*Cuʔ
*Cuʔ
ʔʷ
gʷ
v
ʔʷ
v
ʔʷ
kʷ
ɣ
v
*Cur
*Cuʀ
r
g
gʷ
gʷ ↓
v ↓
hʷ ↓
v ↓
ŋ ↓, v ↓
kʷ
ɣ
v
*Cuɾ
*Cur
r
r
v
f ↓
v ↓
v ↓
f
f ↓
*ʋ
*C-ʋ
v
v
f ↓
v ↓
v
v ↓
v
v
v ↓
*ʍ
*Vw
hʷ
v ↓
v
*ŋ̊w
h ↓
ŋ ↓, v ↓
*ȷ̊
*Vj
z
z
z
z ↓
z ↓
z
z
z ↓
z ↓
z
z
z ↓
*lj
*il
ɬ ↓
l ↓
ts ↓
With *lj > *lʑ > *ɮ > ɬ in Qi (lowered tone still indicating earlier voicing).
*ɾj
*Cir
z
z
r
t ↓
tʰ ↓
t ↓
z ↓
l ↓
t ↓
t
t, ts
t, ts ↓
The symbol ↓ indicates here a lowered tone on the following vowel in those Hlai languages where tone split has taken place; this normally occurs following earlier voiced consonants.
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.
