Notes Wangmo Fuxi 1. Phone and phoneme inventory

2. Phonology of data points 327 Final consonants o, s, j, l, m, M Vowels Front Central Back unrd unrd rd Close h [ X], [O] t Near-close [ H] [ T] Close-mid [ d] n, [n:] Mid = Open-mid D B Near-open Open `, `: Tones Category 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pitch value 24 42 52 31 35 33 35 34

2.17.2. Notes

• [t] and [ sb] are contrastive. See minimal pairs . • [f] and [v] seem to be separate phonemes, though they could arguably be considered in complementary distribution with a few exceptions. Only [f] occurs before rounded vowels four instances. [v] occurs mainly with odd numbered tones with four exceptions: two of these being in the environment CV__V, which could cause an [f] → [v] change. [f] only occurs with an odd tone once—all other instances are with even tones. When comparing the [f] items with their proto-forms, it is found that [f] corresponds mainly to mw and v, with one correspondence each to hm and b. Historical forms were not found for a few of the items, and some of the words were a completely different lexical item. [v] corresponds to v, Fw, w, hw, f, and xw historically. [f] and [v] are tentatively considered separate phonemes. See near minimal pairs . • [s], [ r[], and [S] can be considered allophones, with the degree of dental fronting varying at random. Most items are distinctly interdental, or have a large degree of dental fronting. [s], with no or little dental fronting, only occurs four times, and will not be considered a separate phoneme. The phoneme is taken to be S. • [ b] occurs numerous times, and there is no question that it is a phoneme separate from S. Both occur on even and odd tones, though the near minimal pairs do not show this. See minimal pairs . • [ y[] only occurs twice and is considered an allophone of [p]. [ p] occurs numerous times. • [ p] and [S] are distinct phonemes. See minimal pairs . 328 2.17.2. Notes • [ Y] and [P] each occur only one time and [Y] occurs before [B], as does [p]. There are no good minimal pairs between [ Y][P] and [s][r[][S]. [ Y] and [P] are not considered phonemic, but there are exceptions. • [ ¯] is a phoneme separate from [n]. It occurs before high vowels a number of times, but before other vowels as well. Also, [n] occurs before [i] once and [u] twice. See minimal pairs . [ M] is also a separate phoneme, although it only occurs on three lexical items. Two of these items have proto-forms with M—one with proto-form fM. Each of these three lexical items occur on tone 2. However, [n] also occurs on tone 2. See minimal pairs . • [h] only occurs once and is considered a random variant of [x], while [x] occurs numerous times. [ G] only occurs twice: once in the environment V__V. This too is considered a variant of [x]. • [ fi] is phonemic and [f] occurs in the environment __iV twice. Also, the degree of palatali- zation is generally quite strong—easily distinguishable from a [ fh] – sequence. The situation of [ fv] is different, however. [ fv] occurs only once and [ft] + V sequences occur four times. The degree of labialization is not significant, so [ fv] is not considered phonemic, but a variation of [ft]. • There are nine items with [ oi] and [oi] is considered phonemic. [p] does not occur in the environment [pi] + V. The degree of palatalization is strong, and some of the items have a pj proto-form. • [kw] occurs a number of times and is considered phonemic. [ku] + V occurs twice. The degree of labialization is quite strong, and the degree of vocality of the [u] in the two [ku] + V items is also quite clear. • [ pv] only occurs once and [pt] + V occurs five times. [ pv] should be considered to have an UR of pt and is not phonemic. • [ wv] occurs once, and [wT] + V occurs twice. The degree of labialization on the [xw] item is not sufficiently strong to warrant labeling it as phonemic, therefore, it is not seen as separate from [ wt] + V. • Each of the phones [a], [ ], and [a:] occur a large number of times and are all phonemes. See minimal pairs . • [e] only occurs once and is considered a variation of [ D]. • [ H] only occurs on five lexical items: all in the environment C__C+stop. However, [i] also occurs in this same environment seven times. [ H] is an allophone of [i], though the change i → [H] in that environment is not consistent. See allophonic rule . • [o:] occurs on nine lexical items and is distinctly longer than [o]. [ B] occurs on eight items. These two phones are both phonemic. See minimal pairs . • [ T] occurs on 14 lexical items—all in the environment C__=C, except for one. However, [u] also occurs in that environment nine times. This situation between [u] and [ T] is similar to [H] and [i]. See rule . 2. Phonology of data points 329 • [ X] occurs a number of times, as does [=]. They are in complementary distribution and so are considered allophones. See rule . • The vowel [ O] occurs once: on 325 ‘matchmaker’ [ot3 r[O4]. This occurrence is unexplained, and may be a variant of [ X]. It is not considered phonemic.

2.17.3. Minimal pairs