Shared tonal developments in Yang’an Sui and Kam

the Great Tone Split does provide strong evidence for subgrouping languages and dialects in the Kam-Sui branch.

4.3 Divergent tonal development in Sui dialects

In all Sui dialects, odd-numbered yīn tones more often than not occur with voiceless or preglottalised onsets. 78.3 of the words with yīn tones that we collected from Sandong have voiceless onsets. On the other hand, only 52.3 of words with yáng tones have voiced onsets, indicating that devoicing is a more common historical sound change in Sui than voicing. Li Fang-kuei 1948:165 commented on this same fact. However, we see that certain words bear odd-numbered yīn tones in Yang’an Sui and all dialects of Kam, whereas the same words bear even-numbered yáng tones in all other Sui dialects. There are other words for which the opposite is the case. Li Fang-kuei 1977a:36 observed a similar phenomenon among Taic languages: Po’ai sometimes exhibits yáng tones where Siamese and Lungchow have y īn tones, and occasionally the opposite is evident. Li suggests that this tone alternation is probably due to an alternation of voiced and voiceless initial consonants in Proto-Tai which led to divergent tones when the Great Tone Split occurred. However, he neither reconstructs the proto-onsets for such words at an earlier stage nor identifies the conditioning factors which could have led to these tone alternations. Pittayaporn 2009 proposes a Proto-Tai sesquisyllabic form with voiced and voiceless elements which subsequently monosyllabicised resulting in a low register reflex in some dialects and a high register reflex in others. A simpler solution would be to posit a Proto-Tai voiced initial which became voiceless after the tone split in Po’ai but before the tone split in Siamese and Lungchow. In Taic, most of these yīn-yáng tone alternations occur on words with voiceless onset reflexes. Unlike Taic languages, Sui exhibits a set of contrasting yīn-yáng tone alternations which mainly go with voiced onset reflexes, almost always liquids or nasals. Thus we propose a set of Proto-Kam-Sui voiceless initials which became voiced after the tone split in non-Yang’an Sui but before the tone split in Yang’an Sui and Kam. In some cases, the voicing may have occurred due to a voiced presyllable in PKS which was subsequently lost.

4.3.1 Shared tonal developments in Yang’an Sui and Kam

Yang’an tonal developments show striking similarities to those seen in Kam dialects. In particular, our evidence indicates that the Great Tone Split occurred at the same point of time in both Kam and Yang’an Sui in relation to certain onset developments which are shared by both and are unlikely to have happened independently. We therefore suggest that Yang’an “Sui” actually belongs to the Kam branch of Kam-Sui along with Mulam and Then. Although Yang’an Sui now shares some tonal features with Sandong and Pandong Sui, thus “sounding” more like Sui than Kam to some extent, we show in section 4.5 that this is a result of areal diffusion of phonetic tonal traits which took place after Yang’an Sui speakers had migrated to the Sui area. Table 4.2 shows the modern reflexes of PKS ʔl-, hl- and l- in the Sui dialects. Yang’an consistently realises hl- as l- with a yáng tone, in common with Kam, Then and Mulam see Thurgood 1988:191. This suggests that the Great Tone Split occurred after the voicing of the initial in Yang’an Sui, Kam, Then and Mulam, whereas the tone split occurred before the initial had become voiced in the rest of Sui. Ferlus 1996:274 posits PKS Cl- instead of Thurgood’s hl-, involving an unspecified preconsonant which was preserved in non-Yang’an Sui until after the tone split. Table 4.2. PKS ʔl-, hl- and l- reflexes in Sui and Kam yīn and yáng tones are divided by double lines Sandong Pandong Yang’an Kam Gloss PKS SD DJ JQ PD JL TN BL ‘to wash clothes’ ʔlak D lɐk⁷ lak⁷ lɐk⁷ lak⁷ lɐk⁷ lak⁷ lak⁷ sak⁷ ‘to rest’ - lwa⁵ lwa⁵ la⁵ luə⁵ lɯə⁵ la⁵ la⁵ sa⁵ ‘soup’ † lu⁵ lu⁵ lu⁵ lu⁵ saːu⁵ ‘wind’ hlwum A - lom¹ - lom¹ lom¹ lom² - ləm² ‘back of body’ hlaːi A laːi¹ laːi¹ laːi¹ - laːi¹ laːi² laːi² laːi² ‘book’ hle A lɛ¹ lɛ¹ lɛ¹ le¹ læ¹ lɛ² lɛ² le² ‘to descend’ hlui B lui⁵ lui⁵ lui⁵ lui⁵ lui⁵ lui⁶ - lui⁶ ‘to lick’ - - - lja¹ - - lja² lja² lja² ‘to steal’ hljak D ljɐk⁷ ljak⁷ ljɐk⁷ ljak⁷ ljɐk⁷ ljak⁸ ljak⁸ ljək⁸ ‘chilli’ m- hljaːn B ljaːn⁵ ljaːn⁵ ljaːn⁵ lien⁵ lin⁵ ljaːn⁶ ljaːn⁶ ljaːn⁶ ‘to forget’ laːm A laːm² laːm² laːm² laːm² laːm² laːm² laːm² laːm² ‘behind’ lun A lən² lən² lən² lən² lən² lən² lən² lən² ‘belly’ luŋ A lɔŋ² lɔːŋ² lɔːŋ² lɔɐŋ² lɔɐŋ² lɔːŋ² lɔŋ² loŋ² † Sui data from Zeng 2004 Table 4.3 gives a set of correspondences which is more difficult to explain. In the words for ‘intestines’, ‘tail’, ‘to sit’ and ‘place’, Yang’an along with all Kam dialects exhibits yīn tones with voiced initials whereas the rest of Sui for these words exhibits yáng tones with voiceless initials. In both cases, this voicing-tone association is the opposite of what one would expect, since voiced initials originally triggered yáng tones. Thurgood’s reconstruction does not account for this anomaly. Ferlus 1996:268 suggests PKS kⁿs- for ‘intestines’ and ‘tail’ based partly on the respective Mulam reflexes kʰɣaːi³ and kʰɣat⁷. In this scenario, the nasal component of the presyllable kⁿ- may have induced the yáng tones in non-Yang’an Sui after the initial k- was lost. Note that s- h- is a well-attested sound change in Sui see chapter 5, section 5.2.5.3. An s- Kam, l- Sui, h ɣ- Mulam alternation is also attested in words such as ‘soup’ table 4.2. Table 4.3. PKS dz-, khj-, kj- y īn and yáng tones are divided by double lines Sandong Pandong Yang’an Kam Gloss PKS SD DJ JQ PD JL TN BL ‘worm’ dzan C hɐn⁴ han⁴ hɐn⁴ han⁴ hɐn⁴ han⁴ hɐn⁴ san⁴ ‘snake’ dzuːi A hoi² hui² hui² hui² hui² hui² hui² sui² ‘son-in-law’ - haːu⁴ haːu⁴ haːu⁴ haːu⁴ haːu⁴ haːu⁴ haːu⁴ saːu⁴ ‘intestines’ khjaːi C haːi⁴ haːi⁴ haːi⁴ haːi⁴ haːi⁴ laːi³ laːi³ saːi³ ‘tail’ khjut D hət⁸ hət⁸ xət⁸ hət⁸ hət⁸ lət⁷ lət⁷ sət⁷ ‘to sit’ dzuːi B hoi⁶ hui⁶ hui⁶ hui⁶ hui⁶ lui⁵ lui⁵ sui⁵ ‘place’ - hən² hən² xən² hən² hən² lən¹ lən¹ sən¹ ‘to give’ khjaːi A haːi¹ haːi¹ haːi¹ haːi¹ haːi¹ haːi¹ haːi¹ sai¹ ‘early morning’ khjam A hɐm¹ ham¹ hɐm¹ ham¹ ham¹ ham¹ hɐm¹ sam¹ ‘to catch’ kjap D hɐp⁷ hap⁷ hɐp⁷ hap⁷ hɐp⁷ hap⁷ hɐp⁷ sap⁷ ‘root’ kjaːŋ A haːŋ¹ haːŋ¹ haːŋ¹ haːŋ¹ kau³ haːŋ¹ haːŋ¹ saŋ¹ Yang’an Sui, and occasionally Pandong Sui too, exhibits yīn-yáng tone correspondences that match Kam for a subset of words with nasal onsets. Table 4.4 shows correspondences for PKS n- and ŋj-. For some of these words, Yang’an Sui and Kam bear yīn tones suggesting a voiceless proto-onset whereas the rest of Sui and Maonan and Mulam, see ILCRD 1996 bear yáng tones. Ferlus 1996 proposes the following proto-onsets for two of the words: Cm- for ‘louse’ and hnr- for ‘moon’. For ‘dew’, Pittayaporn 2009 posits Proto-Tai C̬.nwa:j A , presumably cognate with the Kam-Sui word. Whatever the precise origins, the data indicate that the Proto-Kam-Sui onset had a voiceless or glottal component which was lost before the tone split induced yáng tones in most of the Sui dialects. Table 4.4. PKS n- , ŋj- yīn and yáng tones are divided by double lines Sandong Pandong Yang’an Kam Gloss PKS SD DJ JQ PD JL TN BL ‘meat’ naːn C naːn⁴ naːn⁴ naːn⁴ naːn⁴ naːn⁴ naːn⁴ naːn⁴ naːn⁴ ‘insect’ - nui² nui² - nui² nui² nui² nui² ni² ‘to smell’ nun C nən⁴ nən⁴ nən⁴ nən⁴ nən⁴ nən⁴ nən⁴ nən⁴ ‘flower’ nuk D nʊk⁸ nʊk⁸ nʊk⁸ nok⁸ nɔɐk⁸ nʊk⁷ nʊk⁷ nuk⁹ ‘louse body’ nan A nɐn² nan² nɐn² nan² nɐn² nan¹ nɐn¹ nan¹ ‘to weed’ ne A ne² ne² ne² ne² næ² nɛ¹ nɛ¹ ne¹ ‘moon’ nüaːn A njen² niɛn² njaːn² nien² nin² njaːn¹ njaːn¹ ȵaːn¹ ‘dew’ - ȵi² ȵi² ȵe² ni² ȵi² mɛ¹ mɛ¹ me¹ † ‘last year’ ‡ - ȵu² - ȵu² SQ ȵu² JC - ȵu¹ YC - - ‘erhu’ § - ȵen² - - - - - - jen¹ ‘to stay’ ŋjaːu B ȵaːu⁶ ȵaːu⁶ ȵaːu⁶ ȵaːu⁶ ȵaːu⁶ ȵaːu⁶ ȵaːu⁶ ȵaːu⁶ ‘to be willing’ - ȵɔn⁶ - ȵuɐn⁶ ȵʉən⁶ ȵuən⁶ ȵɔːn⁶ ȵuɔn⁶ ȵon⁶ † Kam word means ‘frost’. ‡ Data from Zeng 2004. § Sui data from Zeng andYao 1996 and author’s field notes. Words with uvular and simple glottal stop many of which originated in a uvular stop onsets exhibit similar tone alternations. Words with PKS onset hŋl- bear even-numbered yáng tones with voiceless onsets in Yang’an Sui and Kam dialects, and odd-numbered yīn tones with voiced onsets in most of the Sui dialects. Correspondences are shown in table 4.5. As with the examples in table 4.3 above, this is the opposite of what one would expect see also table 4.7 below. The l- onset in some Kam dialects for ‘mushroom’ and ‘shoulder pole’ provides the clue, indicating that Yang’an Sui, along with Kam, had lost the initial h- by the time of the tone split, leading to yáng tones, after which ŋl- became q- or ʔ- in Yang’an and most Kam dialects. On the other hand, other Sui dialects retained the voiceless onset hŋl- at the time of the tone split, leading to yīn tones. Table 4.5. Tone alternations on words with uvular and glottal onsets y īn and yáng tones are divided by double lines; A, B or C tone category differences are shaded in grey Sandong Pandong Yang’an Kam Gloss PKS SD DJ JQ JL PD TN BL ‘to carry over one’s shoulder’ - ɴɢaːi⁵ ɴɢaːi⁵ ʁaːi⁵ - ɣaːi⁵ ɴɢaːi⁵ ɴɢaːi⁵ - ‘ramie’ † - ɴɢaːn¹ - ʁaːn¹ - - ɴɢaːn¹ - ʔaːn¹ ‘saliva’ - ɴɢe¹ ɴɢɛ¹ ʁɛ¹ - - ŋɛ² ŋɛ² mje², ȵe² ‘mushroom’ hŋla A ɴɢa¹ ɴɢa¹ ʁa¹ ʁa¹ ɣa¹ qa² qa² la², ʔa² ‘shoulder pole’ hŋlaːn A ɴɢaːn¹ ɴɢaːn¹ ʁɐːn¹ ʁaːn¹ ɣaːn¹ qaːn² qaːn² laːn², ʔaːn² ‘young hen’ hŋlaːŋ B ɴɢaːŋ⁵ ɴɢaːŋ⁵ ʁaːŋ⁵ ʁaːŋ⁵ ɣaːŋ⁵ qaːŋ⁶ qaːŋ⁶ ʔaːŋ⁶ ‘hai 亥 earthly branch’ ‡ EMC ɣəj B ɴɢaːi³ - - ʔaːi³ - qaːi⁴ - ʔəi⁴ ‘in inside’ - ɴɢaːu³ ɴɢaːu³ ʔaːu³ ʔaːu³ ʔaːu⁴ qaːu⁴ qaːu⁴ ʔaːu⁴ ‘bitter’ kam A qɐm¹ qam¹ qɐm¹ qam² qam² qam² qɐm² ʔam² ‘sugarcane’ ʔuːi C ʔoi³ ʔui³ ʔɔi³ - ʔoːi⁴ ʔõi⁴ ʔõi⁴ - ‘neck’ - qɔ⁴ qɔ⁴ qo⁴ qo⁴ qɔ⁴ qo² qɔ² ʔəu² ‘grandfather’ - qɔŋ⁵ qɔːŋ⁵ qɔːŋ⁵ qɔɐŋ⁵ qɔɐŋ⁵ qɔːŋ³ qɔŋ³ ʔoŋ³ ‘crow’ ka A qa¹ qa¹ qa¹ qa¹ qa¹ qa¹ qa¹ ʔa¹ ‘chicken’ kaːi B qaːi⁵ qaːi⁵ qaːi⁵ qaːi⁵ qaːi⁵ qaːi⁵ qaːi⁵ ʔaːi⁵ ‘slanted’ § - qaːi² - qaːi² - qaːi² qaːi² - ʔaːi² ‘excrement’ ke C qe⁴ qɛ⁴ qɛ⁴ ȶe⁴ ke⁴ qɛ⁴ qɛ⁴ ʔe⁴ † Sui data from Zeng 2004:274. ‡ Sui data from Zeng 1994:83 and Burkiewicz 2012. This is an old Chinese loanword. § Sui data from Zeng 2004:257. Similar alternations on ‘in’, ‘bitter’ and ‘sugarcane’ indicate that the Proto-Kam-Sui form must have had a voiced element possibly part of a sesquisyllabic form which induced yáng tones in Pandong Sui, Yang’an Sui and Kam. The ɴɢ- pronounced as ʁ- by some speakers and yīn tone combination in Central and Eastern Sandong Sui dialects in ‘hai’ and ‘in’ suggest that the Great Tone Split was perhaps not as straightforward as a simple voiceless onset triggering high register and a voiced onset triggering low register. There may have been other conditioning factors, such as the presence of a presyllable of a certain phonation type, that prevented words from acquiring yáng low-register tones. This possibility was raised by Edmondson and Yang 1988:163 who suggested that preconsonants may have had “the effect of causing high tones irrespective of their own voicing state… another tonogenetic mechanism in the history of Kam-Sui”. More unusual are the contrasting tone categories on ‘neck’ and ‘grandfather’— apparently rare instances of words acquiring different tone categories in different dialects during the original tonogenetic processes. 3 With these words, as with words showing yīn- yáng tone alternations, Yang’an Sui is entirely consistent with Kam in the development of its tone categories.

4.3.2 Shared tonal developments in Pandong, Western, Yang’an Sui and Kam