3.4.10 Velar Clusters in Nong and Min Zhuang Li 1977, ch. 11 PT kl-, PCT kl- Li 1977, §11.1
English Ch.
PT Form Tone
WSMLW YSKX GNBH
MGXZ wjgwn MLPJD
XCGJ WSLHL GNSFZ GNXGN
FNBL npdgl rice seedling
秧苗姓 kla
C1 ca²²
ca²² ca²²
ca²² caa²²
caʔ²² ca²²
ca²² ca²²
ca²² tʃa²²
tɕa³³ drum noun
鼓姓 klɔŋ
A1 kəŋ³¹
an²² cuɔːŋ²⁴ an²⁴ coaŋ²⁴ an²² coŋ²⁴
coŋ¹⁴ an²² coːŋ²⁴ coŋ²⁴
coŋ³³ naŋ³³ cjoŋ³⁵ an³³coŋ³⁵,
cʷɑŋ³⁵⁴ toːŋ³⁵
tɕoːŋ²⁴ far
姓 kləi
A1 kai²⁴
kei²⁴ kai²⁴
kei²⁴ kay¹⁴
kei²⁴ kei²⁴
kai²⁴ kwai³⁵
kei³⁵ tʃai³⁵
tɕai²⁴ to swallow
吞姓 klɛn ʔdɯəm A1 B1 kən⁵⁵
ʔdəŋ³³ koŋ⁵⁵ kɯn⁵³ kən⁵⁵
kɯn⁵⁵ kən⁵⁵
kən⁵⁵ kɩn⁵⁵
kɯn⁵³ kɯn⁵³,
ʔdɯn²²; ʔom³⁵ ʔdɯn³⁵ ʔdɘn²⁴
salt 盐姓
klɯo A1
kɯ²⁴ kɯː²⁴
kɯ²⁴ kɯː²⁴
kɯɯ¹⁴ kɯ²⁴
kɯ²⁴ kɯ²²
kɯ³⁵ kɯ³⁵
tʃɯ³⁵ tɕɯ²⁴
banana 香蕉姓
kluai C1
mak¹¹ to²²loŋ⁵⁵
mak¹¹kuːi²² mak¹¹koi²² mak¹¹kuːi²² maak²¹
kuy²² kui²²naŋ³¹,
mak¹¹kui²² mak¹¹
kuːi²²
mak¹¹ to²²loŋ⁵⁵
maːk¹¹ koːi²²
tʃoːi³³ tɕʊːi³³
The PT kl cluster has developed in interesting ways in Nong and Min Zhuang. Li wrote of this cluster, “Among the CT dialects, there may be some dialects such as Lung-an in Kwangsi province which preserve this cluster, but the details are not known. Most CT dialects have -j- for -l-, except before high vowels i, u w, and ï,
where the -j- is dropped, and often the resultant kj- is further palatalized to č-” Li 1977: 220. In our Nong data, we see roughly half of the examples have undergone
the palatalization process noted for other velar PT initials above, though without any diachronic or synchronic evidence of a following front vowel. The word glossed as “drum,” PT kl
ɔŋ A1, is palatalized in all Nong locations except, possibly, at Milewan to the west of the Nong area, where a velar stop remains. Though the coda looks similar to Li’s PT form, this word possibly descends from a different etymon, as the tonal reflex is not consistent with an A1 tone. Other PT kl-
words show a Nong reflex of a simple unaspirated voiceless stop, as we might expect. Min Zhuang, on the other hand, shows an alveolar stop for all cognate reflexes, except for that of “drum,” which is an alveolar stop. In simple velar initials, we saw no fronting of the velars in Min Zhuang. We should note that Li
himself considered at least some of the words he assigned to this initial sound to be “doubtful examples.”
PT kr-, PCT khr- Li 1977, §11.2
English Ch. PT Form Tone WSMLW YSKX
GNBH MGXZ
wjgwn MLPJD XCGJ
WSLHL GNSFZ
GNXGN FNBL npdgl near
近 krəɯ
C1 caɯ²²
cʰaɯ³³ cʰaɯ³³
cʰəɯ³³ cʰaɰ²²
cʰəɯ²² coɯ²², cʰoɯ²² cʰəɯ³³
caɯ³³ cəɯ²²
tʃaɯ²² tɕaɯ³³
to snore 鼾姓
kru̥ɯn A1 cʰiɛn²² cʰu¹¹ ɲi³³ ciɛn²⁴ ɲe³³ ciɛn²⁴
nuːn³³ cən²⁴ can¹⁴, non⁴⁴can¹⁴ ciɛn²⁴ ciːɛn²⁴
cʰiɛn³³ ʔtaːŋ²² nɔːn³³ ciɛn³⁵ cʲɛn³⁵ tɯn³⁵
tɕɘn²⁴
Though we only have two example words for the PT kr- cluster, they are adequate to demonstrate the irregular aspiration that developed from this cluster, which Li, once again, accurately noted from his observation of other Taic languages
30
:
31
“Some SW and CT dialects tend to aspirate the k- on account of the following r- so that we have actually khj-,
čh-, š-, etc., in the modern dialects, but it is not regularly carried out in all words” 1977:225. As can be seen from the above data,
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Recall that Li did not have any Central Taic data from Yunnan province available to him, according to his introduction 1977:14–23.
in Nong, both the aspirated palatalized stop and non-aspirated palatalized stop appear as reflexes in various locations without a consistent pattern across Nong locations e.g. WSMLW has aspirated “to snore” but not aspirated “near” whereas YSKX, GNBH, MGXZ, wjgwn, MLPJD has done the opposite, GNSFZ
and GNXGN aspirate neither, WSLHL aspirates both, and XCGJ has both aspirated and non-aspirated forms for “near”. Min Zhuang also shows two different reflexes, similar to those for PT kl- an alveolar affricate for “near” but a simple alveolar dental for “to snore” neither is aspirated.
PT khl-; khr- PCT khl-; khr-, xr- Li 1977, §11.3; 11.4
English Ch. PT Form Tone WSMLW YSKX GNBH MGXZ
wjgwn MLPJD
XCGJ WSLHL
GNSFZ GNXGN
FNBL npdgl
spider 蜘蛛姓
khlaaŋ A1
piŋ³¹
ti²² cʰai¹¹
cʰoŋ²⁴ cʰaːu²⁴ cʰoŋ¹¹ cʰaːu²⁴ cʰoŋ²¹ cʰaaw¹⁴ cʰoŋ¹¹cʰaːu²⁴ ti²²cʰai¹¹, cʰoŋ²²
cʰau²⁴ miɛ³¹ cʰiŋ¹¹
cʰaːu³⁵ cʰiŋ³³ cʰaːu³⁵ ci³⁵ ðaːu³⁵
tɕi⁵⁵ɹ̝aːu²⁴ sick
病姓 khləi
C1 bən³³
cʰai²² cʰai²²
cʰai²² cʰei²²
cʰay²² cʰei²²
cʰɛi²² ban³³ cʰai⁵⁵ cʰai²²
cʰei²²
piŋ⁴²
cf. Ch. 病
pɪŋ⁵³ hard
stiff 硬姓
khlɛŋ A1
ɲap¹¹ ɲap¹¹
ɲap¹¹ ɲap¹¹
ɲaap²¹ ɲap¹¹
ɲap¹¹ ɲap¹¹
ɲap¹¹ ɲap¹¹
kʲen¹¹ kɛːn²²
姓 egg
蛋姓 khrəi B1
cʰai¹¹ cʰəi¹¹
cʰai¹¹ cʰəi¹¹
cʰay²¹cay²¹ cʰɛi¹¹
cʰɛi²¹ an³³ cʰai¹¹
cʰai¹¹ cʰei¹²
ðai¹¹, ðɛi¹¹ ɹ̝ai²²
Of the PT cluster khl-, Li wrote: “For the CT dialects, the development is irregular, either khj-, h-, š-, or s-, either dialect doublets or under the influence of the following vowel” 1977:226. Here we see palatalization for our two examples for which we have cognates in Nong Zhuang, but Min Zhuang shows an
interdental fricative reflex for the only item that seems to correspond to a khl- reconstruction. The Min form for “hard” k ʲen¹¹ does not appear to be cognate
with Li’s khl ɛŋ, as both the coda and tones do not match the expected reflexes. Li considered the development of PT cluster khr- to be similar to that of khl-
1977:228, and in the single example in our dataset, we find such to be true for both Nong and Min Zhuang, with an aspirated palatal stop reflex for Nong but an interdental fricative for Min.
PT gl-; gr-, PCT gl-; gr- Li 1977, §11.5; 11.6
English Ch.
PT Form Tone WSMLW YSKX
GNBH MGXZ
wjgwn MLPJD
XCGJ WSLHL GNSFZ
GNXGN FNB
L npdg
l to crawl on
ground 爬姓进在地
爬远姓 glu̥an
A2 can³³
i¹¹na³¹ can⁵⁵
can⁵⁵ vaːi⁵⁵ caːn³³ caan⁴⁴, caan⁴⁴
vaay⁴⁴pay¹⁴ can³³
can³³ ca³³
caːn³³ waːi³³ caːn³³ waːi³³
pan³³
ɹ̝aːn⁵⁵ pestle
杵姓 gru̥ok
D1L D2S sak¹¹ cʷɔk³³
ʔdam²²,
sak¹¹ʔdɔːi¹¹ sak¹¹
θak¹¹ saak²¹ lɔŋ⁴⁴
θak¹¹mei⁵⁵ sak¹¹,
tam³⁵ toŋ³³
an²⁴ cok⁵⁵ ʔdɔk³³
tam²⁴
to want, to desire
想要姓 grəɯ
B2 nɯ³¹ʔau²⁴
nəŋ³³ʔau²⁴
nɯ³¹ʔau²⁴ nɯ³¹ʔau²⁴ ʔaw¹⁴, ŋɤɤ⁴⁴ θɔn³³ʔau²⁴ nɯ³¹ ʔou²⁴ mi³³ au²² ʔau³⁵
nɯ²²ʔau³⁵, swɑn²²ʔɑu²⁴ naɯ³¹
ʔau²⁴
Although our data is scarce for these two voiced velar PT clusters, the data that we do have shows a palatal stop reflex for gl- and a s [ θ] reflex for gr- in
Nong. It is harder to determine if the Min Zhuang forms are cognates, though they could be, as the codas and tonal reflexes are consistent with the PT reconstructions. The last item, glossed “to want” or “to desire,” at first glance doesn’t appear cognate, with a nasal initial, but the coda and tonal reflex are
consistent with Li’s reconstructed form gr ə
ɯ B2 in most areas, so this may be another reflex of the PT gr- cluster.
PT ŋlr-, PCT ŋ- Li 1977, §11.7
English Ch.
PT Form Tone
WSMLW YSKX GNBH MGXZ wjgwn
MLPJD XCGJ
WSLHL GNSFZ GNXGN
FNBL npdgl
kapok tree
Ceiba pentandra
木棉树姓 ŋliw Luo 1997;
məi ”tree”+ fai ”cotton”
C2; C2+C1
pʰai²² mæi⁵⁵
pʰai²² mak¹¹
pʰaːi²²
mei⁴⁵ðiao⁴⁵,
mei⁴⁵pʰai²²
pʰaay¹⁴ðɛw⁵⁵, may⁵⁵ðew⁵⁵
pʰaːi²²mei⁵⁵, mei⁵⁵pʰaːi²²
mɛi⁵⁵ ʑiau⁵⁵
mai⁵⁵ pʰaːi²⁴
n.d.
mei⁵³pʰaːi²², pʰɑːi²²mei⁵³
pʰaːi²² mai⁵⁵ ðeːo⁵³
n.d.
Li himself had only one example for this word “sesame,” which was regrettably not included in our wordlist, though Zhang et al. 1999 lists the Nong form as [
ŋa³³]. Fortunately, we do have a word whose PT intial Luo 1997 has proposed as also belong to this PT cluster, “kapok ceiba.”
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The Nong responses to the Chinese gloss alternated between a form composed of “treewood” + “cotton” or “fruit” + “cotton” at GBBH or another form with an initial sound of ð [
ʑ] in Xichou for both Nong and Min Zhuang. There may have been some confusion over the exact referent for “木棉树.” A literal translation of the Chinese word
would be “woodtree” + “cotton” + “tree,” but in Maguan Xizhai we were told that
mei⁴⁵ðiao⁴⁵
and
mei⁴⁵pʰai²²
are two different species of tree, not the same tree. In retrospect, it would have been best to present participants with a photo of the Ceiba pentandra tree, or at least its product, but we did not have either at the time
of elicitation. It is unlikely that the Nong and Min ð- initial forms are cognate with Luo’s form for “kapok” as the initial is not nasalized whereas “sesame” in Nong retains the velar nasal, but the tone reflexes are consistent with a C2 toneme that Luo predicts for this form, so we leave that conclusion up to the reader.
PT xr-, PCT xr- Li 1977, §11.8
English Ch. PT Form
Tone WSMLW YSKX
GNBH MGXZ
wjgwn MLPJD
XCGJ WSLHL
GNSFZ GNXGN
FNBL npdgl
ear 耳
朵姓 xrɯ̥u ʔbəɯ
+ “leaf” A1 A1+ cʰu²⁴
ʔbaɯ²⁴cʰu²⁴ ʔbaɯ²⁴cʰu²⁴ ʔbaɯ²⁴cʰu²⁴ baɰ¹⁴chuu¹⁴ ʔbəɯ²⁴cʰu²⁴ ʔbɯ²⁴cʰu²⁴ ʔbəɯ²⁴ cʰu²⁴
ʔbaɯ¹¹ cʰu³⁵
ʔbeɯ³⁵cʰu³⁵ an³⁵ðu³⁵, ʔbɑɯ²⁴ðu²⁴ ɹ̝u²⁴
six 姓
xrok D1S
cʰɔk⁵⁵ cʰuɔk⁵⁵
cʰoak⁵⁵ cʰɔk⁵⁵
cʰɔk⁵⁵ cʰɔk⁵⁵
cʰʷɔk⁵⁵ cʰʷɔk⁵⁵
cʰɔk⁵⁵ cʰɔk⁵⁵
ðɔk¹¹ ɹ̝ɔk̚²²
laugh, to 笑姓
xrua A1
kʰu²⁴ kʰu²⁴
kʰu²⁴ kʰu²⁴
kʰuu¹⁴ kʰu²⁴
kʰu²⁴ kʰu²²
kʰo³⁵ kʰo³⁵
ðo³⁵ ɹ̝u²⁴
In Nong and Min Zhuang, words that result from PT xr- appear to have developed similarly to those from PT khr- and khl-, just as Li describes: “In the CT dialects, it merges with khr- and khl- and is represented by h-, kh-, khj-, s-, or š- according to dialects probably under the influence of the following vowel”
1977:233. Like with khr- and khl- we see a Nong reflex of c ʰ- and a Min reflex of ð-. For the word glossed as “to laugh,” the Nong forms are not velar rather
than palatal. Though all of our data for khr- and khl- showed palatalized reflexes, with such few data it is quite possible that not all forms for those clusters, like this form from the xr- cluster, underwent palatalization, so k
ʰ- may well remain an additional Nong reflex for all three clusters.
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A kapok is a tropical tree, Ceiba pentandra, which has a cotton-like fibrous substance surrounding its seeds which can be used for stuffing cushions, etc.
3.4.11 Labio-Velar Initials in Nong and Min Zhuang Li 1977, ch. 12 PT kw-, PCT kw- Li 1977, §12.1