Proto-Kuki-Chin initials according to Toru Ohno and Kenneth VanBik

Hill, Nathan W.

Abstract

Relying on the legacy of Ohno (1965), several scholars have made more recent forays into the reconstruction of Kuki-Chin initials (Khoi 2001, VanBik 2009, Button 2011). A comparison of Ohno’s and VanBik’s systems permits an overview of progress made so far. VanBik accepts all of Ohno’s correspondences, adding a few of his own. Mizo provides a convenient language to contrast their proposals in detail. As the source of Mizo f-, Löffler’s *dz- has advantages over Ohno’s *ź- [ʒ-] and VanBik’s *θ-. VanBik’s is right to distinguish *s- and *sʰ, although the phonetic value of *sʰ is not clear. The evidence for his *pr- and *phr- is unsatisfactory. In light of their importance, I propose to name two sound la ws (*kr, *kl > ṭ- [ʈ], tl
- ‘Ohno’s law’ and *r > g- ‘Shafer’s law’). Considering proposals not known to VanBik, there is good evidence for
Peterson’s *yh- (2000), but little for Button’s (2011) labio-velars. A number of splits, especially of *r-, require further attention.

Citation

Hill, N. W. (2014). Proto-Kuki-Chin initials according to Toru Ohno and Kenneth VanBik. Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society, 7, 11-30

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Apr 29, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 12, 2025
• Journal: Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society
• Electronic ISSN: 1836-6821
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 7
• Pages: 11-30
• Keywords: Kuki-Chin, Trans-Himalayan, historical phonology,; reconstruction
• Publisher URL: http://pacling.anu.edu.au/series/SEALS-PDFs/Hill2014proto-kuki-chin.pdf
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