Proto-Tai language
Encyclopedia
Proto-Tai is the reconstructed
common ancestor (proto-language
) of all the Tai languages
, including modern Lao
, Shan
, Lu, Tai Dam
, Northern Thai
, Thai
, Bouyei, and Zhuang
. The Proto-Tai language is not directly attested by any surviving texts but has been reconstructed
using the comparative method
.
It has been reconstructed in 1977 by Fang-Kuei Li and by Pittayawat Pittayaporn in 2009.
s, namely */q/, */ɢ/, and */χ/. There is a total of 33-36 consonants, 10-11 consonantal syllabic codas, and 25-26 tautosyllabic consonant clusters.
Pittayaporn's Proto-Tai reconstructed consonantal syllable coda
s also include *-l, *-c, and possibly *-ɲ, which are not included in most prior reconstructions of Proto-Tai (Pittayaporn 2009:193). Below is a table of the consonantal syllabic coda inventory proposed by Pittayaporn (2009).
Tautosyllabic consonant clusters from Pittayaporn (2009:139) are given below, some of which have the medials *-r-, *-l-, and *-w-.
Pittayaporn's Proto-Tai reconstruction also has sesquisyllabic consonant clusters. These include:
Other clusters include *r.t-, *t.h-, *q.s-, *m.p-, *s.c-, }, *g.r-, *m.n-; }, }, *c.pl-, *g.lw-; etc.
s.
The diphthongs from Pittayaporn (2009) are:
finals ("live syllables"), and no tone contrast on syllables with obstruent
finals ("dead syllables"). This is very similar to the situation in Middle Chinese
. For convenience in tracking historical outcomes, Proto-Tai is usually described as having four tones, namely *A, *B, *C, and *D (Pittayaporn 2009), where *D is a non-phonemic tone automatically assumed by all dead syllables. These tones can be further split into a voiceless (*A1 [1], *B1 [3], *C1 [5], *D1 [7]) and voiced (*A2 [2], *B2 [4], *C2 [6], *D2 [8]) series. The *D tone can also be split into the *DS (short vowel) and *DL (long vowel) tones. With voicing contrast, these would be *DS1 [7], *DS2 [8], *DL1 [9], and *DL2 [10].
The following table of the phonetic characteristics of Proto-Tai tones was adapted from Pittayaporn (2009:271). Note that *B and *D are phonetically similar.
Proto-Tai tones take on various tone values and contours in modern Tai languages
. These tonal splits are determined by the following conditions:
In addition, William J. Gedney developed a "tone-box" method to help determine historical tonal splits and mergers in modern Tai languages. There is a total of 20 possible slots in what is known as "Gedney's Box."
Proto-Tai tones correspond regularly to Middle Chinese
tones. (Note that Old Chinese
did not have tones.) The following tonal correspondences are from Luo (2008). Note that Proto-Tai tone *B corresponds to Middle Chinese tone C, and vice versa.
, Ong Be language
, and Tai languages
. There are 28 consonants, 5-7 vowels, 9 closed rimes (not including vowel length), and at least 1 diphthong
, *ɯa(C).
Proto-Southern Kradai medial consonants also include:
Proto-Southern Kradai also includes the diphthong
*ɯa(C).
Legend:
During the evolution from Proto-Tai to modern Tai languages, monosyllabification involved a series of 5 steps (Pittayaporn 2009:181).
and all modern-day Tai languages
. Proto-Tai syntax was heavily influenced by Chinese.
Dictionaries
Linguistic reconstruction
Linguistic reconstruction is the practice of establishing the features of the unattested ancestor of one or more given languages. There are two kinds of reconstruction. Internal reconstruction uses irregularities in a single language to make inferences about an earlier stage of that language...
common ancestor (proto-language
Proto-language
A proto-language in the tree model of historical linguistics is the common ancestor of the languages that form a language family. Occasionally, the German term Ursprache is used instead.Often the proto-language is not known directly...
) of all the Tai languages
Tai languages
The Tai or Zhuang–Tai languages are a branch of the Tai–Kadai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including standard Thai or Siamese, the national language of Thailand; Lao or Laotian, the national language of Laos; Burma's Shan language;...
, including modern Lao
Lao language
Lao or Laotian is a tonal language of the Tai–Kadai language family. It is the official language of Laos, and also spoken in the northeast of Thailand, where it is usually referred to as the Isan language. Being the primary language of the Lao people, Lao is also an important second language for...
, Shan
Shan language
The Shan language is the native language of Shan people and spoken mostly in Shan State, Burma. It is also used in pockets of Kachin State in Burma, in northern Thailand, and in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. Shan is a member of the Tai–Kadai language family, and...
, Lu, Tai Dam
Tai Dam language
Tai Dam Black Tai is a Tai language spoken by the Tai Dam in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and China . It is called ภาษาไทดำ "Black Tai language" in Thai and Dǎidānyǔ 傣担语 in Chinese....
, Northern Thai
Northern Thai language
Northern Thai, Lanna, or Kham Mueang is the language of the Thai Yuan people of Lannathai, Thailand. It is a Tai language, closely related to Thai and Lao...
, Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
, Bouyei, and Zhuang
Standard Zhuang
The standard Zhuang language is the variety of Zhuang spoken in Wuming County in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, where it is an official language.-Classification:...
. The Proto-Tai language is not directly attested by any surviving texts but has been reconstructed
Linguistic reconstruction
Linguistic reconstruction is the practice of establishing the features of the unattested ancestor of one or more given languages. There are two kinds of reconstruction. Internal reconstruction uses irregularities in a single language to make inferences about an earlier stage of that language...
using the comparative method
Comparative method
In linguistics, the comparative method is a technique for studying the development of languages by performing a feature-by-feature comparison of two or more languages with common descent from a shared ancestor, as opposed to the method of internal reconstruction, which analyzes the internal...
.
It has been reconstructed in 1977 by Fang-Kuei Li and by Pittayawat Pittayaporn in 2009.
Consonants
The table below lists the consonantal phonemes of Pittayawat Pittayaporn's 2009 reconstruction of Proto-Tai (Pittayaporn 2009:70). Unlike Li's system, Pittayaporn's Proto-Tai reconstruction does not allow for aspirated consonants, which most likely developed secondarily in Southwestern Tai languages (i.e., after Proto-Tai split up into different languages). Pittayaporn's system also has a contrastive series of uvular consonantUvular consonant
Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be plosives, fricatives, nasal stops, trills, or approximants, though the IPA does not provide a separate symbol for the approximant, and...
s, namely */q/, */ɢ/, and */χ/. There is a total of 33-36 consonants, 10-11 consonantal syllabic codas, and 25-26 tautosyllabic consonant clusters.
| Labial Labial consonant Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Uvular Uvular consonant Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be plosives, fricatives, nasal stops, trills, or approximants, though the IPA does not provide a separate symbol for the approximant, and... |
Glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stops | Voiceless Voice (phonetics) Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer to two separate concepts. Voicing can refer to the articulatory process in which the vocal cords vibrate... |
p | t | c | k | q | |||||||
| Voiced Voice (phonetics) Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer to two separate concepts. Voicing can refer to the articulatory process in which the vocal cords vibrate... |
b | d | ɟ | g | ɢ | ||||||||
| Glottalized | ɓ | ɗ | ʄ | ʔ | |||||||||
| Fricatives Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
Voiceless Voice (phonetics) Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer to two separate concepts. Voicing can refer to the articulatory process in which the vocal cords vibrate... |
s | (ɕ) | x | χ | h | |||||||
| Voiced Voice (phonetics) Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer to two separate concepts. Voicing can refer to the articulatory process in which the vocal cords vibrate... |
z | (ʑ) | ɣ | ||||||||||
| Nasals Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
Voiceless Voice (phonetics) Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer to two separate concepts. Voicing can refer to the articulatory process in which the vocal cords vibrate... |
m̥ | n̥ | ɲ̥ | (ŋ̥) | ||||||||
| Voiced Voice (phonetics) Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer to two separate concepts. Voicing can refer to the articulatory process in which the vocal cords vibrate... |
m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||||||
| Liquids Liquid consonant In phonetics, liquids or liquid consonants are a class of consonants consisting of lateral consonants together with rhotics.-Description:... and Glides |
Voiceless Voice (phonetics) Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer to two separate concepts. Voicing can refer to the articulatory process in which the vocal cords vibrate... |
w̥ | r̥, l̥ | ||||||||||
| Voiced Voice (phonetics) Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer to two separate concepts. Voicing can refer to the articulatory process in which the vocal cords vibrate... |
w | r, l | |||||||||||
Pittayaporn's Proto-Tai reconstructed consonantal syllable coda
Syllable coda
In phonology, a syllable coda comprises the consonant sounds of a syllable that follow the nucleus, which is usually a vowel. The combination of a nucleus and a coda is called a rime. Some syllables consist only of a nucleus with no coda...
s also include *-l, *-c, and possibly *-ɲ, which are not included in most prior reconstructions of Proto-Tai (Pittayaporn 2009:193). Below is a table of the consonantal syllabic coda inventory proposed by Pittayaporn (2009).
| Labial Labial consonant Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | -p | -t | -c | -k | ||||
| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
-m | -n | (-ɲ) | -ŋ | ||||
| Liquid Liquid consonant In phonetics, liquids or liquid consonants are a class of consonants consisting of lateral consonants together with rhotics.-Description:... or Glide |
-w | -l | -j | |||||
Consonant clusters
Pittayaporn (2009) reconstructs two types of complex onsets for Proto-Tai:- Tautosyllabic clusters – considered one syllable.
- Sesquisyllabic clusters – "one-and-a-half" syllables. ("Sesquisyllabic" is a term coined by James MatisoffJames MatisoffJames A. Matisoff is a professor emeritus of Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley and noted authority on Tibeto-Burman languages and other languages of mainland Southeast Asia....
.) However, sesquisyllabic clusters are not attested in any modern Tai language.
Tautosyllabic consonant clusters from Pittayaporn (2009:139) are given below, some of which have the medials *-r-, *-l-, and *-w-.
| Labial Labial consonant Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Uvular Uvular consonant Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be plosives, fricatives, nasal stops, trills, or approximants, though the IPA does not provide a separate symbol for the approximant, and... |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unvoiced Stop | pr-, pl-, pw- | tr-, tw- | cr- | kr-, kl-, kw- | qr-, qw- | |||||
| br-, bl-, bw- | gr-, (gl-) | ɢw- | ||||||||
| Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
sw- | xw-, ɣw- | ||||||||
| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
ʰmw- | nw- | ɲw- | ŋw- | ||||||
| Liquid Liquid consonant In phonetics, liquids or liquid consonants are a class of consonants consisting of lateral consonants together with rhotics.-Description:... |
ʰrw-, rw- | |||||||||
Pittayaporn's Proto-Tai reconstruction also has sesquisyllabic consonant clusters. These include:
Other clusters include *r.t-, *t.h-, *q.s-, *m.p-, *s.c-, }, *g.r-, *m.n-; }, }, *c.pl-, *g.lw-; etc.
Vowels
Below are Proto-Tai vowels from Pittayaporn (2009:192). Unlike Li's system, Pittayaporn's system has vowel length contrast. There is a total of 7 vowels with length contrast, as well as 5 diphthongDiphthong
A diphthong , also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel...
s.
| Front Front vowel A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also... |
Back Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unrounded | unrounded | rounded | ||||
| short | long | short | long | short | long | |
| Close Close vowel A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.This term is prescribed by the... |
/i/ |
/iː/ |
/ɯ/ |
/ɯː/ |
/u/ |
/uː/ |
| Mid Mid vowel A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an open vowel and a close vowel... |
/e/ |
/eː/ |
/ɤ/ |
/ɤː/ |
/o/ |
/oː/ |
| Open Open vowel An open vowel is defined as a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue... |
/a/ |
/aː/ |
||||
The diphthongs from Pittayaporn (2009) are:
- Rising: */iə/, */ɯə/, */uə/
- Falling: */ɤɰ/, */aɰ/
Tones
Proto-Tai had three contrasting tones on syllables ending with sonorantSonorant
In phonetics and phonology, a sonorant is a speech sound that is produced without turbulent airflow in the vocal tract; fricatives and plosives are not sonorants. Vowels are sonorants, as are consonants like and . Other consonants, like or , restrict the airflow enough to cause turbulence, and...
finals ("live syllables"), and no tone contrast on syllables with obstruent
Obstruent
An obstruent is a consonant sound formed by obstructing airflow, causing increased air pressure in the vocal tract, such as [k], [d͡ʒ] and [f]. In phonetics, articulation may be divided into two large classes: obstruents and sonorants....
finals ("dead syllables"). This is very similar to the situation in Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese , also called Ancient Chinese by the linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties...
. For convenience in tracking historical outcomes, Proto-Tai is usually described as having four tones, namely *A, *B, *C, and *D (Pittayaporn 2009), where *D is a non-phonemic tone automatically assumed by all dead syllables. These tones can be further split into a voiceless (*A1 [1], *B1 [3], *C1 [5], *D1 [7]) and voiced (*A2 [2], *B2 [4], *C2 [6], *D2 [8]) series. The *D tone can also be split into the *DS (short vowel) and *DL (long vowel) tones. With voicing contrast, these would be *DS1 [7], *DS2 [8], *DL1 [9], and *DL2 [10].
| Type of voicing | *A | *B | *C | *D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voiceless series (Letter notation) |
A1 | B1 | C1 | D1 |
| Voiceless series (Numerical notation) |
1 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| Voiced series (Letter notation) |
A2 | B2 | C2 | D2 |
| Voiced series (Numerical notation) |
2 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
The following table of the phonetic characteristics of Proto-Tai tones was adapted from Pittayaporn (2009:271). Note that *B and *D are phonetically similar.
| *A | *B | *C | *D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of final | sonorant | sonorant | sonorant | obstruent |
| Pitch height | mid | low | high | low |
| Contour | level | low rising | high falling | low rising |
| Vowel duration | – | long | short | – |
| Voice quality | modal | creaky | glottal constriction |
– |
Proto-Tai tones take on various tone values and contours in modern Tai languages
Tai languages
The Tai or Zhuang–Tai languages are a branch of the Tai–Kadai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including standard Thai or Siamese, the national language of Thailand; Lao or Laotian, the national language of Laos; Burma's Shan language;...
. These tonal splits are determined by the following conditions:
- Aspirated onset, fricative sounds (voiceless)
- Unaspirated onset (voiceless)
- Glottalized/implosive onset (voiceless)
- Voiced onset (voiceless)
In addition, William J. Gedney developed a "tone-box" method to help determine historical tonal splits and mergers in modern Tai languages. There is a total of 20 possible slots in what is known as "Gedney's Box."
| *A | *B | *C | *DS | *DL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aspirated | A1 | B1 | C1 | DS1 | DL1 |
| Unaspirated | A1 | B1 | C1 | DS1 | DL1 |
| Glottalized | A1 | B1 | C1 | DS1 | DL1 |
| Voiced | A2 | B2 | C2 | DS2 | DL2 |
Proto-Tai tones correspond regularly to Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese , also called Ancient Chinese by the linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties...
tones. (Note that Old Chinese
Old Chinese
The earliest known written records of the Chinese language were found at a site near modern Anyang identified as Yin, the last capital of the Shang dynasty, and date from about 1200 BC....
did not have tones.) The following tonal correspondences are from Luo (2008). Note that Proto-Tai tone *B corresponds to Middle Chinese tone C, and vice versa.
| Proto-Tai Tone |
Notes (Proto-Tai) |
Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Middle Chinese , also called Ancient Chinese by the linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties... Tone |
Chinese name | Notes (Middle Chinese) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *A | Unmarked | A | 平 Level (Even) | Unmarked |
| *B | Marked by -' | C | 去 Departing | Marked by -h |
| *C | Marked by -้ | B | 上 Rising | Marked by -x |
| *D | Unmarked | D | 入 Entering | Marked by -p, -t, -k |
Proto-Southern Kradai
In 2007, Peter K. Norquest undertook a preliminary reconstruction of Proto-Southern Kradai, which is ancestral to the Hlai languagesHlai languages
The Hlai languages are a primary branch of the Tai–Kadai language family spoken in China on the island of Hainan. They include Hlai proper, with 600,000 speakers, and Cun, which has 80,000 speakers. The most divergent language is Jiamao, with 52,300 speakers in southern Hainan.-Classification:The...
, Ong Be language
Ong Be language
Ong Be , also known as Bê, or Vo Limgao in Chinese, is a language spoken by 600,000 people, 100,000 of them monolingual, on the north-central coast of Hainan Island, including the suburbs of the provincial capital Haikou. The language is taught in primary schools and broadcast on the radio...
, and Tai languages
Tai languages
The Tai or Zhuang–Tai languages are a branch of the Tai–Kadai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including standard Thai or Siamese, the national language of Thailand; Lao or Laotian, the national language of Laos; Burma's Shan language;...
. There are 28 consonants, 5-7 vowels, 9 closed rimes (not including vowel length), and at least 1 diphthong
Diphthong
A diphthong , also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel...
, *ɯa(C).
| Labial Labial consonant Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Retroflex Retroflex consonant A retroflex consonant is a coronal consonant where the tongue has a flat, concave, or even curled shape, and is articulated between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate. They are sometimes referred to as cerebral consonants, especially in Indology... |
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Uvular Uvular consonant Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be plosives, fricatives, nasal stops, trills, or approximants, though the IPA does not provide a separate symbol for the approximant, and... |
Glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unvoiced Stop | (C-)p | (C-)t | ʈ | (C-)c | (C-)k | (C-)q | (Cu)ʔ | |||||||
| Voiced Stop | (C-)b | (Ci/u)d | (Cu)ɖ | (C-)ɟ | (Ci/u)g | (C-ɢ) | ||||||||
| Unvoiced Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
f | s | ɕ | x | h | |||||||||
| Voiced Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
(C[i])v | z | ɣ | |||||||||||
| Voiced Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
(H-)m | (H-)n | ɲ | (H-)ŋ(w) | ||||||||||
| Liquid Liquid consonant In phonetics, liquids or liquid consonants are a class of consonants consisting of lateral consonants together with rhotics.-Description:... or Glide |
(H-)w, j | (H-)l, r | ||||||||||||
Proto-Southern Kradai medial consonants also include:
- *C(V)-m
- *C(V)-n
- *C(V)-ɲ
- *C(V)-ŋ
- *C(V)(i)l
- *C(u)r
- *p(i)l
- *k-l
| Height | Front Front vowel A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also... |
Central Central vowel A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel... |
Back Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close Close vowel A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.This term is prescribed by the... |
/iː/ | /ɯː/ | /uː/ | ||||
| Mid Mid vowel A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an open vowel and a close vowel... |
(/eː/) | (/oː/) | |||||
| Open Open vowel An open vowel is defined as a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue... |
/ɛː/ | /aː/ |
| Height | Front Front vowel A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also... |
Central Central vowel A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel... |
Back Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close Close vowel A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.This term is prescribed by the... |
/i(:)C/ | /ɯ(:)C/ | /u(:)C/ | ||||
| Mid Mid vowel A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an open vowel and a close vowel... |
/e(:)C/ | /ə(:)C/ | /o(:)C/ | ||||
| Open Open vowel An open vowel is defined as a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue... |
/ɛ:C/ | /a:C/ | /ɔC/ |
Proto-Southern Kradai also includes the diphthong
Diphthong
A diphthong , also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel...
*ɯa(C).
Syllable structure
Unlike its modern-day monosyllabic descendants, Proto-Tai was a sesquisyllabic language (Pittayaporn 2009). Below are some possible Proto-Tai syllable shapes from Pittayaporn (2009:64).| Open syllable | Closed syllable | |
|---|---|---|
| Monosyllable | *C(C)(C)V(:)T | *C(C)(C)V(:)CT |
| Sesquisyllable | *C(C).C(C)(C)V(:)T | *C(C).C(C)(C)V(:)CT |
Legend:
- C = consonant
- V = vowel
- (:) = optional vowel length
- T = tone
During the evolution from Proto-Tai to modern Tai languages, monosyllabification involved a series of 5 steps (Pittayaporn 2009:181).
- Weakening (segment becomes less "consonant-like")
- Implosivization
- Metathesis
- Assimilation
- Simplification (syllable drops at least one constituent)
Syntax
Proto-Tai had a SVO (subject–verb–object) word order like ChineseChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
and all modern-day Tai languages
Tai languages
The Tai or Zhuang–Tai languages are a branch of the Tai–Kadai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including standard Thai or Siamese, the national language of Thailand; Lao or Laotian, the national language of Laos; Burma's Shan language;...
. Proto-Tai syntax was heavily influenced by Chinese.
See also
- Proto-Kra languageProto-Kra languageThe Proto-Kra language is the reconstructed ancestor of the Kra languages. It was reconstructed in 2000 by Weera Ostapirat in his Ph.D. dissertation.-Lower-level reconstructions:...
- Proto-Hlai languageProto-Hlai languageThe Proto-Hlai language is the reconstructed ancestor of the Hlai languages. Proto-Hlai reconstructions include those of Matisoff , Thurgood , Ostapirat , and Norquest .-Phonology:Peter K...
- Proto-Austronesian languageProto-Austronesian languageThe Proto-Austronesian language is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. However, Ross notes that what may be the most divergent languages, Tsou, Rukai, and Puyuma, are not addressed by the reconstructions, which therefore cannot...
- Austro-Tai languagesAustro-Tai languagesAustro-Tai is a hypothesis that the Tai–Kadai and Austronesian language families of southern China and the Pacific are genealogically related. Related proposals include Austric and Sino-Austronesian .-Origins:...
External links
Dictionaries
- http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/query.cgi?basename=\data\thai\kdaiet&root=config&morpho=0 Database query to Tai–Kadai etymology
- http://sealang.net/crcl/proto/ Thai Lexicography Resources