Title

Tonogenesis in Yipo-Burmic Syllables with Final Stops

Author

Jakob Dempsey

Genre

Article  

Pages

405-434

Download

PDF

Language

English

Key words

Lolo-Burmese, tonogenesis, Tibeto-Burman, historical phonology

Abstract

   This paper proposes a new and,hopefully, simpler explanation for the historical development of syllables with final stops in Yipo-Burmic (Lolo-Burmese) languages, particularly in regard to syllables such as "six," which show a voiceless, aspirated stop initial in the " lower register," a tonal category often associated with voiced proto-initials. Evidence cited from several other East Asian linguistic phyla suggests that the development which the author proposes for Yipo-Burmic is already widely seen in this area.