1887
Volume 48, Issue 2
  • ISSN 0731-3500
  • E-ISSN: 2214-5907
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

Tonogenesis for Tangsa-Nocte has previously been described as likely derived from phonation distinctions in the proto-language, where aspiration and voicing played no part (van Dam 2018). With newly published Wancho data (Losu & Morey 2023), a direct tone correspondence can be shown between Tangsa-Nocte and Wancho. Phom (Burling & Phom 1998) shows a similar correspondence. The situation differs when considering Southeast Patkaian varieties such as Lainong and Khiamniungan; a correspondence pattern can still be found, but only when taking into account features like voicing and aspiration which had no role in Tangsa-Nocte tonogenesis.

Khiamniungan also lacks the checked-tone category found elsewhere in Patkaian and other Mainland Southeast Asian languages. This paper will show how tonogenesis can be explained for the entirety of Patkaian (Northern Naga) as distinct tonogenetic events based on common pre-tonal features such as voicing, aspiration, and phonation in the proto language.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/ltba.25011.dam
2025-10-13
2025-11-14
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Burling, Robbins & L. Amon Phom
    1998 Phom phonology and word list. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area21(2), 13–42. 10.32655/LTBA.21.2.04
    https://doi.org/10.32655/LTBA.21.2.04 [Google Scholar]
  2. Burling, Robbins & Mankai Wangsu
    1998 Wancho phonology and word list. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area21(2), 43–71. 10.32655/LTBA.21.2.05
    https://doi.org/10.32655/LTBA.21.2.05 [Google Scholar]
  3. Chao, Yuen Ren
    1930 ə sistim əv toun-letəz. Le Maître Phonétique301, 24–27.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Coupe, Alexander R.
    2014 Strategies for analyzing tone languages. Language Documentation & Conservation81, 462–489.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. van Dam, Kellen Parker
    2018 The tone system of Tangsa-Nocte and related Northern Naga varieties. PhD dissertation, La Trobe University.
  6. 2023 A Bayesian phylogeny of Patkaian (Northern Naga). 26th International Conference on Historical Linguistics (ICHL26), 4–8 September 2023, Heidelberg, Germany.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. 2025 Nasal coda loss in Northern Naga: Revising French’s *Vŋ rimes. InBishakha Das & K. Srikumar (eds.), Vaak Manthan, 37–49. Lucknow: Society for Endangered and Lesser Known Languages.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. . forthcoming. Patkaian (Northern Naga). InKristine Hildebrandt, Yankee Modi, David Peterson & Hiroyuki Suzuki eds. Oxford handbook of the Tibeto-Burman languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. van Dam, Kellen Parker & Keen Thaam
    . forthcoming. Wolam Ngio, a Khiamniungic variety of Nagaland & Myanmar. InMonali Longmailai & Zam Ngaih Cing eds. Lesser known languages of Northeast India. New Delhi: Mittal Publications.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Dockum, Rikker & Ryan Gehrmann
    2021 The East Asian voicing shift and its role in the origins of tone and register. InProceedings of the 95th Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America, San Francisco, CA, USA, 7–10.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Gedney, William J.
    1972 A checklist for determining tones in Tai dialects. InM. Estellie Smith (ed.), Studies in linguistics: In honor of George L. Trager, 423–437. The Hague: Mouton.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Keluim, Wanglung, Kellen Parker van Dam & Stephen Morey
    2018Bovmc Thuiyz Jungx Muishaung dictionary. Unpublished preview.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Konyak, Hoipo & Mijke Mulder
    2022 A brief outline of Chen phonology. Proceedings of the Payap University Research Symposium. Chiang Mai: Payap University.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. List, Johann Mattis, Annika Tjuka, Frederic Blum, Alžběta Kučerová, Carlos Barrientos Ugarte, Christoph Rzymski, Simon Greenhill & Robert Forkel
    (eds.) 2025CLLD Concepticon 3.4.0 [Data set]. Zenodo. 10.5281/zenodo.14923561
    https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14923561 [Google Scholar]
  15. Losu, Banwang & Stephen Morey
    2023 The Wancho language of Kamhua Noknu village. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area46(2), 201–234. 10.1075/ltba.00014.los
    https://doi.org/10.1075/ltba.00014.los [Google Scholar]
  16. Matisoff, James A.
    1994 Protean prosodies: Alfons Weidert’s Tibeto-Burman tonology. Journal of the American Oriental Society114(2), 254–258. 10.2307/605834
    https://doi.org/10.2307/605834 [Google Scholar]
  17. 2003Handbook of Proto-Tibeto-Burman: system and philosophy of Sino-Tibetan reconstruction. Berkeley: University of California Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Michaud, Alexis & Sands, Bonny
    2020 Tonogenesis. InMark Aronoff (ed.), Oxford research encyclopedia of linguistics, V.11, 1–27. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.748
    https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.748 [Google Scholar]
  19. Morey, Stephen
    2015 The internal diversity of Tangsa: vocabulary and morphosyntax. InMark Post, Stephen Morey & Scott DeLancey (eds.), Language and culture in Northeast India and beyond: In honor of Robbins Burling (Asia-Pacific Linguistics; A-PL 23), 23–40. Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. 2018 Verb stem alternation in Pangwa Tangsa. La Trobe University Conference contribution. 10.26181/22756784.v1
    https://doi.org/10.26181/22756784.v1 [Google Scholar]
  21. 2019 The Tangsa-Nocte languages: An introduction. Himalayan Linguistics18(1). 10.5070/H918142626
    https://doi.org/10.5070/H918142626 [Google Scholar]
  22. Morey, Stephen & Kellen Parker van Dam
    2019 Material culture and agriculture in Tangsa (Naga) languages — Evidence from Tai borrowings and traditional song texts. Paper presented atthe 24th International Conference on Historical Linguistics (ICHL24), 1–5 July 2019, Australian National University, Canberra.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Nawsawu
    Nawsawu 2016a Tones in Makyam NagaProceedings of the Payap University Research Symposium. Chiang Mai: Payap University.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Nawsawu
    Nawsawu 2016b Descriptive phonology of Makyam Naga. MA thesis, Payap University, Chiang Mai.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Rahman, Syed Iftiqar
    2018 An introduction to the Nocte verb. InLinda Konnerth, Stephen Morey & Amos Teo (eds.), North East Indian Linguistics 8 (Pacific Linguistics A-PL 39), 172–184. Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Rankin, Robert L.
    2017 The comparative method. InBrian D. Joseph & Richard D. Janda (eds.), The handbook of historical linguistics, 181–212. Oxford: Blackwell. 10.1002/9781405166201.ch1
    https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405166201.ch1 [Google Scholar]
  27. Thaam, Keen
    2024 personal communication.
  28. Thangjiu, Methiam
    2024 personal communication.
  29. Wayesha, Ahsi James
    2010 A phonological description of Leinong Naga. MA dissertation, Payap University, Chiang Mai.
  30. Weidert, Alfons
    1979 The Sino-Tibetan tonogenetic laryngeal reconstruction theory. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area5(1), 49–127. 10.32655/LTBA.5.1.03
    https://doi.org/10.32655/LTBA.5.1.03 [Google Scholar]
  31. 1987Tibeto-Burman tonology. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/cilt.54
    https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.54 [Google Scholar]
  32. Zhu, Xiaonong
    2024 Phonation types and morpho-phonological structure as linguistic prerequisites of tonogenesis. Journal of Chinese Linguistics52(2), 277–317. 10.1353/jcl.2024.a929990
    https://doi.org/10.1353/jcl.2024.a929990 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/ltba.25011.dam
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/ltba.25011.dam
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Khiamniungan; Northern Naga; Patkaian; Tangsa-Nocte; Tonogenesis; Wancho
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error