The evolution of vowel length and final consonants in Dai
Scholars generally agree that two of the characteristic features of the lan¬guages of the Dong-Dai (= Kam-Tai) stock are (a) length distinctions in vowels and (b) the existence of final consonants such as -m, -n, -p, -t, -k. The Dai language belongs to the Zhuang-Dai (= Tai) family of the Dong-Dai s...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/178911 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | Scholars generally agree that two of the characteristic features of the lan¬guages of the Dong-Dai (= Kam-Tai) stock are (a) length distinctions in vowels and (b) the existence of final consonants such as -m, -n, -p, -t, -k. The Dai language belongs to the Zhuang-Dai (= Tai) family of the Dong-Dai stock. Modern Dai dialects in most of the areas where Dai is spoken (e.g. Xishuangbanna (= Sipsongphanna) [.1 7/\.**4 and Dehong [O 'e ]) still retain these characteristics. In some areas, however, important changes have taken place: the distinction between long and short vowels has disappeared and the final consonants have dropped. This paper will study this process and try to discover its rules through a comparison of various modern Dai dialects, and by comparing the Sipsongphanna Dai Writing created in the 13th century (hereafter Dai Writing or Written Dail) with modern Dai dialects. |
|---|