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INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UM l films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type o f computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UME a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, b^inning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back o f the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy, ffigher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UM l directly to order. UMl A Bell & Howell Infoimation Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Velar-Initial Etyma and Issues in Comparative Pama-Nyungan by Susan Ann Fitzgerald B.A.. University of V ictoria. 1989 VI.A.. University of Victoria. 1992 .A. Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of Linguistics VVe accept this dissertation as conforming to the required standard •. G.N.G.N. 00 'Grady.Gradv. Supervifii^SuperviÊi^(1Dr. (Departm ent of Linguistics) Dr. B.F. C<f^n. Departmental Member (Department of Linguistics) Dr. T.VI. HHess es^ ^D D epart^ artm ment en tcDr. al VIember (Department of Linguistics) Dr. VV.H. AlkireyOutside VIember (Department of .Anthropology) Dr. K.L. Hale, External Examiner (Department of Linguistics. Vlassachusetts Institute of Technology) © Susan .Ann Fitzgerald, 1997 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. 11 Supervisor: Dr. Geoffrey N. 0 Grady ABSTRACT One of the most important questions in Australian comparative linguistics over the last 40 years is the validity of a Pama-Nyungan node in the Australian family tree. Much of the comparative research done on Australian languages has supported the notion of a Pama-Nyungan family, and its validity is now well-established. How ever. much work remains to be done, both in establishing the relationships among the Pama-Nyungan languages and in reconstructing proto-Pama-Nyungan and deter mining the details of its development in the various branches of the family tree. This dissertation is a contribution towards the latter effort. The primary purpose of the present study is to determine the development of the three initial velars. *k. *ng and *w, in 25 Pama-Nyungan languages through 1561 cognate sets. The cognate sets are also an important resource for the study of other aspects of phonological change in Pama-Nyungan languages. The data provide evidence for the weakening of medial consonants, the assimilation of initial velar glides and nasals to the following vowel, prenasalization of medial stops, the development of triconsonantal clusters, and the presence of both a laminal lateral and a retroflex series of consonants in proto-Pama-Nyungan. In addition, statistical evidence is presented which supports the hypothesis that assimilation of the second to the first vowel is an important process in the history of many Pama-Nyungan languages. This dissertation also discusses important issues regarding the Neogrammarian hypothesis and the comparative method. In particular, the data presented here sup port the idea that not all sound changes apply in a lexically abrupt, regular manner. Many of the sound changes seen in the data appear to affect only a portion of the eligi ble forms, and thus provide evidence for the theory of lexical diffusion. Furthermore, most of the changes are found not just in individual languages, but in a number of the languages under study. The data therefore support the notion of pandemic irregularity. Ill Examiners: Dr. G.N. 0 'Grady. Sup^ndsor (Department of Linguistics) -------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. B.F. CarisQfl. D epartm ental Member (Departm ent of Linguistics) Dr. T.M. Hess. Dgpa&tmental Member (Department of Linguistics) Dr. W,H. Alkire.TC^utside M ember (Department of Anthropology) Dr. K.L. Hale. External Examiner (Department of Linguistics. Massachusetts Institute of Technology) COSTESTS iv C ontents Contents iv List of Tables viii List of Maps ix List of Abbreviations x Acknowledgements xii Dedication xiv 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Previous work on Pama-Nyungan ................................................................ 3 1.1.1 P honology ............................................................................................... 6 1.1.2 G r a m m a r ............................................................................................... 8 1.1.3 Lexicon ................................................................................................... 9 1.1.4 S e m a n tic s ............................................................................................... 10 1.2 Proto-Pama-Nyungan ........................................................................................ 11 COSTENTS V 1.3 Languages in the Study ...................................................................................... 14 1.3.1 Sociolinguistic Information ................................................................. 16 1.3.2 Data Sources and T ran scrip tio n ........................................................ 20 1.3.3 Phoneme Inventories .......................................................................... 22 1.3.4 .\ssumed S u b g ro u p in g ....................................................................... 26 2 Methodology 29 2.1 Review of the Comparative Method ........................................................... 30 2.2 .Alternative Views on Sound Change .............................................................. 38 2.2.1 C a m p b e ll ............................................................................................... 39 2.2.2 Lexical Diffusion .................................................................................. 41 2.2.3 L a b o v ...................................................................................................... 43 2.2.4 Pandemic Irregularity ........................................................................ 46 2.2.5 Role of the .N'eogrammarian Hypothesis .......................................... 48 2.3 Bottom-Cp and Top-Down Comparison ....................................................... 50 2.4 Method Used in this Study .............................................................................. 52 2.4.1 Overview ............................................................................................... 53 2.4.2 Details of the Method ........................................................................ 54 3 *k-Initial Etyma 63 3.1 "ka- ............................................................................................................................ 66 3.2 " k i-.............................................................................................................................. 116 3.3 * k u - ........................................................................................................................ 123 CONTENTS vi 4 *ng-lnitial Etyma 171 4.1 “n g a - ...................................................................................................................... 171 4.2 * n g i- ...................................................................................................................... 193 4.3 * n g u - ...................................................................................................................... 19-5 5 *w-Initial Etyma 206 •5.1 * \v a - ...................................................................................................................... 206 5.2 *wi- ...................................................................................................................... 242 5.3 " w u - ...................................................................................................................... 254 6 Analysis of Cognate Sets 262 6.1 Consonant C h an g e s ........................................................................................... 262 6.1.1 Initial Velars ........................................................................................... 263 6.1.1.1 *k-> n g - .............................................................................. 263 6.1.1.2 *k-> w - .................................................................................. 265 6.1.1.3 > 0 ................................................................................. 267 6.1.1.4 *ng- > w - ................................................................................ 268 6.1.1.5 *ng- > 0 ..................................................................................