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THE PHONOLOGY of PROTO-TAI a Dissertation Presented to The THE PHONOLOGY OF PROTO-TAI A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Pittayawat Pittayaporn August 2009 © 2009 Pittayawat Pittayaporn THE PHONOLOGY OF PROTO-TAI Pittayawat Pittayaporn, Ph. D. Cornell University 2009 Proto-Tai is the ancestor of the Tai languages of Mainland Southeast Asia. Modern Tai languages share many structural similarities and phonological innovations, but reconstructing the phonology requires a thorough understanding of the convergent trends of the Southeast Asian linguistic area, as well as a theoretical foundation in order to distinguish inherited traits from universal tendencies, chance, diffusion, or parallel development. This dissertation presents a new reconstruction of Proto-Tai phonology, based on a systematic application of the Comparative Method and an appreciation of the force of contact. It also incorporates a large amount of dialect data that have become available only recently. In contrast to the generally accepted assumption that Proto-Tai was monosyllabic, this thesis claims that Proto-Tai was a sesquisyllabic language that allowed both sesquisyllabic and monosyllabic prosodic words. In the proposed reconstruction, it is argued that Proto-Tai had three contrastive phonation types and six places of articulation. It had plain voiceless, implosive, and voiced stops, but lacked the aspirated stop series (central to previous reconstructions). As for place of articulation, Proto-Tai had a distinctive uvular series, in addition to the labial, alveolar, palatal, velar, and glottal series typically reconstructed. In the onset, these consonants can combine to form tautosyllabic clusters or sequisyllabic structures. Regarding the rime, PT had seven vowel qualities that contrasted in height, backness, and rounding. A vowel length contrast also existed for each quality. Palatal and lateral consonants also occurred in the coda in addition to the final consonants generally assumed. Furthermore, Proto-Tai was a tonal language whose four tonal categories *ABCD contrasted both in terms of pitch and voice quality. Many of these Proto-Tai traits are not attested in modern Tai languages. The current reconstruction of Proto-Tai phonology is thus a demonstration of the power of the Comparative Method as well as the role that phonological theory can play in reconstruction. This thesis presents a picture of the history of Tai languages as characterized by divergent changes overridden by waves of convergent trends that transformed Proto-Tai into a network of typologically homogenous dialects that differ markedly from their parent. This analysis offers a comprehensive account of the transformation of the Proto-Tai phonology into modern systems. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Pittayawat Pittayaporn, known among friends as Joe, attended Sarawittaya High School, Bangkok, before entering the Faculty of Arts at Chulalongkorn University, in 1998. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish (1st class honor) in 2002. iii pācerācariyā honti guṇuttarānusāsakā paññāvuḍḍhikare te te dinnovāde namāmihaṃ Teachers and teachers upon teachers are superior instructors because of their merits. I bow to those who provide instruction; who inspire knowledge and prosperity. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing this dissertation was a long process full of mysteries and discoveries, as well as smiles, distresses, laughter. This dissertation represents moments shared with so many people whom this research brought into my life, and for whom I am deeply grateful. Above all, I am greatly indebted to my beloved family—my father Sanan, my mother Issayaporn, my brother Norrasate, and my aunt Manee—for their love and sacrifices made me who I am. I would like to thank them for their support and incredible patience throughout my life. I offer this dissertation as a token of my utmost respect and deepest gratitude toward all my teachers. It is my greatest honor and privilege to be a student of my thesis advisor Professor John Whitman. He is a careful, thorough, and inspiring scholar, as well as a caring, attentive, and generous mentor. Words cannot describe how much I value those late evening meetings, those lunch discussions, those letters of recommendations, and above all the friendship he has offered. I am greatly indebted to Professor Pranee Kullavanijaya, who introduced me Tai historical linguistics, and has been a teacher to me in the truest sense of the word. I would like to express my appreciation for Professor Theraphan Luangthongkum, who imparted to me her incredible knowledge on Southeast Asian Linguistics, and who inspired me to be a good field linguist. I am tremendously indebted to Professor MR. Kalaya Tingsabadh, who has always been a respected teacher and benefactor to me. Without her kindness, my life would be very different. This dissertation is also an homage to Fang-kuei Li, William Gedney, André-Georges Haudricourt, Paul Benedict, and other scholars before me whose invaluable contributions made this dissertation possible. I am indebted to all my language consultants who generously and patiently worked with me: Pan and Jai Kaewkhamsaen of Waritchapum; Dao Van Vinh, and v Hoang Thi Du of Sapa; Hoang Thi Cu of Bao Yen and family; Prof. Hoang Van Ma; Li Jingsen, You Zhouhui of Shangsi and their families; and Chen Yufang and Chen Yujiao of Jinxiu. My experience in the field was a memorable one. I was especially touched by the generosity and kindness of Ajarn Pan Kaewkhamsaen, Hoang Thi Cu, Zhouhui, and their families for their warm welcome to their home. In addition, I thank the Department of Linguistics, Vietnam National University, Hanoi; the Office of Culture and Information, Lao Cai Province; and the School of Foreign Studies, Guangxi University for Nationalities, without whose assistance my fieldwork would not have been possible. I am also very grateful to my friend Marc Brunelle who was there at the beginning and helped bring my field research in Vietnam to light. I would like to express my appreciation to my thesis committee members Prof. Abigail Cohn, Prof. Michael Weiss, and Prof. Draga Zec for their insightful comments, valuable suggestions, and helpful advice. Moreover, this dissertation would not be possible without generous help from so many people at various stages of my Ph.D. experience: Prof. John Wolff, Prof. James Matisoff, Prof. Michel Ferlus, Prof. Laurent Sagart, Prof. Maneepin Phromsuthirak, Prof. Prapod Assavavirulhakarn, Prof. Thak Chaloemtiarana, Prof. Kingkarn Thepkanjana, Prof. Somsongse Burusphat, Prof. Mitsuaki Endo, Prof. Jerrold Edmondson, Prof. Anthony Diller, Prof. Tran Tri Doi, Prof. Zhang Youjun, Prof. Fang Yin, Prof. Bo Wenze, Prof. Huang Xiulian, Dr. Tran Huu Son, Dr. Phichet Saiphan, Dr. Alexis Michaud, Dr. Peter Norquest, Dr. Weera Ostapirat, Komsorn Aukyapisut (P’Pop), Mongkol Tonphuban, Qin Xiuhong, You Huicai and family, Lu Sheng, Do Quang Son, Phan Luong Hung, Ryuichi Kosaka, Eric Johnson, Andrew Joseph, Sheila Haddad, Angie Tinti, Nancy Loncto, Wendy Treat, Gina Giambattista Cesari, Renee Milligan, Suwanna Charoensiri, Natcha Preechawattanasakul, Supaporn Phoprom, Nares Petcharat, Vu Huyen, Supawat Chomchan, Liu Futing, Zheng Wuyao, and numerous others. vi I also extend special thanks to all my friends for their help, moral support, and, above all, their friendship—Nawaporn Inkaew, Arthid Sheravanichkul, Youththachai Vitheekol, and my friends from the Faculty of Arts for their long-lasting friendship and for being my strength in these difficult years; Woraporn Sukhumawasi, Pimnara Hirankasi, Benjarong Suwankiri, Ariya Chiralertpong, Worawat Sangthongsakaw, and Neeranat Photiyanon, for their wonderful friendship and for always being there for me; Tejaswini Deoskar, John Duong Phan, Marc Brunelle, Ivan Small, Alice Iida, Pamela Corey, Eileen Vo, Johanna Brugman, Andrew Joseph, Dan Kaufman, Andrew Johnson, Daena Funahashi, Claudine Ang, Samson Lim, Nikola Predolac, and Hye- Sook Lee for their ever-growing friendship, and for making these Ithaca years of my life marvelous ones. One thing in life that I am most grateful for is that I have friends, who are wonderful and true. It is not possible to mention all of them on this piece of paper, but they will always be in my heart. I am indebted to Cornell’s Graduate School, Cornell’s East Asia Program, and the Lam Family Fund for South China Research for their generous financial support which made the this dissertation, especially the field research possible. I express my appreciation to the Department of Linguistics, Cornell University for all its support. It is this department that has nurtured me intellectually in these past six years. I am indebted to Cornell’s Southeast Asia Program not only for their financial support but also for being my “home” at Cornell. I express my deepest gratitude to the Anandamahidol Foundation under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King of Thailand for giving me the opportunity to pursue this Ph.D. study. I would like to pay my utmost respect and gratitude to His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn for their vision in recognizing the importance of education for the well-being of the people of Thailand. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Bibliographical sketch……………………………………………………….………iii Dedication…………………………………………………………………………….iv Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………….v List of figures……………………………………………………………………..…xiii List of tables…………………………………………………………………………xiv List
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