Correspondences of Proto-Tai Initials*(?)b and*(?)d in Dehong Dai
In most modem Tai languages,the proto-Tai initials*(?)b and*(?)d reconstructed by Li Fang-Kuei develop into/b/and/d/respectively,which are absent from both the spoken and written forms of the Dehong dialect,or Dehong Dai,of the Dai language.In this paper,we adopt an empirical method to explore the evolution of the*(?)b and*(?)d initials in Dehong Dai.We propose that the evolution of*(?)b and*(?)d in Dehong Dai has gone through three stages:in the first stage,they have become b and d initials,which can be attested in the 13th century literature written in the Ahong Dai script;in the second stage,the two proto-initials have further developed into initials m and n,as can be reflected in the 15th century document Baiyiguan Yiyu written in the Dehong Dai script;and in the third stage,the m initial evolves into the v initial in the Jinggu variety of Dehong Dai,Jinping Dai and some varieties of Hongjin Dai,and the n initial becomes the l initial in the dialectal area of Dehong Dai.
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