Palatalization in Laomian: evolution and resistance

Palatalization is pervasive in Laomian. This study compares Laomian bilabial, velar, and coronal consonants with counterparts in related Bisoid, Ngwi, and broader Burmic languages, and provides a phonological account of the evolution of palatalization using feature geometry within nonlinear phonology and Optimality Theory (OT). Laomian bilabials pattern as simple palatalized clusters (bilabial + glide j) without developing into affricates. Velars evolve either into prepalatals or into velar + glide j depending on the function of [i] in the rhyme. Alveolars become prepalatals before vowels with the [-back] feature. A limited number of words show doublets with consonants from two categories, reflecting different stages in sound change chains.

Yijia Zhang, Xiaoyu Jin, Li Liu