Palatalization in Laomian: evolution and resistance

Palatalization, a common phonetic process, presents complexities and controversies in linguistic analysis. While some view it as a uniform category with consistent features and behavior, others distinguish primary and secondary palatalization. This paper focuses on Laomian, a Bisoid language closely related to Bisu, and investigates its palatalization patterns. Laomian, discovered in the 1960s and 1980s, belongs to the Ngwi-Burmese branch of the Sino-Tibetan family and shows unique features despite similarities to Ngwi-Burmese languages. The research question centers on the phonological evolution of palatalization in Laomian, specifically examining the behavior of bilabial, velar, and coronal consonants compared to related languages. The study employs feature geometry, nonlinear phonology, and Optimality Theory to analyze the evolution and resistance to palatalization within the Laomian sound system. The importance of this study lies in understanding Laomian's unique phonetic and phonological development within its linguistic family and broader context of language change.

Previous research highlights the absence of coexisting prepalatals and postalveolars in most languages, with prepalatals dominating in Ngwi-Burmese languages. Xu (1998) detailed the evolution of initial consonants in these languages, including the simplification of consonant clusters and palatalization's role in creating affricates. The debate on palatalization's definition and categorization is also reviewed, citing Zhang and Chen (2018) who consider it a natural category, and Ladefoged and Johnson (2015) who differentiate primary and secondary palatalization. Halle's focus on the universal coronal/dorsal choice in palatalization is also discussed. The close relationship between Laomian and Bisu is noted, with some classifying them as language varieties. Data from Laomian and Huai Chomphu, chosen for their minimal loan words, are used for analysis, drawing on previous work by Nishida and Bradley.

The study compares the phonetic bilabial, velar, and coronal consonants of Laomian with their counterparts in Bisoid languages (Huai Chomphu), other Ngwi languages (Hani, Lahu, Lisu), and other Burmic languages (Burmese script, Zaiwa, Achang). The methodology involves reconstructing real-time sound shifts in Laomian’s history based on geographically projected distributions, following Pan's (2015) approach. Tables (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) present comparative data for these consonant types, including glosses and phonetic transcriptions. The analysis employs two theoretical frameworks: Nonlinear Phonology and Optimality Theory (OT). Nonlinear Phonology is used to illustrate the palatalization process by showing how features spread from vowels to adjacent consonants, particularly the spread of [-back] from a front vowel to an alveolar consonant, resulting in a prepalatal. Optimality Theory analyzes the palatalization as a constraint-satisfaction process. Constraints represent phonological preferences and the interaction between these constraints determines the optimal pronunciation. The study introduces markedness constraints that favor agreement in the [back] feature between consonants and following vowels (PAL-i, PAL-e, PAL-ia), and faithfulness constraints that prefer the input features to be maintained in the output (ID-C[+back], ID-C[-back], ID-V[-back], ID-V[+back]). The ranking of these constraints reveals the processes that drive palatalization in Laomian. Tables (8, 9, 10) showing the comparisons of Laomian with Burmic languages are also used in the discussion and analysis. Finally, a common sound shift chain (Figure 2) proposed by Pan (2015) provides further explanation for the changes. Three rules based on the chain are extrapolated to analyze the evolution of Laomian consonants.

The study reveals several key findings: 1. **Bilabial Plosives:** Laomian preserves the 'bilabial plosive + glide [j]' form, similar to other Ngwi languages, without evolving into affricates. Comparison with Burmic languages shows less correspondence, supporting Laomian's closer relationship to the Ngwi group. 2. **Velar Plosives:** Laomian velars show diverse evolutionary patterns. Depending on the function of [i] (single final or nucleus), velars evolve into prepalatals ([tc]) or 'velar + glide j' ([kj]). Comparisons with Ngwi and Burmic languages highlight variations in the evolution of velars. 3. **Coronal Plosives:** Laomian displays complementary distribution of [ts] and [tc] based on vowel backness. The coexistence of alveolar and prepalatal variants in some words illustrates ongoing evolution. Comparisons across Ngwi and Burmic languages reveal different evolutionary stages, with some languages exhibiting affrication. 4. **Nonlinear Phonology:** This framework shows the spread of features from vowels to consonants, explaining the palatalization of alveolars to prepalatals. 5. **Optimality Theory (OT):** OT analysis reveals a constraint-based system where markedness constraints (favoring agreement in [back] features) and faithfulness constraints (preserving input features) interact to determine the optimal output. The ranking of these constraints explains the different palatalization patterns in Laomian, showing that it's a conflict-resolution strategy that varies based on the function of /i/ in the syllable. 6. The evolution from alveolars to prepalatals is analyzed using Optimality Theory, demonstrating that Laomian’s palatalization is a conflict resolution strategy driven by markedness constraints with individual triggers. The study identifies specific constraints responsible for the observed patterns and their ranking within the OT framework explains why certain forms emerge in Laomian while others do not. 7. The analysis incorporates a common sound shift chain, and three rules are extrapolated to explain the observed changes in Laomian. The rules describe the evolution of consonant clusters, changes in phonological strength, and the shift from voiced to voiceless sounds. The analysis of the evolution is supported by the presence of dual pronunciations in some words.

The findings highlight the diverse evolutionary paths of palatalization in Laomian, depending on the consonant type and context. The closest correspondence is found within the Bisoid subgroup, followed by other Ngwi languages, with the least correspondence to Burmic languages. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of both nonlinear phonology and Optimality Theory in analyzing this complex process. The persistence of dual pronunciations in some words reflects the ongoing nature of the language change and the interaction between historical and contemporary phonological pressures. The study provides insights into the relationship of Laomian with other Ngwi and Burmic languages, illuminating its unique phonetic and phonological characteristics and its position within the broader phylogenetic context. The different evolutionary stages observed across related languages support the proposed evolutionary path from 'plosive + liquid' clusters to 'plosive + glide' clusters and eventually to affricates.

This research contributes to our understanding of palatalization in Laomian, highlighting its unique evolution within the context of Ngwi and Burmic languages. The study effectively employs nonlinear phonology and Optimality Theory to model the complex interactions of phonetic and phonological processes responsible for the observed patterns. Future research could focus on a deeper diachronic analysis of Laomian, exploring its historical contact with other languages and the role of sociolinguistic factors in shaping its sound system. Further investigation into the influence of language contact with Chinese on the development of Laomian’s sound system is also warranted.

The study primarily focuses on a limited set of data, potentially limiting the generalizability of the findings. While the authors acknowledge potential influences of language contact and the role of sociolinguistic factors, these aspects are not fully explored in this paper. Further investigation of these factors is needed to fully understand the complexity of palatalization in Laomian.