melanau language ancient consonant phoneme · oya, dalat, balingian, bintulu, along the rejang...

Dialectologia20(2018),21-42.ISSN:2013-2247

21

Received29February2016.

Accepted2June2016.

MELANAULANGUAGEANCIENTCONSONANTPHONEME

NorfazilaAb.HAMID,RahimAMAN&A.H.SHAHIDI

SelangorInternationalIslamicUniversityCollege/NationalUniversityofMalaysia/

UniversitiKebangsaanMalaysia*∗

[email protected]/[email protected]/[email protected]

Abstract

This article discusses on the effort to reconstruct the ancient consonant phoneme form of a

language assumed to exist in Sarawak which is called the Ancient Melanau Language (BMLP). BMLP

reconstruction was conducted using the qualitative comparative method. This qualitative comparative

methodbeginswiththedeterminationofcognatewords,theconstructionofcorrespondenceparadigm,

searching for phonemic recurrence, and endswith the determination of the ancient phonemes of the

language.Whentheancientphonemesineachcorrespondenceparadigmareobtained,thenallatonce

theancientmorphemes for thecorrespondenceparadigmarealsoobtained.ThirteenMelanauvariants

(VM)inSarawakwereusedasthebasisofthiscomparison,namely,Bintulu(BT),Balingian(BLGN),Mukah

(MKH),Oya (OA), Igan (IGN), Dalat (DLT),Matu (MT), Daro (DO),Medong (MDG),UDRiver (UDRiver),

Rajang (RJG),Kanowit (KNWT)andTanjong (TJG).Thestudy resultproved that the reconstructedBMLP

has 18 ancient phonemes namely, four voiceless plosive consonants of *p, *t, *k and *ʔ, three voiced

plosiveconsonantsof*b,*dand*g,avoicedaffricateconsonant*dʒ,twovoicelessfricativeconsonants

*sand*h,fournasalconsonants*m,*n,*ɲandŋ,atrillvoicedconsonant*r,alateralvoicedconsonant

*landtwosemi-vowelconsonants*wand*j.This low-levelreconstructionstudyhasdirectlypioneered

the effort to reconstruct the BMLP on a higher level that is, comparing the BMLP with the Ancient

PolynesianMalaylanguage(PMP).

∗*NorfazilaAb.Hamid,MalayLanguageUnit,DepartmentofCivilizationandHumanPotential,SelangorInternationalIslamicUniversityCollege,BandarSeriPutra,43000Kajang,Malaysia.* Rahim Aman (Corresponding author), Centre forMalay Language, Literature and Culture, Faculty ofSocialSciencesandHumanity,UniversitiKebangsaanMalaysia,43600Bangi,Selangor,Malaysia.* Shahidi A. H., Centre for Malay Language, Literature and Culture, Faculty of Social Sciences andHumanity,UniversitiKebangsaanMalaysia,43600Bangi,Selangor,Malaysia.

©Universitat de Barcelona

HAMID,AMAN&SHAHIDI

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Keywords

reconstruction,comparativemethod,Melanauvariants,phoneme,consonant

MELANAULANGUAGEANCIENTCONSONANTPHONEME

Resumen

Esteartículopretendereconstruirlosantiguosfonemasconsonantesdeunalenguaquesesupone

que existió en Sarawak, llamado antiguo melanau (BMLP). La reconstrucción del BMLP se realizó

utilizandoelmétododecomparacióncualitativa.Estemétodocomienzaconladeterminacióndepalabras

afines, la construcción del paradigma correspondiente, la búsqueda de recurrencia fonémica y termina

conladeterminacióndelosantiguosfonemasdelalengua.Cuandoestosseobtienenencadaparadigma

de correspondencia, también se obtienen todos los morfemas antiguos para el paradigma

correspondiente. Se han utilizado trece variantes del melanau (VM) en Sarawak como base de esta

comparación, a saber, bintulu (BT), balingian (BLGN), mukah (MKH), oya (OA), igan (IGN), dalat (DLT),

matu(MT),daro(DO),medong(ODM),UDRiver(UDRiver),rajang(RJG),kanowit(KNWT)ytanjong(TJG).

ElresultadodelestudiodemostróqueelBMLPreconstruidotiene18fonemasantiguos,asaber,cuatro

consonantes oclusivas sordas (*p, *t, *k y *ʔ), tres consonantes oclusivas sonoras (*b, *d y *g), una

consonanteafricadasonora(*dʒ),dosconsonantesfricativassordas(*sy*h),cuatroconsonantesnasales

(*m, *n, *ɲ y ŋ), una consonante vibrante sonora (*r), una consonante lateral sonora (*l) y dos

consonantes semivocales (*w y *j). Este estudio de reconstrucción de bajo nivel ha sido pionero en el

esfuerzoporreconstruirelBMLPenunnivelsuperior,esdecir,comparandoelBMLPconlalenguadela

antiguaPolinesiaMalaya(PMP).

Palabrasclave

reconstrucción,métodocomparativo,variantesdelMelanau,fonema,consonante

1.Introduction

SarawakisoneofthelargeststateinMalaysiawhichhasanareaofabout124,449

Km2. Currently, Sarawak state can accommodate a large number of population

approximatelyamountedto2,471,140peopleandhas750kilometersofbeachesalong

theNorthwestcoastoftheislandofBorneo(www://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/Sarawak).

Sarawak is inhibited by various tribes. Each of these tribes inhabits certain areas in

Sarawak. According to Omar (1975: 14-17), the Melanau people occupied places

between Cape Kedorong and Kuala Rejang. Harrison (1959: 57) said that among the

nativepeople, thePunanpeople is still living in the jungle andpractices the itinerant



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system.TheylivedintheareaaroundBalui,TinjarRiver,Baram,andTurohintheFourth

Division, aswell as inUlu Belait. The Kayan and Kenyah Tribes lived in the valleys of

BatangKayan,BatangBaramandBatangRejang.TheKelabit tribewasmostlyresiding

on thehillyareas in ruraldistrict (NorthofBaramRiver).TheBisaya tribe livedat the

LimbangriverbanksneartheborderofBrunei.Meanwhile,theMuruttribeoccupiedthe

areasofBaramRiver,RejangandLimbang.Eachtribehad itsownlanguage(seeHupe

1896).

TheMelanaulanguagebelongstotheAustronesialanguage.TheMelanaupeople

in Sarawak live in several different areas but speak the same language that is the

Melanau language (King 1978). According to King (1978), in 1960 there were about

44000Melanaupeople,andabout¼ofthemarestillpagan,therestareMuslimexcept

forasmallnumberwhoareRomanCatholicChristian.Ingeneral,themainsettlementof

theMelanaucommunityinSarawakisdividedintothreegroups.Thefirstgroupconsists

of theMiddle group namely, those living around the Igan,Oya andMukah rivers.The

second group is the South group, who live around the Rejang River, from Rejang to

Matu. The third group is the North group who live around Balingian to Bintulu. The

distributionofthesegroupswasbasedonthedifferencesintermsoftheirspeechand

settlementpatterns(Clayre1970).Theirsettlementarebasedatriverconfluents,close

to coastal areas suchasBintulu,Mukah,Matu, and Iganwhich are the fertile belt. In

addition, therewere other smaller village clusters andmostlywere located from the

sixth’s division of the Rajang district until the comparatively rural district settlement

suchasDalat,Medong,Kut,Narub,Balingian,andTatau.

AccordingtoMorris(1989),theMelanaunameisspelledinmanywaysandinthe

pastithasbeenusedbythepeoplelivinginthesouthwestcoastofBrunei.Inamapthat

waspublishedinItalyin1595,thewordMalanohasclearlybeendrawnalongthebeach

thatconnectstotheOyariver,MukahandBalingan.However,peoplewholivedinthe

areasaidthattheynevercalledthemselvesMelanauandthatthewordisaMalayword

from Brunei (Morris 1989). Before 1950, Melanau was spelled as ‘Malano’ that was

clearlydrawnonamapalongtheOyariver,MukahandBalingian.AccordingtoLeach

(1950: 53), theMelanau tribewas placed in the category of ‘para-malay’whichwere

dividedintotwonamely,theSeganpeopleconsistsoftheMelanauBintulu,originated


HAMID,AMAN&SHAHIDI

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fromthePenanandKajangpeopleclustersandwerenotnomadic.Meanwhile,theLiko

whoistheMelanauOya-MukahisabranchoftheKanowitcluster.AccordingtoMorris

(1989), theMelanaupeople have been calling themselves asa likou,meaning people

wholive intheriverorpartof it.A-likouUya referstoall thepeoplewholivedatthe

Oya River anda-likouMedong refers to the residents ofMedong village. Peoplewho

camefromBruneiarecalledMelanau.

2.Researcharea

The studyarea is certainlybeyond the limitof local geography.Accordingly, the

selectedstudyareaisthecoastalareawhichcoversanareaofthesoutherncoastlineto

the northern coastline including the south-west, the Rejang delta, Matu, Daro, Igan,

Oya, Dalat, Balingian, Bintulu, along the Rejang River, Kanowit and Tanjong. In actual

fact,intheabove-mentionedareasexistdozensofMelanauVariant(VM),however,for

thisstudy,theresearchersonlystudiedthirteenVMswhichareconsideredtorepresent

themajorityofVMinthearea.Inaddition,timeconstraintfacedbytheresearchershad

causedonly13VMswerechosen.

The Melanau variant areas studied were as follows: Mukah (MKH), Balingian

(BLGN),Oya(OA),Igan(IGN),Dalat(DLT),Matu(MT),Daro(DO),Rajang(RJG),Medong

(MDG),UdRiver (SGUD),Kanowit (NWT),Tanjong (TJG)andBintulu (BT). Inaddition,

thelocationofthisareaisseparatedfromeachotherduetothecoastline,fromsouthto

north,theriverandthejungle.ThefollowingmapsshowthepositionofallstudiedVMs.

3.StudyApproach

There are five important terminologies that should be understood before the

reconstructionmethodisappliedtothedescendantlanguage(seealsoNothofer1975,

Campbell2001&Hasrahetal.2013).Thefiveterminologiesare:

i. Ancientlanguage;whichisthehypotheticallanguagethatisconsideredtohave

passeddownthedescendantlanguagesthatwerecompared.



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ii.A language family; languages that are related to each other and these

languagesarederivedfromthesameancientlanguage.

iii.Cognateword;wordsthathavesimilarformandmeaningwithotherwordsina

different language,butthedifferent languagesweredescendedfromthesamesource

ofancientlanguage.

iv.Soundcorrespondence;aparadigmsetofsoundcognatewordsthathavebeen

collected from the descendant language. Crowley (1992: 93) defined sound

correspondenceas“...eachsetofsoundsthatappearstobedescendedfromthesame

originalsound”.

v. Reflex,ancientformorelementthatexistedinthedescendantlanguages.

The reconstruction method of an ancient language has the following criteria

(Crowley1992,Campbell2001,Ringe&Eska2013,Hasrahetal.2014,andAmanetal.

2015):

i. Specifies the cognate words from the descendant language that was used as

comparisonlanguage.

ii. Arrangingcorrespondenceparadigmorasetofcorrespondencesfromthesetsof

soundsthathasbeenarranged.

iii. Searchingforsoundrecurrenceorrepetitionfromthewholedata.

iv. When recurrence exists, then the equivalence paradigm or correspondence

reachesthevaliditylevel.

v. Determine the proto-phoneme from the correspondence paradigm that has

reachedthevaliditylevel.

The determination of ancient phonemes that exists in the correspondence

paradigmhasafewcriteria.Thesecriteriahavebeendiscussedinpreviouswritings(see

Aman2008:29&Amanetal.2015:195).

4.Analysisoffindings

BMLPphonemethatarediscussedinthispaperistheresultofthereconstruction

of phonemes that have been made to the thirteen VMs covering different local


HAMID,AMAN&SHAHIDI

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geographic locations namely,Mukah (MKH),Matu (MT), Dalat (DLT), Igan (IGN), Oya

(OA), Balingian (BLGN), Daro (DO), Bintulu (BT), Medong (MDG), Sungai Ud (SG UD),

Rajang (RJG), Kanowit (KNWT) and Tanjong (TJG). Therefore, as a result of the

reconstructionthathasbeenmade,a totalnumberofBMLPphonemes inventoryand

distributionthatareconsonantscanbedisplayedinthedescriptionthatfollows.BMLP

phonemesdistributionshowstheexistenceofphonemesandBMLPphonemes’sound

based on their position either in the beginning, middle/between vowels or end of a

wordpositions.

Based on the comparison of sound correspondence and the result of the

reconstruction of 13 VMs show that BMLP, which had descended 13 VMs, has 18

ancientconsonantphonemes.From18consonants,furtherdetailsofthedescriptionis

based on the method of articulation of the explosive/plosive, eruption/affricate,

friction/fricative, nasal/nasal, vibrant/trill, lateral/lateral and semi-vowel consonants.

Table1showstheinventoryofconsonantsthatexistinBMLP.

PlaceofArticulation

MannerofArticulation

Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar VoiceBox

Explosive/plosive

Voiceless

Voiced

*p*b

*t*d

*k*g

*ʔ

Eruption/Affricate

Voiceless

Voiced

*dʒ

Friction/Fricative

VoicelessVoiced

*s

*h

Nasal/Nasal

VoicelessVoiced

*m

*n

*ɲ

*ŋ

Vibrant/Trill

VoicelessVoiced

*r

Lateral/Lateral

VoicelessVoiced

*l

Semi -Vowel

VoicelessVoiced

*w

*j

Table1.BMLPConsonantinventory



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Table 2 shows that the BMLP phonemes consist of four voiceless plosive

consonants of *p, *t, *k and *ʔ, three plosive consonants *b, *d and *g, a voiced

affricateconsonant*dʒ,twovoicelessfricativeconsonants*s,*h,fournasalconsonants

*m, *n, *ɲ and *ŋ, a voiced trill consonant *r, a voiced lateral consonant *l and two

semi-vowelconsonants*wand*j.Thefollowingdescriptionillustratestheexistenceof

thesephonemes.

3.1ReconstructionofBMLP*p,*t,*kand*ʔ

BMLP has four voiceless explosion/plosive consonants of *p, *t, *k and *ʔ (see

also study by Shahidi et al. 2012). The BMLP *p consonant is present in all word’s

positionsatthebeginning,middle/betweenvowelsandattheendofwordsandBMLP

*pwas directly descended in 13 VMs. Table 2 illustrates an example of the reflex of

BMLP*pin13VMsthathavebeenexamined.

BMLPConsonant

PositionDistribution

ExamplesofBMLP*pReflexin13VMs

*p Beginning of aword

BMLP *pədih ‘pain’ > MKH, DLT, IGN, MDG, SG UD andKNWT [pədih];MT,DOandBT [pədəs];OA [pəatʔ];BLGN --;RJG--;TJG--.

Middle ofwords/BetweenVowels

BMLP*apuj‘fire’>MKH,MT,DLT,IGN,BLGN,MDG,SGUD,KNWTandTJG[apuj];DO[apoj;BT--;RJG[apue].

EndofaWord

BMLP *tudip ‘live’ >MKH, DLT, IGN,OA,MDG and SGUD[tudip];MT,DO,RJG,KNWTandTJG [mudip];BLGN [murip];BT[muʁɛp].

Table2.ReflexofBMLP*pin13VMs

BMLP *t consonant is present in all positions of word, at the beginning,

middle/betweenvowelsandattheendofwordsandwasdirectlydescendedintheVM.

However, someof the data found show that in the beginning position, a sporadically

wordchangeshasoccurred insomeVMswhenBMLP*t-> [n]- inBTand [k]- inMDG

(see examples in bold in Table 5), while other data remain as [t]- in this position.

Accordingly,changesalsooccurredsporadicallyattheendofwordsinsomeofthedata


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foundwhenBMP*-t>-[l]inIGNand[d]inOA,MDGandSGUD(seeexamplesinboldin

Table5),whileotherdata remainas [t-] in thisposition.This shows that theBMLP*t

were directly descended in 13 VMs. The existence of BMLP *t in 13 VMs can be

describedinTable3.

BMLPConsonant

DistributionPosition

ExamplesofBMLP*tReflexin13VMs

*t Beginning of aWord

BMLP*tulaŋ’bone’>MT,DLT,OA,BLGN,DO,BT,MDG,SGUD, RJG, KNWT and TJG [tulaŋ]; MKH [tuleaŋ]; IGN [tule].

BMLP *tudip ‘live’ >MKH, DLT, IGN,OA,MDG and SGUD[tudip;MT,DO,RJG,KNWTandTJG[mudip];BLGN[murip];BT[muʁɛp].

BMLP *təlaw ‘we’ >MKH, IGN,OA and BLGN [təlaw];MT,DLT and DO [təlo];BT [niləw]; MDG [kələw]; SG UD and RJG[tələw];KNWT--;TJG--.

Middle ofWord/BetweenVowels

BMLP*tutək’cut’>MKH,MT,MDG,SGUDandRJG[tutək];DLT[tutak];IGN[matak];OAandBLGN[tutag];DO[tutəq];BT--;KNWT--;TJG[nətak].

EndofaWord

BMLP *subut ‘bite’ >MKH,DLT, IGN,OA, BLGN,DO,MDGandSGUD[subut];MT[subot];BT[ɲubot];RJG--;KNWT--;TJG--.

BMLP*mubət‘tie’>;MT,DLTandDO[mubət];MKH--;IGN[mubəl];OA,MDGandSGUD [mubəd];BLGN--;BT--;RJG--;KNWT--;TJG--.

Table3.BMLPReflex*tin13VMs

BMLP*kconsonantispresentatallword’spositionandweredirectlydescended

into the VM. However, at the end of the word’s position changes have occurred

sporadicallyinsomeVMswhenBMLP*-k>-[ʔ]inMT,DO,RJG,MDGandTJG,-[g]inOA

andBLGNand-∅inKNWT(Thischangeisnotaphonemic,butadisputephonetic)while

other data remain as /k/ (only applies to BMLP data *Manok ‘birds’, ‘cut’ and BMLP

*təŋgok‘neck’).ReflexBMLP*kinthirteenVMscanbeseeninTable4.



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BMLPConsonant


ExamplesofBMLP*kReflexin13VMs

*k Beginning of aWord

BMLP *kəman ‘eat’ >MKH,MT, DLT, IGN, OA, BLGN, DO,MDG,SGUDandRJG[kəman];BT--;KNWTandTJG[kəmᴐ].


BMLP *kukut ‘dig’ > MKH, MT, DLT, IGN, OA, BLGN, DO,MDG and SG UD [kukut]; BT [kukot]; RJG [kukuət], KNWT[məkut];TJG--.

EndofaWord

BMLP*manok ‘bird’ >MT,DLT, IGN,BT,MDG, SGUDandKNWT [manok]; MKH [manuak]; OA, BLGN [manuk]; DO[manoʔ];RJG[manuoʔ];TJG[manuʔ].

BMLP *tutək ‘cut’ >MKH,MT, DO,MDG, SGUD, and RJG[tutək];DLT [tutak]; IGN [matak];OA andBLGN [tutag]; BT --;KNWT--;TJG[nətak].

BMLP*təŋgok‘neck’>MKH,OAandBLGN[təŋgok];MTandTJG [təŋuʔ]; DLT --; IGN [təŋok]; DO [təŋguʔ]; BT--; MDG[təŋoʔ];SGUD--;RJG[təŋueʔ];KNWT[təŋᴐ].

Table4.BMLPReflex*kin13VMs

BMLP*ʔconsonantisonlypresentatthemiddle/betweenvowelsandattheend

ofwordspositions.AlthoughsaidtobedirectlydescendedinallVMs,thereweresome

data on themiddle position of words that showed sporadic innovation in some VMs

whenBMLP*-ʔ->-[w]-inDO,-∅-inMKH,MT,DLT,IGN,OA,DO,TJG,MDGandSGUD

and-[j]- inDO(examples inbold inTable7reflectthis innovation insomeVMs)while

otherdataremainas -[ʔ] in thisposition.Accordingly, theendofawordpositionalso

showsthatsporadicinnovationshaveoccurredinseveralVMswhenBMLP*-ʔ>-[k]of

theMKH,MT,DLTandBLGN(seeexamplesinboldinTable5),whileotherdataremain

as-[ʔ]inthisposition.Table5describesexamplesofBMLP*ʔreflectioninthirteenVMs

datathathavebeenstudied.

BMLPConsonant


ExamplesofBMLP*ʔReflexin13VMs

*ʔ Beginning of aWord

-


BMLP*taʔaw ‘know’ >MKH,DLT, IGN,BLGN,MDG,RJG,KNWT and TJG [taʔaw]; MT [taʔo]; OA and DO [taʔᴐ]; BT[taʔuʔ];SGUD[taʔəw].

BMLP*daʔun‘leaf’>MKH,MT,DLT,OA,BLGN,MDG,SGUD,RJGandKNWT[daʔun]; IGN[duʔun];DO [dawun];BT--;TJG[du:n].

BMLP*daʔan‘branch’>MKH,DLT,IGN,OA,BLGN,SGUD,


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RJG, KNWT and TJG [daʔan]; MT --; DO [dan]; BT --;MDG[da:n].

BMLP*guʔun‘jungle’>;DO[guʔun];OA,MDGandSGUD[gu:n];MKH,DLTdanIGN[gun];MT[gu];BLGN--;BT--;RJG--;KNWT--;TJG--.

BMLP*dʒaʔit‘sew’>MKH,DLT,IGN,OA,BLGN,MDGandSG UD [dʒaʔit]; MT [dʒait]; DO [dʒajit]; BT [dʒaʔet]; RJG[dʒaʔiət];KNWT--;TJG--.

EndofaWord

BMLP *tanaʔ ‘soil’ >MKH,MT, DLT, IGN,OA, BLGN, DO,BT,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[tanaʔ].

BMLP *səgaʔ ‘near’ > IGN,OA,MDG, SGUD, RJG, KNWTandTJG[səgaʔ];MKH,MTandDLT[səgak];BLGN--;DO--;BT--.

BMLP*daraʔ‘blood’>MTandTJG[daraʔ];MKH,DLT,IGNand OA [daʔ]; MDG and SG UD [da:ʔ]; BLGN [dahak]; DO[daɣaʔ];BT[ʁaʔ];RJGandKNWT[daʀaʔ].

Table5.BMLPReflex*ʔin13VMs

3.2ReconstructionofBMLP*b,*dand*g

BMLPhasthreevoicedplosiveconsonantswhichare*b,*d,*g.BMLP*bbilabial

voicedplosiveconsonantisonlypresentinthebeginningandmiddlepositionsofwords

andwasdirectlydescendedintoalltheVMs.AlthoughdirectlydescendedinalltheVMs,

insomeofthedataitwasfoundthatinnovationsoccurredwhenBMLP*b->[v]-inthe

BLGNandBTand∅-inMKHandOAinthebeginningpositionofwords.Accordingly,in

themiddlepositionofwords,afewchangesoccurredinafewVMswhenMLP*-b->-[v]-

in the BLGN, BT and KNWT. It is quite obvious that BMLP *b as [v] changes on both

positionsinanumberofVMsonlyhappenedsporadically,whileotherdataremainasa

/b/(onlyappliestosixdatathatissixboldBMLPdata*buok‘hair’,BMLP*bərat‘heavy’,

BMLP*bulaj ‘left’,BMLP*bəlabaw‘rat’,andBMLP*Dabaw‘ash’asshowninTable6).

ExamplesofBMLP*breflexin13VMsareshowninTable6.

BMLPConsonant


ExamplesofBMLP*bReflexin13VMs

*b Beginning of aword

BMLP *bulan ‘moon’ >MKH,MT, DLT, IGN, OA, BLGN,DO,BT,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJGVM[bulan].

BMLP*buwaʔ‘fruit’>MKH,OA,BLGN,DO,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[buwaʔ];MT,DLTandIGN[buaʔ],BT--.

BMLP*buok‘hair’>MTandOA[buok];MKH[buak];DO,DLT,IGN,MDGandSGUD[bok];BLGN[vuok];BT[boʔ];RJG[buəʔ];KNWTandTJG[buʔ].



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BMLP*bərat ‘heavy’ > TJG [bərat];MKH,DLT, IGN,OA,MDGand SGUD [ba:t];MT andDO [bəɣat]; BLGN [bahat];BT[va:t];RJGandKNWT[bəʀat].

BMLP*bulaj ‘left’ >MT,DLT, IGN,BLGN,DO,BT,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[bulaj;MKH[ulaj];OA[ulaj].


BMLP*tubuʔ‘grow’>MKH;MT,DLT,IGN,OA,DO,MDGandSGUD[tubuʔ];BLGN--;BT--;KNWT--;TJG--.

BMLP*bəlabaw‘mice’>MT,DLT,DO,MDG,RJG,KNWTandTJG[bəlabaw];MKH--;IGN--;BLGN [valavaw];BT--;SGUD--.

BMLP *dabaw ‘ash’ > MKH; MT and DO [dabo]; DLT[dabow]; IGN [daba];OA [dabᴐ];BLGN[davow];BT [avəw];MDG,SGUDRJGandTJG[dabəw];KNWT[davəw].

EndofWords -Table6.BMLP*bReflexin13VMs

BMLP*dconsonantispresentatthebeginning,middle/betweenvowelsandend

positions of words and were directly descended in the VM. Although it was directly

descendedinalltheVM,therewereafewdatashowingthatsporadicinnovationshave

occurredatthebeginningofawordwhenBMLP*d->[∅]-and[ʁ]intheVMBT,[ɲ-]in

BT, [n]- the MKH andMT, and [l]- in OA, BLGN, BT and theMDG, while other data

remain as [d] in all VM. Meanwhile, in the middle of a word position, the sporadic

innovationalsooccursintheBTandBLGNVMwhenBMLP*d>[ɗ]and[ʁ]inBTbecame

[r]inBLGNandBT(seeexampledatainboldinTable7),whileotherdataremainas[d].

BMLPReflex*dinallVMscanbeseeninTable7.

BMLPConsonant

Distributionposition

ExamplesofBMLP*dReflexIn13VM

*d Beginning of aword

BMLP*dəbu‘ash’>MT,DLT,DOandRJG[dəbu];MKHandBLGN[dabo]; IGNandOA[dəbo];BT[dabuəʔ];MDG,SGUD,KNWTandTJG[dabəw].

BMLP *danaw ‘lake’ >MKH,MTDLT, IGNOA BLGN, DO,MDG,RJG,KNWTandTJG[danaw];BT--;SGUD--.

BMLP *dabaw ‘ash’ > MKH; MT and DO [dabo]; DLT[dabow]; IGN [daba]; OA [dabᴐ]; BLGN [davow; BT [avəw];MDG,SGUDRJGandTJG[dabəw];KNWT[davəw].

BMLP*daʔun‘leaf’>MKH,MT,DLT,OA,BLGN,MDG,SGUD, RJG and KNWT [daʔun]; IGN [duʔun]; DO [dawun]; BT[ʁaon];TJG[du:n].

BMLP*dipa‘snake’>MKH,DLT,IGN,OA,BLGN,MDGandSGUD[dipa];MT,DOandRJG[dipah];BT[ɲipa];KNWT--;TJG--.


HAMID,AMAN&SHAHIDI

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BMLP *dipih ‘thin’ > DLT, IGN, SG UD, KNWT and TJG[dipih];MKH[nipih];MT[nipis];BLGN[lipeh];BT[lipeəs];OAandMDG[lipih];DOandRJG[dipis].

Middle ofWords/BetweenVowels

BMLP *pədih ‘pain’ > MKH, DLT, IGN, MDG, SG UD andKNWT [pədih];MT,DOandBT [pədəs];OA [pədiʔ]; BLGN --;RJG--;TJG[pədih].

BMLP *gadoŋ ‘green’ > MT, DLT, OA, DO, MDG, SG UD,KNWT and TJG [gadoŋ]; MKH [gaduaŋ]; IGN [gada:ŋ]; BLGNandRJG[gaduoŋ];BT[gaɗoŋ].

BMLP*tudip‘live’>MKH,DLT, IGN,OA,MDGandSGUD[tudip];MT,DO,RJG,KNWTandTJG [mudip];BLGN [murip];BT[muʁɛp].

BMP*ŋadan‘name’>MKH,MT,DLT,IGN,OA,DO,MDG,SGUD,KNWTandTJG[ŋadan];BT[ŋaran];BLGN[ɲaran];RJG[ɲadan].

EndofWords BMLP*mədud ‘afraid’>DLT, IGN,OA,DODGandSGUD[mədud];MKH--;MT[mədod];BLGN--;BT--;RJG--;KNWT--;TJG--.

Table7.BMLP*dReflexin13VM

BMLPConsonant*g isonlypresentatthebeginningandmiddlepositionsofthe

word.ItisquiteobviousthatBMLP*gwasdirectlydescendedinalltheVMs.Although

said tobedirectly descended inVM, at thebetween vowelsposition, it shows that a

sporadicinnovationhasoccurredwhentheBMLP*g>[ŋ]intheVMIGNandotherdata

remainas/g/(onlyappliestodataBMLP*dagən‘inside’).BMLP*greflexin13VMscan

beseeninTable8.

BMLPConsonant


ExamplesofBMLP*gReflexin13VMs

*g Beginning of aword

BMLP *gadoŋ ‘green’ > MT, DLT, OA, DO, MDG, SG UD,KNWT and TJG [gadoŋ]; MKH [gaduaŋ]; IGN [gada:ŋ]; BLGNandRJG[gaduoŋ];BT[gaɗoŋ].

BMLP*guʔun‘jungle’>DO[guʔun];OA,MDGandSGUD[gu:n];MKH,DLTandIGN[gun];MT[gu];BLGN--;BT--;RJG--;KNWT--;TJG--.

Middle of aWord/BetweenVowels

BMLP *dagən ‘inside’ >MKH, DLT, OA,MDG and SG UD[dagən]; MT --; IGN [daŋən]; BLGN --; DO --; BT --; RJG --;KNWT--;TJG--.

BMLP *səgaʔ ‘near’ > IGN,OA,MDG, SGUD, RJG, KNWTandTJG[səgaʔ];MKH,MTandDLT[səgak];BLGN--;DO--;BT--.

Endofaword -

Table8.BMLPReflex*gin13VMs



33

3.3ReconstructionofBMLP*dʒ

BMLPhasonlyonevoicedexplosiveconsonantofthehardpalateof*dʒ.BMLP

*dʒvoicedconsonant isonlypresentat thebeginningandmiddlepositionsofwords.

Dataalsoshowedthatatthebeginningandmiddlepositionsofwords,thepresenceof

BMLP*dʒweredirectlydescendedinallVMs.Table9showstheBMLPreflexof*dʒin

13VMs.

BMLPConsonant


ExamplesofBMLP*dʒRelexin13VMs

*dʒ Beginning of aWord

BMLP*dʒatuʔ‘fall’>MT,DLTandMDG[dʒatuʔ];MKH--;IGN--;OA--;BLGN[dʒatok];DO[dʒatoʔ];BTSGUD[dʒatuoʔ];SGUD[dʒatuəʔ];KNWT--;TJG--.

BMLP*dʒaʔat‘bad’>MKH,DLT,IGNandOA[dʒaʔat];MT[dʒət]; BLGN --; DO [dʒat]; BT [dʒaʔəs]; MDG and SG UD[dʒaʔət];RJG[dʒə:t];KNWT[dʒeʔeʔ];TJG[dʒeʔet].

Middle of aword/BetweenVowels

BMLP *sədʒok ‘cold’ > MT, OA and DO [sədʒok]; MKH[sədʒok];DLT--;IGN--;BLGN--;BT[sʌdʒok];MDG--;SGUD--;RJG[sədʒoək];KNWT--;TJG--.

BMLP*tadʒuh‘needle’>MDGandSGUD[tadʒuh];MKH,IGN, OA and BLGN [tadʒoh];MT --; DLT [tudʒoh]; DO --; BT[tadʒu];RJG--;KNWT--;TJG--.

EndofaWord -

Table9.BMLP*dʒreflexin13VMs

3.4ReconstructionofBMLP*sand*h

BMLP has two voiceless fricative consonants which are *s and *h. BMLP *s

alveolar voiceless friction is present at the beginning of aword and between vowels,

BMLP*sreflexremainsas[s]inallVMs.AlthoughBMLP*sremainsas[s]inallVMsat

the beginning and themiddle position of theword, some data showed that changes

haveoccurredsporadically insomeVMswhenBMLP*s->[tʃ]- inDLTatthebeginning

positionandatthemiddleofaword’sposition,BMLP*-s->-[p]-inBTandbecome[-∅-]

and -[tʃ]- inDLT,whileotherdata remainas /s/ inbothpositions inallVMs (seedata

examplesinboldinTable10).BMLP*sreflexin13VMscanbeseeninTable10.


HAMID,AMAN&SHAHIDI

34

BMLPConsonant


ExamplesofBMLP*sreflexin13VMs

*s Beginning of aword

BMLP*susəw ‘breast’ >MKH,MT,DLT, IGN,OA,BLGN,DO,MDG,SGUDandRJG[susəw];BT--;KNWTandTJG[sᴐ].

BMLP *sapaw ‘roof’ > MKH, DLT, IGN, OA, BLGN, BT,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[sapaw];MT--;DO--.

BMLP *sak ‘red’ >;MT,MDG and SGUD [sak];MKH --;DLT[tʃak];IGN[sek];BLGN--;DO,RJGandKNWT[saʔ];BT--;TJG--.


BMLP *lasuʔ ‘hot’ >MDG, SG UD, RJG, KNWT and TJG[lasuʔ]; MKH, MT, DLT and OA [lasut]; IGN [lasuk]; BLGN[lasok];DO[rasuʔ];BT--.

BMLP *susap ‘suck’ >MKH, IGN,OA andBLGN [susap];MT,DO,MDGandSGUD[susəp];DLT[sueəp];BT[supeəp];RJG[sisəp];KNWT--;TJG[ɲisip].

BMLP*asow‘dog’>;MKHandIGN[asow];MT,OABLGNandDO [aso];DLT [atʃo];BT,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[asəw].

EndofaWord -

Table10.BMLP*sreflexin13VMs

The second consonant which shows its presence in 13 VMs that has been

compared was the voiceless friction/fricative faringal /h/. The emergence of this

consonant between vowels and at the end of words position before silence shows a

regular correspondences in some VMs. The existence of a regular correspondence in

some VMs enables BMLP *h to be reconstructed in both positions. The examples in

Table13showthatatthemiddleofawordposition,BMLP*hremainsinsomeVMs,but

theBMLP*hhasexperiencedinnovationsinafewVMswhichare*-h->-∅-inDLT,OA,

MDG and SGUD, -[ɣ]- in theDO, -[r]- inMT and -[ʀ]- in RJG (there is only one data,

whichis‘swimming’ofthereconstructed200dataindicatesthepresenceofBMLP*hin

themiddlepositionofwords).

Accordingly, despite the presence of BMP *h consonant at the end of words

before silence show a regular correspondence in several VMs, some of the data

obtainedalsoshowthatBMLP*hconsonantbeingdroppedattheendpositionofwords

in theMKH, LGN,DLT, IGN,OA,MDGandSGUDVMsoccurring sporadically to some

dataandotherdataremainas/h/.Table11showstheBMLP*hreflexin13VMs.



35

BMLPConsonant


ExamplesofBMLP*hReflexin13VMs

*h Beginning of aWord

-

Middle of aword/BetweenVowels

BMLP*tuhun ‘swimming’> IGN [tuhun];MKH --;MT turun];DLT [tun]; OA, MDG and SG UD [tu:n]; BLGN [tohon]; DO[tuɣun];BT--;RJG[tuʀun];KNWT--;TJG--.

EndofaWord BMLP*duduh‘clap’>;DLT,IGN,OA,MDG,SGUDKNWTandTJG[duduh];MTandDO[liduh];MKH[dudoh];BLGN--;BT--;RJG[liduəh].BMLP*sijah ‘salt’>MT,DLT, IGN,OA,DO,MDGSGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[sijah];MKHandBLGN[sija];BT--.BMLP *butah ‘back’ > MT; DO and RJG [butah];MKH, DLT,IGN,OA,MDGandSGUD[buta];BLGN--;BT--,KNWT--;TJG.

Table11.BMLP*hreflexin13VMs

3.5ReconstructionofBMLP*m,*n,*ɲand*ŋ

BMLP has four nasal consonants, namely *m *n *ɲ and *ŋ. Bilabial nasal

consonant/m/wasreconstructedattheBMLPlevelas*m.Thereconstructionissetas

such since the consonant showsa regular correspondence inall theVMs.The regular

correspondence shows that the BMLP *m consonant was directly descended at the

beginning,betweenvowelsandattheendpositionsofwordsinallVMsas[m].BMLP

*mreflexin13VMsisasshowninTable12.

BMLPConsonants


ExamplesofBMLP*mReflexin13VMs

*m BeginningofaWord

BMLP*mun‘fog’>MT,DLT,IGN,OA,DO,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[mun];MKH--;BLGN--;BT--.BMLP *mamak ‘dirty’ > MKH, DLT, IGN, OA and BLGN[mamak];MT --;DO --,BT [miəʔ];MDG,SGUD,KNWTandTJG[mamaʔ];RJG--.


BMLP *kəman ‘eat’ > MKH, MT, DLT, IGN, OA, BLGN, DO,MDG,SGUDandRJG[kəman];BT--;KNWTandTJG[kəmᴐ].

EndofaWord

BMLP*biləm‘black’>MKH,MT,DLT,IGN,OA,DO,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[biləm];BLGN--;BT--;BMLP*maləm‘night’>MKH,MT,DLT,OA,BLGN,DO,MDG,SGUD,KNWTandTJG[maləm];IGN[malaəm];BT--;RJG--.

Table12.BMLP*mReflexin13VMs


HAMID,AMAN&SHAHIDI

36

Thesecondnasalconsonantisthebilabialnasal/n/thathasbeenreconstructedat

the BMLP level as *n. This reconstruction is set as such since it shows regular

correspondences in all the VMs. The regular correspondence shows that BMLP *n

consonant was directly descended at the beginning, between vowels and at the end

positionsofwordsinallVMsas[n].BMLP*nreflexinall13VMscanbeseeninTable

13.

BMLPConsonant


ExamplesofBMLP*nReflexin13VMs

*n Beginning of aWord

BMLP *naj ‘sand’ >MKH,MT,DLT,OA, BLGN,DO,MDG,SGUD,KNWTandTJG[naj];IGN--;BT--;RJG--.


BMLP *tanaʔ ‘soil’ >MKH,MT, DLT, IGN,OA, BLGN, DO,BT,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[tanaʔ].

BMLP*manok‘bird’>MT,DLT,IGN,BT,MDG,SGUDandKNWT [manok]; MKH [manuak]; OA, BLGN [manuk]; DO[manoʔ];RJG[manuoʔ];TJG[manuʔ].

EndofaWord BMLP*daʔan‘branch’>MKH,DLT,IGN,OA,BLGN,SGUD,RJG, KNWT and TJG [daʔan]; MT --; DO [dan]; BT --; MDG[da:n].

BMLP*daʔun‘leaf’>MKH,MT,DLT,OA,BLGN,MDG,SGUD,RJGandKNWT[daʔun]; IGN[duʔun];DO[dawun];BT --;TJG[du:n].

Table13.BMLP*nreflexin13VMs

The next nasal consonants is the palatal nasal /ɲ/whichwas reconstructed at

BMLP level as *ɲ. Consonant BMLP *ɲ only exists at the beginning and the middle

positionsofwords.BMLP*ɲwasdirectlydescendedat thebeginningand themiddle

positionsofwordsinallVMsas[ɲ].Althoughitwasdirectlydescended,thereweredata

showing that theOAVMhasexperiencedsporadic innovationwhenBMLP*ɲ> [j]-at

thebeginningofawordposition(onlyappliestoasingledataandotherdataremainas

[ɲ]).ExamplesofBMLP*ɲreflexin13VMscanbeseeninTable14.



37

BMLPConsonant


ExamplesofBMLP*ɲReflexin13VMs

*ɲ Beginning of aWord

BMLP *ɲi:n ‘it’ > MDG [ɲi:n]; DLT and SG UD [ɲin]; IGN[ɲən];BLGN,KNWTandTJG[ɲa];OA[jin];MKH--;MT--;DO--;BT--;RJG--.

BMLP*ɲipən‘teeth’>MKH,MT,DLT,IGN,OA,BLGN,DO,BT,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[ɲipən].


BMLP*maɲit‘sharp’>MKH,MT,DLT,IGN,OA,BLGN,DO,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[maɲit];BT[maɲɛt].

EndofaWord -

Table14.BMLP*øreflexin13VMs

Thefourthorfinalnasalconsonantisthesoftpalatenasal/ŋ/reconstructedat

the BMLP level as *ŋ. The reconstruction is set as such since it shows regular

correspondences in all VMs. The regular correspondence shows that BMLP *ŋ was

directlydescendedwhichoccupiedallwords’positionsnamely,thebeginning,between

vowelsandattheendinallVMsas[ŋ].However,inBLGNandRJGthereexistsporadic

changesthathaveoccurredinsomedatafoundwhenBMP*ŋ->[ɲ-]isatthebeginning

positionofwordsinbothVMs(examplesofthisinnovationonlyoccursporadicallyina

singledataoutof200datathathavebeenreconstructedthatisBMLP*ŋadan‘name’),

whileotherdataremainas[ŋ]inalltheVMs.ExamplesofBMLP*ŋreflexin13VMscan

beseeninTable15.

BMLPConsonant


ExamplesofBMLP*ŋReflexin13VMs

*ŋ Beginning of aWord

BMLP*ŋadan ‘name’>MKH,MT,DLT, IGN,OA,DO,MDG,SGUD,KNWTandTJG[ŋadan];BT[ŋaran];BLGN [ɲaran];RJG[ɲadan].


BMLP *teliŋa ‘ear’ > OA, BLGN and BT [teliŋa];MKH, DLT,IGN,MDGandSGUD[liŋa];MT,DOandRJG[iŋah];KNWTandTJG[teliŋan].

BMLP *laŋit ‘Langit’ > MKH, MT, DLT, OA, BLGN, DO, BT,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[laŋit];IGN[laŋiət].

EndofaWord BMLP*tutəŋ ‘drink’>MKH,MT,OA,DO,MDG,SGUDandRJG[tutəŋ];DLT,IGNandBLGN[tutaŋ];BT--;KNWT--;TJG--.

BMLP*atəŋ‘correct’>DLT,IGN,OA,MDG,SGUDandRJG[atəŋ];MKH--;MT--,BLGN--;BT--;KNWT--;TJG--.

Table15.BMLP*NReflexin13VMs


HAMID,AMAN&SHAHIDI

38

3.6ReconstructionofBMLP*r

TheBMLP*rvoicedalveolartrillconsonantispresentatthemiddlepositionofa

word and was directly descended in a few VMs. The result of the correspondence

paradigm towards the data that have been made, the middle of the word position

showsthatanorderlyinnovationhastakenplaceinsomeVMswhenBMLP*-r->-[ɣ]-in

DO-[ʀ]-inRJGandKNWT,and-[h]-inMKHandOA.Inaddition,thesporadicinnovation

alsooccursinsomeVMswhenBMP*-r->-[ɣ]-inDLTandIGN,-[ʁ]-intheMDG,SGUD

andBT,-[ʀ]-intheMDGandSGUDand[h]inMTandBLGNwhileotherVMsremainas

-[r]- (seedataexamples inbold inTable16).Table16 showsexamplesof theBMP*r

reflexin13VMs.

BMPConsonant


ExamplesofBMLP*rReflexin13VMs

*r Beginning of aWord

-


BMP*daraʔ‘blood’>MTandTJG[daraʔ];MKH,DLT,IGNandOA [daʔ];MDG and SG UD [da:ʔ ];BLGN [dahak];DO[daɣaʔ];BT[ʁaʔ];RJGandKNWT[daʀaʔ].

BMP *marət ‘narrow’ >MT and TJG [marət];DLT, IGNand DO [maɣət];MKH --;OA --;BLGN --;BT --;MDG --;SGUD[maʁət];RJG--;KNWT--.

BMP*aməraw‘woman’>BLGN[aməraw];MKHandOA[amahaw];MT [təməho];DLT [amaɣa]; IGN [aməɣaw];DO[aməɣo]; BT --; MDG, RJG and KNWT [məʀəw]; SG UD[amaʀəw];TJG[mərəw].

EndofaWord -

Table16.BMP*rreflexin13VMs

3.7ReconstructionofBMLP*l

Thevoicedalveolarlateralconsonant/l/reconstructedatBMLPlevelas*lisonly

presentatthebeginningandmiddlepositionsofwords.BMLPconsonant*lwasdirectly

descendedinallVMsas[l]atthebeginningandmiddlepositionsofwords.Although/l/

is said to be directly descended from BMLP, there were data showing that sporadic

innovations have occurred when the BMLP *l-> [d-] in BT and [r-] in DO at the

beginningpositionofwords(thisonlyappliestoBMLPdatalaw‘day’and*lasuʔ‘hot’),



39

whileotherdataremainas[l]intheVM.ExamplesofBMLP*lin13VMscanbeseenin

Table17.

BMLPConsonant

Distributionposition

ExamplesofBMLP*lReflexin13VMs

*l Beginning of aWord

BMLP*laŋit ‘sky’ >MKH,MT,DLT,OA,BLGN,DO,BT,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[laŋit];IGN[laŋiət].

BMLP*labiʔ ‘come’>MT,DLT, IGN,OA,DO,MDG,SGUD and TJG [labiʔ]; MKH --; BLGN --; BT --; RJG [labiəʔ];KNWT[labɛʔ].

BMLP*law‘day’>MKH,MT,DLT, IGN,OA,BLGN,DO,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJGlaw;BT[daw].

BMLP*lasuʔ ‘hot’>MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[lasuʔ]; MKH,MT, DLT and OA [lasut]; IGN [lasuk]; BLGN[lasok];DO[rasuʔ];BT--.


BMLP *biləm ‘black’ > MKH, MT, DLT, IGN, OA, DO,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[biləm];BLGN--;BT--.

BMLP*bulaj‘left’>MT,DLT,IGN,BLGN,DO,BT,MDG,SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[bulaj];MKHandOA[ulaj].

EndofaWord -

Table17.VMBMLP*lReflexin13VMs

3.8ReconstructionofBMLP*wand*j

BMLP has two voiced semi-vowel consonants namely, bilabial semi-vowel

consonant *w and palatal semi-vowel consonant *j. The voiced bilabial semi-vowel

consonant BMLP *w is only present at between vowels and at the end of words

positions to consolidate to form a diphthong andwas directly descended in all VMs.

AlthoughdirectlydescendedinalltheVMs,atthispointtherewasalsodataindicating

BMP *-w- > -[b]- in the VM BT. This means that VM BT has experienced sporadic

innovationsinvolvingasingledata,whileotherdataremainas-/w/-inotherVMBT(see

exampleinTable18).BMP*wreflexin13VMsareshowninTable18.

BMLPConsonant


ExamplesofBMLP*wReflexin13VMs

*w Beginning of aWord

-


BMLP*sawah‘wife’>MT,DLTandDO[sawah];MKH,IGN,OA, BLGN, BT,MDG, SGUD and RJG [sawa]; KNWT and TJG[sawan].


HAMID,AMAN&SHAHIDI

40

BMLP*awan ‘cloud’ >MKH,MT, IGN,OA, BT,MDG, RJGandKNWT[awan];DLT--;BLGN--;DO--;SGUD--;TJG--.

BMLP*bawaj‘goingup’>;MKH,DLT,IGN,OA,BLGN,MDGandSGUD[bawaj];MT--;DO--;BT [babaj];RJG--;KNWT--;TJG--.

EndofaWord -

Table18.BMLP*wreflexin13VMs

Thesecondsemi-vowelconsonantisthevoicedpalatalconsonantBMLP*jwhich

isonlypresentatthemiddleandattheendofwords,moretowardsaconsolidationto

formadiphthong.ThepresenceofBMLP*jinthemiddlepositionofawordwasdirectly

descendedinallVMsexceptintheVMBT.Inthisposition,allthedatathathavebeen

reconstructed,showthatregularinnovationhasoccurredinVMBTwhenMLP*-j->-

[z]-inVMBT,whileotherVMremain-/j/-(examplesinboldinTable19illustratesthis

innovation).BMP*jreflexin13VMsareasshowninTable19.

BMLPConsonant


ExamplesofReflexBMLP*jin13VMs

*j Beginning of aWord

-


BMLP*sijah ‘salt’ >MT,DLT, IGN,OA,DO,MDG, SGUD,RJG,KNWTandTJG[sijah];MKHandBLGN[sija];BT--.

BMLP*ajaŋ’big’>DLT,BLGNandDO[ajaŋ];MKH--,IGN--,OA--;MT,MDG,SGUDandRJG[ajəŋ]BT [azəŋ];KNWTandTJG[ajᴐ].

BMLP *mijak ‘shy’ >MKH,MT, DLT and IGN [mijak]; OAandBLGN[miɲak];DO[miɲaʔ];BT [məzak];MDGandSGUD[mijaʔ];RJG,KNWTandTJG[mija].

BMLP*kajo‘wood’>MKH,MT,DLT,IGNandBLGN[kajo];OAandDO[kajᴐ];BT [kazəw];MDGandSGUD[kajəw];RJG,KNWTandTJG[kajaw].

EndofaWord -

Table19.BMLP*jreflexin13VMs

4.Conclusion

Overall, this chapter has discussed on the reconstruction of BMLP based on a

comparisonthathasbeenmadeonthirteenVMsnamely,MKHVM,MT,DLT,IGN,OA,



41

BLGN,DO,BT,MDG,SGUD,RJG,NWTandTJG.Theresultofthecomparisonmadecan

be regardedasquite challengingand itwas found that therewerea clear anunclear

phonetics contrast. However, this situation is not an obstacle to rebuild its parent

language which is BMLP. Reconstructions made on thirteen VMs have produced an

inventory of BMLP consonant phonemes. Based on the description that has been

discussedinthisstudy,thefinalresultofthereconstructionhasshownthatBMLPhas

18consonants,consistsoffourvoicelessplosiveconsonant*p,*t,*k,*ʔ,threevoiced

plosive consonants *b, *d, *g, a voiceless consonant *dʒ, two voiceless fricative

consonants*s,*h,fournasalconsonants*m,*n,*ɲ,*ŋ,onevoicedtrillconsonant*r,

onevoicedlateralconsonant*landtwosemi-vowelsconsonantsof*w*j.Asaresultof

thereconstructionoftheancientBMLPphonemesthathasbeenmade,someformsof

ancientBMLPwerealsoobtainedandenablesthenextreconstructionof lexicalBMLP

whichwillbediscussedinanextarticle.

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melanau language ancient consonant phoneme · oya, dalat, balingian, bintulu, along the rejang...

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