Sound changes: Austronesian

[biggsHistoryPolynesianPhonology2015]

Reference: Biggs, Bruce (Ed ). 2015. “The History of Polynesian Phonology,” 4.7M, 691–716 pages. https://doi.org/10.15144/PL-C61.691.

DOI: 10.15144/PL-C61.691

Transcribed by: bradrn

Reviewed by: Nortaneous

Ordering: ★☆☆

Exhaustivity: ★☆☆

Detail: ★★☆

Consensus: ★★★

Transcription: ★★★

Transcription conventions: (where different to IPA)
Symbol Likely IPA Notes
*t [t~t̪] (unclear from source)
*r [r~ɾ~ɹ~ʁ] (unclear from source)
‘a non-lateral liquid of some kind’
*w [w~β̞~β] ‘was probably bilabial and possibly a voiced fricative rather than a semi-vowel’
*v [v~β] (unclear from source)
on p702, Rennellese is listed as having ‘b [β]’, presumably the orthographic form of *v listed for Proto–Samoic-outlier (p711)
*s [s~hʲ] ‘seems likely that PPN *s was a palatalised h or s which became [h] in Tongic and [hy] at some stage in Nuclear Polynesian’
*f [f~ɸ] ‘was an unvoiced fricative possibly with both labio-dental and bilabial allophones’
*g [ᵑɡ] called ‘orthographic g’ in Rennellese changes
listed as ‘g [ŋg]’ on p702
*wˀ [wˀ~w̰~ʔʷ] described as ‘glottalised w’ in Taranaki–Wanganui River New Zealand Māori
θy [θj~θʲ] (unclear from source)
č [t͡ʃ] (unclear from source)

Symbol	Likely IPA	Notes
*t	[t~t̪]	(unclear from source)
*r	[r~ɾ~ɹ~ʁ]	(unclear from source) ‘a non-lateral liquid of some kind’
*w	[w~β̞~β]	‘was probably bilabial and possibly a voiced fricative rather than a semi-vowel’
*v	[v~β]	(unclear from source) on p702, Rennellese is listed as having ‘b [β]’, presumably the orthographic form of *v listed for Proto–Samoic-outlier (p711)
*s	[s~hʲ]	‘seems likely that PPN *s was a palatalised h or s which became [h] in Tongic and [hy] at some stage in Nuclear Polynesian’
*f	[f~ɸ]	‘was an unvoiced fricative possibly with both labio-dental and bilabial allophones’
*g	[ᵑɡ]	called ‘orthographic g’ in Rennellese changes listed as ‘g [ŋg]’ on p702
*wˀ	[wˀ~w̰~ʔʷ]	described as ‘glottalised w’ in Taranaki–Wanganui River New Zealand Māori
θy	[θj~θʲ]	(unclear from source)
č	[t͡ʃ]	(unclear from source)

[blustAustronesianSoundChange2004]

Reference: Blust, R. A. 2004. “*T to k: An Austronesian Sound Change Revisited.” Oceanic Linguistics 43 (2): 365–410. https://doi.org/10.1353/ol.2005.0001.

DOI: 10.1353/ol.2005.0001

Transcribed by: bradrn

Reviewed by:

Ordering: ☆☆☆

Exhaustivity: ☆☆☆

Detail: ★★★

Consensus: ★★★

Transcription: ★★★

Transcription conventions: (where different to IPA)
Symbol Likely IPA Notes
*t [t̪] *t is consistently described as ‘dental’ in this source

Symbol	Likely IPA	Notes
*t	[t̪]	*t is consistently described as ‘dental’ in this source

[blustPalauanHistoricalPhonology2009]

Reference: Blust, Robert. 2009. “Palauan Historical Phonology: Whence the Intrusive Velar Nasal?” Oceanic Linguistics 48 (2): 307–36. https://doi.org/10.1353/ol.0.0043.

DOI: 10.1353/ol.0.0043

Transcribed by: bradrn

Reviewed by:

Ordering: ★★☆

Exhaustivity: ★★☆

Detail: ★★☆

Consensus: ★★★

Transcription: ★★★

Transcription conventions: (where different to IPA)
Symbol Likely IPA Notes
y [j] Listed alongside semivowel /w/
*ñ [ɲ] (unclear from source)
*c [t͡ʃ~c͡ɕ] (unclear from source)
‘was a voiceless palatal affricate’
‘No plausible etymologies that contain PMP *c have been found in Palauan.’
*z [d͡ʒ~ɟ͡ʑ] (unclear from source)
‘was a voiced palatal affricate’
*j [ɡʲ] ‘probably a palatalized voiced velar stop [gʸ]’
*D [ɖ] ‘a voiced retroflex stop that occurred only word-finally’
*r [ɾ] ‘an alveolar flap’
*R [r] ‘an alveolar trill that became uvular in many daughter languages’
*e [ə] ‘the schwa’

Symbol	Likely IPA	Notes
y	[j]	Listed alongside semivowel /w/
*ñ	[ɲ]	(unclear from source)
*c	[t͡ʃ~c͡ɕ]	(unclear from source) ‘was a voiceless palatal affricate’ ‘No plausible etymologies that contain PMP *c have been found in Palauan.’
*z	[d͡ʒ~ɟ͡ʑ]	(unclear from source) ‘was a voiced palatal affricate’
*j	[ɡʲ]	‘probably a palatalized voiced velar stop [gʸ]’
*D	[ɖ]	‘a voiced retroflex stop that occurred only word-finally’
*r	[ɾ]	‘an alveolar flap’
*R	[r]	‘an alveolar trill that became uvular in many daughter languages’
*e	[ə]	‘the schwa’

[davletshinConditionedSoundChanges2016]

Reference: ———. 2016. “Conditioned Sound Changes in the Rapanui Language.” Oceanic Linguistics 55 (2): 350–73. https://doi.org/10.1353/ol.2016.0017.

DOI: 10.1353/ol.2016.0017

Transcribed by: bradrn

Reviewed by:

Ordering: ★☆☆

Exhaustivity: ★☆☆

Detail: ★★★

Consensus: ★★★

Transcription: ★★★

Transcription conventions: (where different to IPA)
Symbol Likely IPA Notes
ō [oː] (unclear from source)
Underlyingly analysed as /o.o/
*r [r~ʁ~ɾ~ɹ] (unclear from source)

Symbol	Likely IPA	Notes
ō	[oː]	(unclear from source) Underlyingly analysed as /o.o/
*r	[r~ʁ~ɾ~ɹ]	(unclear from source)

[davletshinSeeminglyOngoingSound2015]

Reference: Davletshin, Albert. 2015. “A Seemingly on-Going Sound Change in Takuu Language of Papua New Guinea: Historical and Theoretical Implications.” Journal of Language Relationship 12 (1): 1–20. https://doi.org/10.31826/jlr-2015-120104.

DOI: 10.31826/jlr-2015-120104

Transcribed by: bradrn

Reviewed by:

Ordering: ★★★

Exhaustivity: ☆☆☆

Detail: ★★☆

Consensus: ★★★

Transcription: ★★☆

Transcription conventions: (where different to IPA)
Symbol Likely IPA Notes
*r [r~ʁ~ɾ~ɹ] (unclear from source)

Changes

Symbol	Likely IPA	Notes
*r	[r~ʁ~ɾ~ɹ]	(unclear from source)

Proto–Malayo-Polynesian to Palauan

Source: [blustPalauanHistoricalPhonology2009]

*h → ∅ / _
∅ → *ŋ / # _ V
*y → r / _
*l → y / _
{i, u} → {i, u} {y, w} / _ V
{*a *y, *a *w, *u *y} → {*e, *o, *i} / _ #
∅ → *e / ‘In some cases … to break up a medial consonant cluster’
{V-Stress} → ə / _
ə → ∅ / _ #
- also occurred ‘in some nonfinal environments’, but which are unclear
{*e+Stress} → {o, e} / _
- Outcome is unpredictable, though more examples are listed with e than with o
- Three words show unstressed *e → e
*e → ∅ / # _
- ‘although the evidence for this is limited’
*p → w / _ ! _ *a
*p *a → o / # _
- ‘presumably through *wa- ’
- ‘In one known case, *pa- is reflected as wa- ’
{*a *p, *e *p, *p *a} → o / _ #, _ C
- ‘presumably through *aw- ’ for the first two
- condition not entirely clear: rule applied to ‘final sequences *ap and *ep ’, but examples show that ‘final’ presumably includes syllable-finality
- ‘A single known example’ for *-pa
*ə → ∅ / _ {V, y, w}
- Inferred from text: ‘pre-Palauan did not allow schwa immediately before a vowel or glide, and where this came about […] the schwa was absorbed’
*t → ð / unless ‘Immediately following initial b , or following a voiceless stop in final position’
*q → ∅ / # *m *a *ŋ _
- here məŋ- is the active verb prefix
*q → ʔ / _
- ‘… this sound was written as ch by Walleser (1911), who reported that it was then a voiceless velar fricative similar to standard German ch when not adjacent to a high vowel. All more recent writers have reported that it is a glottal stop’
{*d, *D} → r / _
- ‘A single etymology is available for PMP *-D ’
*z → r / _
r l → l l / _
*j → k / _ C #
*j → s / _
*j → l / _ #
- ‘In a single known case’
*n → ŋ / when morpheme-final
- ‘In four plausible etymologies’
*n → l / _
*ñ → {l, ŋ} / _
- Normally became l , but ‘Two comparisons suggest contrarily that *ñ became Palauan ŋ ’
*ŋ → ∅ / C _ #
- These cases were originally word-final but ‘came to be postconsonantal due to loss of the previous unstressed vowel’
l → r / _ r, ‘in the same or an adjacent syllable’
*R → r / ‘Immediately preceding a dental consonant’
*s → ð / _ V *s, *s V _
- inferred from examples
- occurred to avoid a sequence *tV(C)s or sV(C)t
*s → t / unless it would form a sequence *tV(C)s or sV(C)t
*R → s / _
∅ → ŋ / V _ #
- irregular in loanwords

Proto-Polynesian

Source: [biggsHistoryPolynesianPhonology2015]

Consonant inventory:
*p *t *k *ʔ
*m *n *ŋ
*f *s *h
*w
*r
*l

Vowel inventory:
*i *u
*e *o
*a

Suprasegmentals:
Features Notes

Proto-Polynesian to Proto-Nuclear Polynesian

Source: [biggsHistoryPolynesianPhonology2015]

*r → *l / _
- merger with *l
*h → ∅ / _

Proto-Nuclear Polynesian to Proto-Eastern Polynesian

Source: [biggsHistoryPolynesianPhonology2015]

*ʔ → ∅ / # _

Proto-Eastern Polynesian to Proto-Central-Eastern Polynesian

Source: [biggsHistoryPolynesianPhonology2015]

*ʔ → ∅ / _
{*f, *s} → *h / ‘medially and before round vowels’
*f → *w / # _ *a (*a) *h
- merger with *w

Source: [davletshinConditionedSoundChanges2016]

*f *a *f → *w *a *h / # _
- Excluding Rapanui, and incomplete in Mangarevan and Marquesan

Proto-Central-Eastern Polynesian to Rapanui

Source: [davletshinConditionedSoundChanges2016]

C₁ V C₂ V → C₂ V C₁ V / irregularly, in polymoraic words
r → ʔ / in the final syllable of polymoraic words
- ‘There are many cases … of words where this change has not applied’
- ‘regular and conditional, but incomplete’
{*m, *n} → ŋ / irregularly, ‘in the vicinity of glottal stops in polymoraic words’
- ‘The sound change under discussion is found only in two morphemes’
*ŋ → n / ‘in the vicinity of velar stops’, in bimoraic words
- ‘the sound change is attested in two examples only, but it is consistent’
*a *u → ō / ‘in grammatical particles’
*o *a → ō / ‘in grammatical particles’
*ʔ → ∅ / in polymoraic words
- ‘recent and ongoing sound change’
- ‘Glottal stops derived from rhotics are also eliminated between identical vowels’: presumably this sound change is more frequent in that environment
*h → ∅ / _ V (C) V #
- i.e. in stressed syllables of polymoraic words
*h → ʔ / in polymoraic words
*h → ∅ / in bimoraic words