A Phonological Reconstruction of Proto-Hlai

In A Phonological Reconstruction of Proto-Hlai, Norquest presents a reconstruction of Proto-Hlai based on data from twelve Hlai languages spoken on Hainan, China. This reconstruction includes chapters on both the Proto-Hlai initials and rimes, and original sesquisyllabic forms are shown to be necessary to account for the reflexes between the daughter languages. A comparison is made between Proto-Hlai and Proto-Tai, and a preliminary reconstruction of Proto Southern Kra-Dai (the immediate ancestor of Proto-Hlai) is performed. When this is compared with Proto-Hlai, it is shown that several important sound changes occurred between Pre-Hlai and Proto-Hlai. The aberrant Jiamao language is also examined, focusing on its complex contact relationships with other Hlai languages.

Peter K. Norquest, Ph.D. (2007), University of Arizona, is a post-doctoral researcher affiliated with that university. His research focuses upon the Kra-Dai and Austronesian language phyla of Southeast Asia, and he has published various historical linguistics papers on both.