A phonological comparison between two varieties of Laha: Syllable constituents and tone in Ta Mit and Noong Lay Laha.

摘要

This thesis compares two varieties of Laha, an outlier Kadai language found in Ta Mit and Noong Lay Townships in northern Vietnam. It answers the following questions: (1) What syllable structure occurs within these two varieties? (2) What types of segments occur within each syllable slot, and how do these compare with predictions based upon Kadai tendencies? (3) What phonological processes occurred historically in each variety when corresponding segments diverge? (4) What tones occur in these varieties of Laha, and how do they relate to tonal processes in surrounding languages?Analysis discovered CV, CVV, CVC, CVVC, V, VC, and VVC syllables common to both dialects, and that Noong Lay allows initial consonant clusters (k hlaat55'crab'), whereas Ta Mit does not. Furthermore, Noong Lay preserves syllable-final /l/ from the proto language (tel32 'yellow wasp'), which disappears in most Kadai languages. Tonal analysis discovered no tone sandhi, and that Purtle's Law works within Laha.