Syllable structure According to
James Matisoff, Proto-Tibeto-Burman syllables typically consist of the following structure (Matisoff 2003:11-13). • P1: first prefix - optional • P2: second prefix - optional • Ci: initial consonant • G: glide - optional • V: vowel (optionally lengthened) • Cf: final consonant • s: suffix - optional The following types of changes in syllable structure have been attested in Tibeto-Burman languages (Matisoff 2003:155). (
Note:
Sesquisyllable, otherwise known as a
minor syllable, is a word coined by
James Matisoff meaning "one-and-a-half syllables.") •
disyllable • disyllable → sesquisyllable • disyllable → complex monosyllable • disyllable → simple monosyllable •
sesquisyllable • sesquisyllable → disyllable • sesquisyllable → complex monosyllable • sesquisyllable → simple monosyllable •
complex monosyllable • complex monosyllable → sesquisyllable • complex monosyllable → simple monosyllable •
simple monosyllable • simple monosyllable → disyllable Below are the
sources of the syllable changes (i.e., reversal of the list above). •
disyllable • from sesquisyllable • from simple monosyllable •
sesquisyllable • from disyllable • from complex monosyllable •
complex monosyllable • from disyllable • from sesquisyllable •
simple monosyllable • from disyllable • from sesquisyllable • from complex monosyllable However,
Roger Blench (2019) argues that Proto-Sino-Tibetan did not have
sesquisyllabic structure; instead, sesquisyllabicity in present-day Sino-Tibetan branches had been borrowed from
Austroasiatic languages due to typological
convergence.
Verbs According to many authors such as James Bauman,
George van Driem and
Scott DeLancey, a system of verbal agreement should be reconstructed for proto-Tibeto-Burman. Verbal agreement has disappeared in Chinese, Tibetan, Lolo-Burmese and most other branches, but was preserved in
Kiranti languages in particular. This is a topic of scholarly debate, however, and the existence of a PTB verbal agreement system is disputed by such authors as
Randy LaPolla.
Prefixes Matisoff postulates the following derivational prefixes. •
*s- — This prefix is used for the
directive, causative, or intensive. It also appears in words for animals and body parts. •
*ʔa- / *(ʔ)ə / *ʔə̃ / *ʔaŋ / *ʔak — This glottal prefix is used for
kinship functions and the
third person possessive. •
*m- — Before verb roots, this prefix signifies
inner-directed states or actions, such as stativity, intransitivity, durativity, and reflexivity. Before noun roots, it is used as a third person possessive prefix. •
*r- — Before verbs, this prefix is used as a "
directive." It is also used before a wide variety of semantically unrelated noun roots. •
*b- — This prefix is often used before
transitive verbs, and usually marks the past (with suffix *-s, creating a *b- -s
circumfix) and future (with a null suffix). •
*g- — This velar prefix has a
third person pronominal function before noun roots. It is also used before a wide variety of semantically unrelated noun roots. Before verb roots, it is used for the
present and future tenses. In Proto-Lolo–Burmese, the unvoiced velar prefix
*k- is used commonly used before
animal names. Other constructed prefixes include
*l- and
*d-.
Circumfixes Circumfixes have also been reconstructed for Proto-Tibeto-Burman. In Written Tibetan, s- -n and s- -d are collective circumfixes used in kinship terms (Matisoff 2003:453).
Suffixes According to Matisoff, three Proto-Tibeto-Burman dental suffixes,
*-n,
*-t, and
*-s, are highly widespread, but their semantics are difficult to reconstruct (Matisoff 2003:439). The suffixes
*-s,
*-h, and
*-ʔ are often developed into tones in many Tibeto-Burman languages, and are thus highly "tonogenetically potent" (Matisoff 2003:474). •
*-n – This suffix has a variety of functions, including
nominalizing,
transitivizing, and
collectivizing (or pluralizing). The nominalizing function is attested in
Lepcha as -m or -n and in Written Tibetan as -n. The transitivizing form is rare, and has only been attested in
Kanauri. Finally, the collectivizing/pluralizing function is found not only in many modern-day Tibeto-Burman languages but also in
Old Chinese as well. •
*-t – This suffix is used as a
nominalizer. It occurs in
Jingpho as -t and Written Tibetan as -d. Other functions include
verbalizing noun roots and making intransitive or stative verbs into
transitive or
causative ones (Matisoff 2003:457). In other cases, *-t appears to have no obvious function. The *-t suffix also occurs in
Old Chinese, but its semantic function is unclear. •
*-s – Not easily distinguishable from *-t, this proto-suffix is preserved in written Tibetan, West
Himalayish languages,
Chepang,
Kuki-Chin languages (as -ʔ) and some
Qiangic languages. It can serve as a nominalizer (Qiang and Tibetan),
locative,
subordinator (Kuki-Chin languages), a
stative, inner-directed, or "middle" meaning (Himalayish languages such as
Kanauri), and
causative (
Kiranti and
Kuki-Chin languages). •
*-k – This velar suffix occurs in the
Kukish languages and also in
Old Chinese. Its semantic function is still unknown. However, Pulleyblank assigns a
distributive sense to the *-k suffix, but only in relation to
pronominal forms (LaPolla 2003:26). •
*ʔay – This proto-morpheme means "to go", and can be attached to various roots as a palatal suffix to signify
motion away from the deictic center. This fully syllabic proto-morpheme has now been grammaticalized and reduced to palatal offglides in modern-day Tibeto-Burman languages. •
*ya / *za / *tsa / *dza – Meaning "child" or "little one", this proto-morpheme appears in Tibeto-Burman languages as a palatal suffix (
-j), and has also been reconstructed in several ways. Its purpose is mainly
diminutive. Matisoff (2003) also notes that high front vowels tend to be used for diminutive functions. •
*-way / *-ray – This proto-copula can also appear as a palatal suffix (
-j) and occurs in
roots carrying abstract grammatical meanings, such as articles, pronouns, and deictics (Matisoff 2003:487). ==Vocabulary==