Miri, an Austronesian language spoken in northern Sarawak, Malaysia, has two sets of vowel change... more Miri, an Austronesian language spoken in northern Sarawak, Malaysia, has two sets of vowel changes that are conditioned by voiced obstruents. In the first set, a last-syllable low vowel is fronted and raised to [e], or less commonly [i], if a voiced obstruent appears earlier in the word, while a penultimate low vowel immediately following the trigger is skipped. In the second, a high vowel in the final syllable undergoes breaking (diphthongisation) or lowering, depending upon specific conditions, unless there is a voiced obstruent anywhere earlier in the word. For both triggers and suppressors, this effect is cancelled by an intervening blocking consonant, which includes any nasal or voiceless obstruent except glottal stop. The challenge is to understand why voiced obstruents have this double function, acting as a trigger with low vowels and a suppressor with high vowels, given the lack of an a priori transparent relationship between low vowel fronting and high vowel breaking/lowering.
Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia
The development of the Proto-Austronesian (PAN) vowels in Rejang is of interest for two reasons. ... more The development of the Proto-Austronesian (PAN) vowels in Rejang is of interest for two reasons. First, it exemplifies a pattern of phonemic splits, shifts and mergers of unusual complexity for an Austronesian (AN) language. Second, it shows that this pattern and exceptions to it cannot be stated in full without reference to semantic conditions. In connection with the first point Dyen (1949) described the development of the PAN vowels in Trukese. His central concern was to state the conditions under which a reconstructed four vowel system could be mapped systematically onto an attested nine vowel system. Superficially the history of the Rejang vowels appears simpler, as Rejang has only six vowel contrasts. However, the PAN vowels have in fact undergone more splits in Rejang than in Trukese. This greater diachronic complexity is partially reflected in a wealth of diphthongs possibly unequalled in any other AN language. In connection with the second point the often-heard assertion that meaning-based exceptions to sound change do not exist appears to conflict with the exceptional character of the Rejang pronouns and perhaps the kinship terms in relation to otherwise wellestablished phonological changes.
... ("Before the suffix -an, a diphthong in Tagalog loses its timbre ... Rather, he ... more ... ("Before the suffix -an, a diphthong in Tagalog loses its timbre ... Rather, he cites Blust (I990) and Ross (I995) as advocating the inclusion of a set of diph-thongs in the PAN phonological inventory, and quotes the former source as fol-lows: "Apart from the consonants and vowels ...
... Since they are relatively noncontroversial, the foregoing microgroups can function as buildin... more ... Since they are relatively noncontroversial, the foregoing microgroups can function as building blocks in the construction of a more inclusive ... On both archaeological and linguistic grounds there is good reason to believe that Austronesian languages have been in the Philippines ...
The History of Faunal Terms in Austronesian Languages Robert Blust UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII ... Moreo... more The History of Faunal Terms in Austronesian Languages Robert Blust UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII ... Moreover, this and similar forms such as Favorlang kokko or Amis koko? appear to be onomatopoetic, and could in at least some cases be products of independent development (cp. ...
... EASTERN MALAYO-POLYNESIAN ROBERT BLUST UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI&am... more ... EASTERN MALAYO-POLYNESIAN ROBERT BLUST UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I ... The terminology introduced in Blust (1978) has been repeated in subse-quent publications, and further evidence has been presented for the reality of a CEMP subgroup (Blust 1982, 1983/84). ...
In a recent paper illustrating the application of the Comparative Method in linguistics to histor... more In a recent paper illustrating the application of the Comparative Method in linguistics to historical problems in social anthropology (Blust 1980), I proposed a reconstruction of early Austronesian social organization which-despite fundamental differences in the evidence considered and the types of arguments adopted-closely agrees with the non-linguistic reconstruction of early Indonesian society suggested by J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong (1935/1977), 1 and worked out in considerable detail for eastern Indonesia by his gifted student F. A. E. van Wouden (1935/1968). Among the features common to these strikingly convergent results are three that merit particular mention: 1. exclusive cross-cousin marriage, 2. a division of the total society into four great classes, 3. a two-by-two grouping of the foregoing classes into 'male' (or 'upper') and 'female' (or 'lower') divisions.
Miri, an Austronesian language spoken in northern Sarawak, Malaysia, has two sets of vowel change... more Miri, an Austronesian language spoken in northern Sarawak, Malaysia, has two sets of vowel changes that are conditioned by voiced obstruents. In the first set, a last-syllable low vowel is fronted and raised to [e], or less commonly [i], if a voiced obstruent appears earlier in the word, while a penultimate low vowel immediately following the trigger is skipped. In the second, a high vowel in the final syllable undergoes breaking (diphthongisation) or lowering, depending upon specific conditions, unless there is a voiced obstruent anywhere earlier in the word. For both triggers and suppressors, this effect is cancelled by an intervening blocking consonant, which includes any nasal or voiceless obstruent except glottal stop. The challenge is to understand why voiced obstruents have this double function, acting as a trigger with low vowels and a suppressor with high vowels, given the lack of an a priori transparent relationship between low vowel fronting and high vowel breaking/lowering.
Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia
The development of the Proto-Austronesian (PAN) vowels in Rejang is of interest for two reasons. ... more The development of the Proto-Austronesian (PAN) vowels in Rejang is of interest for two reasons. First, it exemplifies a pattern of phonemic splits, shifts and mergers of unusual complexity for an Austronesian (AN) language. Second, it shows that this pattern and exceptions to it cannot be stated in full without reference to semantic conditions. In connection with the first point Dyen (1949) described the development of the PAN vowels in Trukese. His central concern was to state the conditions under which a reconstructed four vowel system could be mapped systematically onto an attested nine vowel system. Superficially the history of the Rejang vowels appears simpler, as Rejang has only six vowel contrasts. However, the PAN vowels have in fact undergone more splits in Rejang than in Trukese. This greater diachronic complexity is partially reflected in a wealth of diphthongs possibly unequalled in any other AN language. In connection with the second point the often-heard assertion that meaning-based exceptions to sound change do not exist appears to conflict with the exceptional character of the Rejang pronouns and perhaps the kinship terms in relation to otherwise wellestablished phonological changes.
... ("Before the suffix -an, a diphthong in Tagalog loses its timbre ... Rather, he ... more ... ("Before the suffix -an, a diphthong in Tagalog loses its timbre ... Rather, he cites Blust (I990) and Ross (I995) as advocating the inclusion of a set of diph-thongs in the PAN phonological inventory, and quotes the former source as fol-lows: "Apart from the consonants and vowels ...
... Since they are relatively noncontroversial, the foregoing microgroups can function as buildin... more ... Since they are relatively noncontroversial, the foregoing microgroups can function as building blocks in the construction of a more inclusive ... On both archaeological and linguistic grounds there is good reason to believe that Austronesian languages have been in the Philippines ...
The History of Faunal Terms in Austronesian Languages Robert Blust UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII ... Moreo... more The History of Faunal Terms in Austronesian Languages Robert Blust UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII ... Moreover, this and similar forms such as Favorlang kokko or Amis koko? appear to be onomatopoetic, and could in at least some cases be products of independent development (cp. ...
... EASTERN MALAYO-POLYNESIAN ROBERT BLUST UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI&am... more ... EASTERN MALAYO-POLYNESIAN ROBERT BLUST UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I ... The terminology introduced in Blust (1978) has been repeated in subse-quent publications, and further evidence has been presented for the reality of a CEMP subgroup (Blust 1982, 1983/84). ...
In a recent paper illustrating the application of the Comparative Method in linguistics to histor... more In a recent paper illustrating the application of the Comparative Method in linguistics to historical problems in social anthropology (Blust 1980), I proposed a reconstruction of early Austronesian social organization which-despite fundamental differences in the evidence considered and the types of arguments adopted-closely agrees with the non-linguistic reconstruction of early Indonesian society suggested by J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong (1935/1977), 1 and worked out in considerable detail for eastern Indonesia by his gifted student F. A. E. van Wouden (1935/1968). Among the features common to these strikingly convergent results are three that merit particular mention: 1. exclusive cross-cousin marriage, 2. a division of the total society into four great classes, 3. a two-by-two grouping of the foregoing classes into 'male' (or 'upper') and 'female' (or 'lower') divisions.
Uploads
Papers by Robert Blust