Sound Changes
See also: Formosan languages#Sound changesAs Proto-Austronesian transitioned to Proto-Malayo-Polynesian, Proto-Oceanic, and Proto-Polynesian, the phonemic inventories were continually reduced by merging formerly distinct sounds into one sound. 3 mergers were observed in the Proto-Austronesian to Proto-Malayo-Polynesian transition, while 9 were observed for the Proto-Oceanic to Proto-Polynesian transition. Thus, Proto-Austronesian has the most elaborate sound system, while Proto-Polynesian has the least phonemes. For instance, the Hawaiian language is famous for having only 8 consonants, while Maori has only 10 consonants. This is a sharp reduction from the 25 consonants of the Proto-Austronesian language that was originally spoken in Taiwan or possibly southern China.
Blust also observed the following mergers and sound changes between Proto-Austronesian and Proto-Malayo-Polynesian.
| Proto-Austronesian | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian |
|---|---|
| *C/t | *t |
| *N/n | *n |
| *S/h | *h |
| *eS | *ah |
However, according to Wolff (2010:241), Proto-Malayo-Polynesian's development from Proto-Austronesian only included the following three sound changes.
- PAn *ɬ > PMP *ñ, l, n
- PAn *s > PMP *h
- PAn *h > PMP *Ø
Proto-Oceanic merged even more phonemes. This is why modern-day Polynesian languages have some of the most restricted consonant inventories in the world.
| Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | Proto-Oceanic |
|---|---|
| *b/p | *p |
| *mb/mp | *b |
| *c/s/z/j | *s |
| *nc/nd/nz/nj | *j |
| *g/k | *k |
| *ŋg/ŋk | *g |
| *d/r | *r |
| *e/-aw | *o |
| *-i/uy/iw | *i |
Bizarre sound changes that occurred within the Austronesian language family are:
- Proto-Oceanic *t > k in Hawaiian, Samoan, and Luanguia
- Proto-Polynesian *l and *r > ŋg in Rennellese
- Proto-Oceanic *w and *y > p in Levei and Drehet
- Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *w or *b > Sundanese c- or -nc-
Read more about this topic: Proto-Austronesian Language
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