A/B Type segregation in mixed-onset phonetic series is the key to early Chinese onset complexity

Abstract

AbstractThere is still little agreement regarding the most important evidence for Old Chinese (OC) onset complexity—Middle Chinese (MC) mixed-onset phonetic series. This study explores a remarkable feature of this evidence first noticed by Sagart (1999). Within series such as those involving mixture of MC labials and velars with l-, x- with m-, velars with hj- (/y/), and d- with y- (/j/), MC onset and so-called A/B (syllable) Type fail to vary independently of one another. An unrecognized but inescapable implication of this association is that these MC onset results and A/B Type require a unified explanation in early Chinese. In light of the phonetic series material, I demonstrate that pre-OC Type involved two contrasting onset configurations. A number of phonetic specifications are conceivable; here, based on ideas of Ferlus (1998), I show how the data can be explained in terms of an early contrast between minor syllable forms **CǝR- (“Type A”) and tautosyllabic clusters **CR- (“Type B”) where R is a sonorant.