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Hill, Nathan W. (2013) 'Three notes on Laufer's law.' Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, 36 (1). pp. 57-72.

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Abstract

Facets of both Old Tibetan and Old Burmese phonology pose problems for the generalisation, known as Laufer‘s law, that -wa- in in Written Burmese corresponds to -o- in Written Tibetan. Some Tibetan words retain the sequence -wa, appearing to contradict Laufer‘s law. Some Written Burmese words with -wa- originate from Old Burmese words written with -o-. To account for these anomalies and the Chinese cognates of the lexemes involved, Laufer‘s law must be understood as the product of four separate sound changes.

Item Type: Journal Article
Keywords: Old Tibetan, Old Burmese, Old Chinese, historical phonology, Laufer‘s law
SOAS Departments & Centres: Departments and Subunits > Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures
Legacy Departments > Faculty of Languages and Cultures > Department of the Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia
Legacy Departments > Faculty of Languages and Cultures > Department of Linguistics
Subjects: P Language and Literature > PI Oriental languages and literatures
ISSN: 07313500
Date Deposited: 08 May 2013 15:05
URI: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/15932

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