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Voiceless nasal sounds in three Tibeto-Burman languages

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2018

Katia Chirkova ,
Patricia Basset  and
Angélique Amelot
Katia Chirkova
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherches Linguistiques sur l'Asie Orientale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris, [email protected]
Patricia Basset
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Phonology and Phonetics, CNRS, Paris, [email protected]
Angélique Amelot
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Phonology and Phonetics, CNRS, Paris, [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper focuses on two types of voiceless nasal sounds in Xumi, a Tibeto-Burman language: (i) the voiceless aspirated nasals // [] and // [], and (ii) the voiceless nasal glottal fricative []. We provide a synchronic description of these two types of sounds, and explore their similarities and differences. Xumi voiceless nasal consonants are described with reference to the voiceless nasal consonants // and // in Burmese and Kham Tibetan because Burmese voiceless nasals are the best described type of voiceless nasals, and are therefore used as a reference point for comparison; voiceless nasals in Kham Tibetan, which is in close contact with Xumi, represent a characteristic regional feature. The synchronic description is based on acoustic and aerodynamic measurements (the total duration of the target phonemes, the duration of the voiced period during the target phonemes, mean nasal and oral flow). Our study (i) contributes to a better understanding of voiceless nasals as a type of sound, (ii) provides a first-ever instrumental description (acoustic and aerodynamic) of the voiceless nasal glottal fricative [], as attested in a number of Tibeto-Burman languages of Southwest China, and (iii) suggests a possible phonetic basis for the observed dialectal and diachronic variation between voiceless nasals and [] in some Tibeto-Burman languages.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Phonetic Association , Volume 49 , Issue 1 , April 2019 , pp. 1 - 32
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Copyright
Copyright © International Phonetic Association 2018 

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