Re: Question about word-initial velar nasal

Thomas R. Wier scripsit:

> Greg Anderson wrote an article in a festschrift for Howard Aronson
> in which he claims that the presence of initial /N/ is an areal
> feature of many native Siberian languages, including Tungusic,
> Chukotko-Kamchatkan, Nivkh, Samoyedic, Eskimo and Turkic.  For the
> last three groups, it appears to be a secondary phenomenon, arising
> from borrowings.  So, at least as far as this feature is concerned,
> there may be some connection between the two linguistic areas.
If so, the mediating element with Southeast Asia almost has to be
Sinitic, despite the disappearance of [N-] over most of the Sinitic
area.  No other language group is simultaneously in contact with Turkic,
Tungusic, Tai-Kadai, and Austro-Asiatic.  However, Manchu, the Tungusic
language most in contact with Chinese, also lacks [N-].

--
Unless it was by accident that I had            John Cowan
offended someone, I never apologized.           jcowan@reutershealth.com
        --Quentin Crisp                         http://www.ccil.org/~cowan

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