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Article published In:
Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area
Vol. 47:1 (2024) ► pp.17–31

Voice onset time in Rma

ORCID logo | INALCO
| INALCO
| University of Oregon

Rma (also called Qiang) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Northwestern Sichuan, China. [1] 1 In the literature on Rma, all documented varieties of Rma have been reported to have a three-way voice onset timing (VOT) distinction between voiceless unaspirated, voiceless aspirated, and voiced unaspirated obstruents. This study reports a variety of Rma, which has a near merger of the voiceless unaspirated and voiced unaspirated stops. A pilot study was conducted with speakers from three different villages within Yonghe valley. The results of this empirical study suggest that the Lower Yonghe valley variety has innovated a near merger between voiced and voiceless unaspirated obstruents.

Keywords: Voice onset time, Rma, Qiang
Article outline
  • 1.Outline
  • 2.Voice onset time in Rma
    • 2.1Reconstructing the VOT contrast
  • 3.VOT in Yonghe Rma
    • 3.1A voicing merger in Lower Yonghe
      • 3.1.1Participants
      • 3.1.2Elicitation materials and procedure
      • 3.1.3Results
    • 3.2Different reflexes of *St- clusters
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 17 May 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ltba.23008.sim
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