A. Research Papers (Peer-Reviewed)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10524/84368

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Mergers of Voiced and Voiceless Consonants in the Siamese, Lanna and Lao Languages
(2025-12-01) Chomcha, Maria Timpika
The voicing of voiceless sonorants (VVS) and the devoicing of voiced obstruents (DVO) in Tai languages not only reduced the number of consonants but also increased tonal distinctions . While DVO in Siamese has been dated to the 1440s–1480s (Tangsiriwattanakul 2020), VVS in Siamese and both VVS and DVO in other Tai languages have received comparatively little attention. This research aims to date the mergers between voiced and voiceless consonants by examining correspondences between graphs and sounds of Siamese, Lanna, and Lao, and analyzing whether graphs attested in inscriptions represented the same or different phonemes. The findings reveal that confusion between graphs representing voiced and voiceless sonorants emerged around the 1370s, while voiced and voiceless obstruents emerged around the 1390s in Siamese. In Lanna, VVS and DVO were evident by the 1410s CE, supported by a 1411 inscription, whereas Lao shows confusions in voiced and voiceless graphs by 1444 CE. Considering that these observed time gaps may stem from limited earlier inscriptions in Lanna and Lao, this study proposes that VVS and DVO likely occurred at approximately the same time across the three languages due to their geographical proximity. These findings align with existing hypotheses (Li 1977; Gedney 1989b; Bickner 1992; Tangsiriwattanakul 2020), which argue that the mergers of voiced and voiceless consonants occurred after the foundation of the Sukhothai and Ayutthaya Tai polities in north-central Thailand.
An Ultrasound Study of the Role of Larynx Height and Tongue Movement in the Production of Javanese Registers (Stiff-Slack Stops)
(2025-12-01) Brunelle, Marc; Schweizer, Daniel; Ahn, Suzy
Javanese has lost the Malayo-Polynesian voicing contrast in obstruents and replaced it with a contrast between a high and a low register that are differentiated by a bundle of phonetic properties such as VOT, f0, F1 and voice quality after the closure release. Although the acoustic properties of this register contrast are well understood, there is still some debate about its articulatory realization. In this paper, we conducted laryngeal and lingual ultrasound studies to investigate the production of Javanese registers. Results suggest that the low register is produced with a lowering of the larynx, but there is little evidence of consistent differences in tongue root or tongue body position between registers.
Pragmatic Implications of Yes/No Interrogatives in the Written Statements of Malaysian Investigative Interviews: A Corpus-Based Study
(2025-12-01) Zakwan, Siti Zawanah binti; Sani, Nurshafawati binti Ahmad
An investigative interview constitutes a setting of high-risk interactions between institutional participants, who act as questioners, and lay participants who provide information. This distinct asymmetry in power relations and control within the interaction leads to an interest in the examination of the strategies investigative officers use to achieve their institutional goals during investigative interviews. This study draws on the IO-Det corpus, which comprises 8,635 words from 11 written statements based on investigative interviews conducted within the Malaysian Immigration Department. Taking an inductive approach, a corpus-based forensic discourse analysis was applied to analyze the formal characteristics of yes/no questions in the IO-Det corpus. Tsui’s (2002) framework for eliciting functions of questions was used to examine the sociopragmatic functions of yes/no questions in written statements. The collocation analysis identified the do you know interrogative as the most frequent pattern of yes/no questions in the IO-Det corpus. The results indicated that, through the eliciting functions of informing, confirming, and establishing agreements, do you know interrogatives performed actions, such as seeking information, checking knowledge, confirming, gaining admissions, and establishing an offense. This study sheds light on the variation in questions used in recording written statements, which serve as a significant piece of evidence representing witnesses in the legal system.
A Four-Way Distance Contrast in Takbanuaz Bunun Demonstratives
(2025-12-01) de Busser, Rik
Bunun is an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan. Previous research on two of its dialects, Takivatan and Isbukun, indicates complex paradigms of demonstrative pronouns, locative verbs, and adverbial elements. All demonstrate two-way or three-way distance contrasts, sometimes alongside underspecified forms and a distinction in visibility. However, in the Takbanuaz dialect, a four-way distinction has been observed in certain demonstrative paradigms, which, in addition to the typical proximal-medial-distal contrast, encodes vague distance. This article describes this atypical demonstrative system and discusses how its complex distance distinction aligns with our general understanding of the properties of deixis in Austronesian languages and beyond. After providing a typological outline of demonstrative distance distinctions and a summary of research on demonstrative distance in Formosan languages in Section 2, Section 3 offers an overview of previous research on Bunun demonstratives and describes the Takbanuaz demonstrative system, with a special focus on the expression of vague and indeterminate distance. Section 4 compares distance contrasts across Bunun dialects and suggests accessibility as an explanation for the semantics of vague forms in Takbanuaz.
Ablaut Reduplication in Javanese
(2025-08-27) Wivell, Grace B.
This study offers new insights into ablaut reduplication in Javanese (hereafter Javanese ablaut), such as these examples: /tʃorak-tʃorek/ ‘to draw line aimlessly; doodle’, /elar-elur/ ‘to march in a long procession’, /liwaŋ-liwuŋ/ ‘extensive and dense jungle’, /gonta-ganti/ ‘to take turns, by turns; to keep changing back and forth’, (Robson and Wibisono 2002). Using an expanded data set of over 600 examples of ablaut reduplication, the largest dataset of Javanese ablaut to date, this study broadens our understanding of both its semantic meanings and its phonological patterns. It expands the list of semantic categories of Javanese ablaut, which prior to the present work was defined as only ‘habitual repetitive’ (Dudas 1976, Kenstowicz 1986, and Yip 1995) and ‘negative feelings’ (Miyake 2011). Regarding phonological patterns, this data confirms that Javanese ablaut prefers an /a/ in the reduplicant if the base includes any other vowel; however, the data points to a preference for high vowels in the reduplicant if the base contains an /a/, while previous research suggested a preference for the mid vowel /e/ (Dudas 1976, Kenstowicz 1986, and Yip 1995). Finally, it suggests a connection between this preference for high vowels and a newly identified ‘back-and-forth’ semantic category.
Tonal Geography of the Southern Thai Dialects
(2025-08-27) Phonyarit, Ratchadaporn
This study aims to describe the tonal differences of Southern Thai as spoken in the 21st century across the entire region of Southern Thailand and to show their geographical distribution on maps. The study adopts a dialectological approach (Chambers and Trudgill 1998), focusing on how tones vary by geographical area. Tonal data were collected from 998 native Southern Thai speakers across Southern Thailand. Site selection was based on a geometric grid method using QGIS and Google Earth Pro software. A set of 80 monosyllabic words, adapted from Gedney’s (1972) checklist, was used to elicit tonal data. Tonal data were analyzed through auditory judgment, followed by acoustic verification and refinement using Praat software. The results revealed that tone patterns and characteristics varied by geographical area. Southern Thai can be divided into nine regional dialects based on the patterns of tone splits and mergers, and each of the nine dialects can be further divided into sub-dialects according to the phonetic characteristics of the tones. This study both confirms and extends previous findings: it supports earlier observations regarding the merger of tones A1 and B1 as a distinguishing feature of Southern Thai, while also revealing a more complex picture of tonal diversity and distribution than previously documented.
Reframing Pre-Modern Language Contact through Trade in Eastern Indonesia: Javanese Linguistic Influence in the Moluccas
(2025-08-27) Schapper, Antoinette; Zielenbach, Maria
In the pre-modern period, Java and Javanese traders were at the center of a complex web of regional and long-distance trade networks extending from India and China to New Guinea. In particular, the Javanese were key players in the spice trade, transporting these from their native Moluccas to the world through the ports of Java. Despite the pivotal role of the Javanese in this trade for hundreds or possibly even a thousand years, the Javanese language has not been considered as a source for loanwords in the Moluccas. Rather, it has typically been assumed by linguists that Malay was the vehicle of transmission of loanwords in the Moluccas, including those with ultimately Javanese origins. This article challenges this prevailing narrative, showing that there is clear evidence for direct borrowing from Javanese. We show that many Javanese loanwords in the Moluccas have dispersed across the region under the influence of the powerful clove-trading sultanates, particularly Ternate and Tidore. Recognition of Javanese as an influential language in trade in the pre- and early-modern period represents an important reframing of eastern Indonesia’s linguistic history.

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