THE DIRECTIONALITY OF THE VOICING ALTERNATION IN TIBETAN

Abstract

This paper provides arguments in favor of the hypothesis that in two voice alternations in Tibetan (marking transitivity and TAME, respectively), the unvoiced form is primary, and its voiced counterpart the derived form. This hypothesis has consequences for the history of the voicing alternation in Trans-Himalayan in general, and also for the reconstruction of voiced affricates vs. fricatives in pre-Tibetan.

Keywords

• tibetan; voicing alternation; affricates; fricatives; voicing