ABSTRACT
This chapter will compare the initial consonants of six dialects (Quánzhōu, Zhāngzhōu, Dàtián, Jiēyáng, Cháoyáng and Léizhōu) and propose a 21-initial system for Proto-Southern Mǐn. One peculiarity of this system is its possession of two series of nasals (i.e. *m- vs. *mh-; *n- vs. *nh- and *ŋ- vs. *ŋh-) which no longer exist in any modern varieties. The h in *mh-, *nh- and *ŋh- nasals may represent a type of breathy phonation (cf. Norman 1991a). It is apparent that the initial consonant system of Proto-Southern Mǐn is much simpler than that of Proto-Mǐn (its ancestral language), as is evidenced by the merger of the voiced obstruents with their voiceless counterparts, and the palato-alveolar sibilants with the alveolar sibilants. Vestiges of the Proto-Mǐn ‘softened’ initials, however, can still be found in various Southern Mǐn varieties. See, for example, the word for ‘character’ **-dz- > *d- (example 36).
