Development of a *kl- Consonant Cluster into Phrase-Initial Epenthetic Breathiness in Ende (Eastern Indonesia)

Abstract

Abstract: Ende is a Central Flores (Austronesian) language of eastern Indonesia which features a contrast between vowel-initial words and words that begin with an underlying glottal stop. The contrast is realized by the insertion of an epenthetic [ɦ-] before vowel-initial words in phrase-initial position. Comparison with the other Central Flores languages shows that the epenthetic Ende [ɦ-] is the regular outcome of what was once a *kl- consonant cluster in Proto-Central Flores. I propose that *kl- clusters underwent a series of sound changes resulting in a segment pronounced [ɦ-], which was reanalyzed as an epenthetic phrase boundary marker instead of a fricative phoneme. The presence and development of epenthetic breathiness in nearby languages such as Keo, Ngadha, Palu'e, Sika, and Kedang will be discussed as well.