A Second Look at Proto-Land Dayak Vowels

Abstract:A persistent issue in the comparative study of Land Dayak (Malayo-Polynesian; Western Indonesian; Greater North Borneo) languages is the reconstruction of the Proto-Land Dayak vowel system. Past studies have reconstructed a distinction between "full" and "reduced" vowels in Proto-Land Dayak penultimate syllables. Although full and reduced vowels may be legitimate in certain cases, the evidence for many of the reconstructions is inconsistent with Land Dayak historical phonology and the issue is in need of a second look. Using the comparative method to identify borrowed vocabulary, the present study proposes an alternative Proto-Land Dayak vowel system which largely eliminates the full-reduced distinction from the proto-language except in a handful of cases and explains that modern full and reduced vowels are mostly the result of chronologically more recent borrowing (after the breakup of Proto-Land Dayak).