Proto-Malayo-Polynesian language

Phonology

Consonants

The following consonants can be reconstructed for Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (Blust 2009):

The phonetic value of the reconstructed sounds *p, *b, *w, *m, *t, *d, *n, *s, *l, *r, *k, *g, *ŋ, *q, *h was as indicated by the spelling. The symbols *ñ, *y, *z, *D, *j, *R are orthographic conventions first introduced by Dyen (1947). The assumed phonetic values are given in the table.

This consonant system is quite similar to the ancestral Proto-Austronesian (PAN) system, but is characterized by three mergers:

• PAN *t/*C > PMP *t
• PAN *n/*N > PMP *n
• PAN *h/*S > PMP *h

Vowels

The Proto-Austronesian vowels *a, *i, *u, *e (*e representing /ə/) and final diphthongs *ay, *aw, *uy, *iw remained unchanged.