The dinguist’s dilemma

This paper explores interactions between the lateral liquid l and the voiced stop d (with parenthetical remarks about n and t as well) in a variety of language families, especially Sino-Tibetan/Tibeto-Burman. These apical sounds participate both in synchronic patterns of variation and in diachronic patterns of sound change. Sometimes changes of *l > d or *d > l seem quite regular, as e.g. in the passage from Old to Middle Chinese. More often perhaps, these changes appear sporadic. Recognition of l >< d alternations in ST/TB permits the refinement of several etymologies. The phonetic similarity between these sounds accounts for the fact that they interact with such frequency in languages all over the world. Di gantse velt shteyt oyf der shpits tsung. (Yiddish proverb)