Bembi, Baiberi, and Baibai (was: Re: Barba and Bestia)

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "bmscotttg" <BMScott@...> wrote:

>
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "stlatos" <stlatos@> wrote:
>
> [...]
>
> > No, B also occurs in Fas (in New Guinea) and must be
> > reconstructed for the common ancestor of Fas and (at least)
> > most neighboring languages.
>
> The only other language undoubtedly related to Fas is Baibai;

Not even Bembi? Based on your discussion of B/mb correspondence, I doubt you think it is just a dialect of Fas, or not "actual" Fas.

> even
> the proposed relationship with the Kwomtari languages is doubtful.
> And since F. /B/ apparently corresponds to B. /mb/, the obvious
> reconstruction here is *Mb, a prenasalized stop (and the usual
> source of the very rare bilabial trill, according to Ladefoged &
> Maddieson).

Not all so correspond. How would Bembi correspond to Baiberi or Baibai if it were so? Rather, it seems that many different sounds and clusters, some including B, became mb in Bb; many others to B in Fas. So, though it is possible mb>B in Fas, we must deal with many correspondences from mb, bw, bB, B, bh (with bh = bilabial fric., in the absence of B), etc.


In part, there's:


*aq'wARXWunWA > *Oq'wOBBumWO > *OwOrumO > Mafuara wOrOmuO; *Oq'wOBBumWO > *qOBuw > Guriaso kOru, Bb kubhO 'leg'

*OÑWuq'RwiyE > *OÑWëp'Rwëy > F këbw; Bb nëmbi; Biaka bObwi; Kw fofo 'a sore'

*uBpwYas.qWO > *uBbwaqWO > *aBbuqWwO > F aBëkwO, Bb kubOw, Kw lEfo 'leaf'

*upus.yo > *apuRyA > *apuRyE > *ayEpRu > Bi yEri, Bb yipu, F aeBi 'lime'

*mufTRi: > *mufRli: > *mWafBli > Bi mOfri, Gur wOpu, F mEBkE, Bb mEmbkE, Kw limabhu 'star'

*at'q'Ruq'q'ar.yA > *Oq'BuqW'aRq'yE > guriaso, kwOmtari, mafuara, baiberi, bembi, etc.