The discovery of sound laws by comparing attested languages is the method which has unlocked the history of European languages stretching back thousands of years before the appearance of written records, e.g. Latin p- corresponds to English f- (pes, foot; primus, first; plenus, full). Although Burmese, Chinese, and Tibetan have long been regarded as related, the systematic exploration of their shared history has never before been attempted. Tracing the history of these three languages using just such sound laws, this book sheds light on the prehistoric language from which they descend. Written for readers with little linguistic knowledge of these languages, but fully explicit and copiously indexed for the specialist, this work will serve as the bedrock for future progress in the study of these languages.

We are fascinated by what words sound like. This fascination also drives us to search for meaning in sound - thereby contradicting the principle of the arbitrariness of the linguistic sign. Phonesthemes, onomatopoeia or rhyming compounds all share the property of carrying meaning by virtue of what they sound like, simply because language users establish an association between form and meaning. By drawing on a wide array of examples, ranging from conventionalized words and expressions to brand names and slogans, this book offers a comprehensive account of the role that sound symbolism and rhyme/alliteration plays in English, and by doing so, advocates a more relaxed view of the category 'morpheme' that is able to incorporate less regular word-formation processes.