South Mande Reconstruction: Initial consonants1 - Langues mandé ...

? *ɓl respect-2 > Dan (bl) ɓl, Dan (gw) ɓl rn respect; gift (meaningto honour smb.), Tura # ɓ, ɓ, Guro # bl n gift (meaning to honour smb.)? *ɓl shine > Dan (kl) ɓl, Dan (bl) ɓ vi shine, Dan (kl) ɓl (?) nlight, Tura # ɓ, Mano ZE b, Guro #, BN, GR ɓ vi shine; burn; blossom; vtignite; light up, Wan # ɓl n light; vi shine, Mwan ɓ/ɓ catch fire, Beng # b vishine, be lit, be illuminated; vt ignite, set fire on, vi shine; vt lighten3.2.3.2. In other cases («Irregularities b ~ (ɓ)») the situation is inverse:the majority of the languages in the set display reflexes of *b-, while onelanguage has a form which looks like a reflex of *ɓ-. This time, among thelanguages displaying irregularities we find Mwan, Dan (2 cases each) andGban (1 case).All the reservations expressed in the previous paragraph can be repeatedhere. The sets are too few for establishing any diachronic phonologicalrule. For a while, *b- with a question mark will be given as areconstruction for these sets.Irregularities b ~ (ɓ):? *bl dry season > Dan (bl) bl, bl-y, Dan (gw) bl-y, Dan (kl)blèè-l, Dan (dh) bl, ~y, Tura # bala-l, Gban ST bl adj dry, Wan #blè-ya n harmattan, Beng # baa (?)? *bēlē lie (untruth) > Tura # bèlè, Guro #, BN vè, Mwan # ɓla? *ba by (a postposition) Dan (bl, gw) ɓaa pp in (water), near (water),Mano ZE ba pp in (water), Guro #, BN va pp by, at (smb's place); in, among,Yaure HP va pp with (the retention of the voiced initial can probably be explainedby the grammatical character of the word), Mwan # ba pp in (water); at(smb.'s place)? *baa mush-1 > Dan (bl) ɓaa, ɓ, Dan (gw, kl) ɓaa n cooked rice,Guro # baa n rice mush, Mwan # baa n cooked rice? *baò squirrel-5 > Dan (bl) ɓɑ´ɑ´, ɓaû, Dan (gw) ɓ n stripedground squirrel, Tura # ɓőȍ-n n striped ground squirrel, Gban ST a nBeecroft's anomalure3.2.3.3. There is another series where Guro and Yaure display initial b-instead of the expected ɓ-. In all cases the initial consonant is followed bya front vowel, and in 4 sets out of 5, this vowel is -ɛ. It could beinterpreted as the phonetic condition of the change *ɓ- > b- in Guro andYaure, but there are counterexamples where *ɓ- > ɓ- in the same context(*ɓŋ fruit, *ɓl respect-2, *ɓlŋ termite (flying, ephemera)-1 in Series 7),