Evolution of Labial Consonants

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the historical and phonological development of the labial consonants (p, b, m, u (w), v, f) in Turkic languages and their correlation with speech ontogenesis. The relevance of the study lies in the insufficient exploration of the phonological nature and archetypal basis of labial consonants within the Turkic consonant system. The main objective is to determine the stages of their historical evolution, describe phonetic correspondences and phonological interrelations, and reveal how these processes are reflected in the ontogenesis of child speech. The research employs comparative-historical, structural-phonological, and ontogenetic methods. The theoretical framework is based on N.A. Baskakov’s historicaltypological phonology and B. Sagyndykuly’s “u-archetype” theory of phonogenesis. In addition, the experimental phonetic studies of A. Zhunisbek and Zh.A. Aralbaev on the Kazakh language substantiate the consonantal nature of the sound u. The material includes data from Old Turkic written monuments (the Orkhon and Yenisei inscriptions, Yusuf Balasaguni’s Kutadgu Bilig, and Mahmud al-Kashgari’s Divani Lugat at-Turk), as well as phonetic examples from modern Kazakh, Bashkir, Tatar, Khakas, Shor, Uyghur, and Turkish languages. Natural samples of child speech (papa, baba, mama, aua, etc.) were also examined and compared with historical phonological processes. The results confirm that labial consonants genetically derive from a single archetypal sound—p, which, over time, differentiated through its allophones (b, m, u, v) into independent phonemes. The consonantal status of u is consistently maintained in modern Kazakh phonology. Early acquisition of p, b, m and later emergence of v, f in child speech parallel the historical evolution at the ontogenetic level. Theoretically, the research contributes to clarifying the concept of phonological archetype and integrating comparative-historical and ontogenetic approaches. Practically, its findings can be applied in teaching historical phonetics, historical lexicology, comparative Turkology, experimental linguistics, and speech ontogenesis. The study also opens new perspectives for interdisciplinary research combining language history and speech development.