The South-East Asian mono-syllable often seems to be bulging at the seams with phonetic material: consonantal, vocalic, and supra-segmental. - James Alan Matisoff

The long drought in Tibeto-Burman and Sino-Tibetan historical linguistics is over. The field is opening up now as never before. Where once it was the esoteric preserve of a few, it is now being enthusiastically taken up by a new generation of lively, inquiring, talented students. For much of this exciting new activity, we have Paul K. Benedict to thank.

Rhinoglottophilia–an affinity between the feature of nasality and the articulatory involvement of the glottis–is more prevalent than is generally realized. Although it sounds like a disease, or even a perversion, rhinoglottophilia is actually quite a benign and natural condition. It is of interest chiefly because it is not obvious why there should be such an affinity at all.

I decided to start with the reproductive system, not only because of its prurient interest but also because it seemed like the point of departure for all things.