This dissertation presents a reconstruction of the phoneme inventory of Proto-Hlai, based on data from twelve Hlai languages spoken on Hainan, China. A classification of the Hlai languages is given with the innovations upon which it based, followed by a discussion of contact relationships and a discussion of reconstruction methodology. The inventory of Proto-Hlai initials is reconstructed, and original sesquisyllabic forms are shown to be necessary to account for the reflexes between the daughter languages; the initial inventory is also marked by the presence of aspiration on most consonants in word-initial position. This is followed by the reconstruction of the rime inventory, an outstanding features of which is two laryngeal components which are argued to have been the precursors to two of the synchronic tone categories in the daughter languages, and which conditioned segmental variation in most of the daughter languages. A comparison is made between Proto-Hlai, Proto-Be, and Proto-Southwest Tai, and a preliminary reconstruction of Proto-Southern Kra-Dai (the immediate ancestor of Proto-Hlai) is performed. When this reconstruction is compared with that of Proto-Hlai, it is shown that several important sound changes occurred in Pre-Hlai, including intervocalic obstruent lenition, vocalic transfer, aspiration of word-initial consonants, and peripheral vowel raising. The language Jiamao is examined in detail, and it is argued that Jiamao is a non-Hlai language which has been in close contact with Hlai since the Pre-Hlai period. An examination of the correspondences between Jiamao and Hlai reveal at least two layers of Hlai loanwords in Jiamao, and evidence Jiamao was originally very different from Hlai structurally. Finally, the Proto-Hlai lexicon is compared with those of other Southeast Asian language phyla, and it is shown that Hlai retains evidence of shared lexicon (via either a genetic or contact relationship) with Sino-Tibetan, Mon-Khmer, Hmong-Mien, and Austronesian, the last of which is particularly striking. The dissertation concludes with a summary of findings, empirical and theoretical contributions, and suggestions for future research.

India is celebrated as the largest democracy in the world but is it truly democratic? Is it the nation-state that its founder’s envisioned it to be? Has it addressed it ancient issue of social diversity? This paper seeks to assess the present problem faced by the Indian Democracy; problems based on India’s inherent social diversity. Furthermore the paper seeks to recommend a solution based on Amartya Sen’s Open Impartiality approach that will allow the country to reassess its democratic platform. The paper also aims at providing a starting point to execute Sen’s approach by exploring the vision of two of India’s independence leaders: Mohandas Karamchandra Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2007. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 133-140). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Ashland Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-204).

Thesis (M.A. (Linguistics))--Mahidol University, 1982.

Thesis (M.A. (Population and Reproductive Health Research))--Mahidol University, 1999.

Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-106).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, July, 1989. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. [352]-378).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Ashland Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-204).

Inspired by my personal experience as a South Asian-American, I chose to create a series of paintings that seek to analyze the relationship between South Asians and a Western environment. I was further influenced by Bollywood painted posters, which I argue encapsulate postcolonial aesthetics in the form of fair skin, colored eyes, and exoticism. Moreover, I believe that Bollywood has continued to disseminate these aesthetics to the South Asian collective community. Bollywood and its implicit fascination with the West, in addition to its inherently South Asian identity, embody the struggle that many South Asians face. This struggle, which I as a South Asian-American woman painter have also experienced, includes a constant internal conflict between desiring to fit into Western culture and trying to maintain one’s cultural heritage within a Western environment. Ultimately, through these paintings and this essay, I seek to shed light on this complex relationship between South Asian culture and a Western context.