Universal 1410:
- Original
- In all languages possessing the vowel ä, the a is articulated more backward (velar) than in languages which have no ä.
- Standardized
- In all languages possessing the vowel /ä/, the /a/ is articulated more backward (velar) than in languages which have no /ä/.
- Keywords
- vowel, backness
- Domain
- phonology
- Type
- implication
- Status
- achronic
- Quality
- statistical
- Basis
- Finno-Ugric languages
- Source
- Décsy 1970: 14
- Counterexamples
Examples of ä/a contrast: Hungarian, Ostyak, Lapp, Mordvin, and all Balto-Finnic languages.