Universal 806: vowel harmony ⇒ ä
- Original
- In all languages which have vowel harmony, the vowel ä exists.
- Standardized
- IF there is vowel harmony, THEN the vowel ä will be present.
- Keywords
- vowel harmony
- Domain
- phonology
- Type
- implication
- Status
- achronic
- Quality
- absolute
- Basis
- Finno-Ugric languages
- Source
- Décsy 1970: 13, Décsy 1987: 69
- Counterexamples
The distinctive features of the vowel “ä” are unfortunately not given by Déscy but it can probably be assumed to be a front, open-mid, lax vowel.