Universal #1335

Legacy number: 1335

 Number  1331
 Original  No phonological system has fewer than two contrasting positions of articulation for stops.
 Standardized  No phonological system has fewer than two contrasting positions of articulation for stops.
 Keywords  stop
 Domain  phonology
 Type  unconditional
 Status  achronic
 Quality  absolute
 Basis  unspecified
 Source  Hockett 1963: 27

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Discussion
Notes
1. Hockett cites Hawaiian and Archaic Samoan (both Polynesian) as languages with only two positions.2. Cf. Nartey’s claim (#780): Languages usually have at least three primary oral stops. As counterexamples to his statement Nartey gives Hawaiian and Maidu (Pujunan (=Maiduan)).
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
1. Hockett cites Hawaiian and Archaic Samoan (both Polynesian) as languages with only two positions.

2. Cf. Nartey's claim (<a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=780"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">): Languages usually have at least three primary oral stops. As counterexamples to his statement Nartey gives Hawaiian and Maidu (Pujunan (=Maiduan)).