Universal #1415

Legacy number: 1415

 Number  1411
 Original  If in a language only one member of a customary phoneme opposition exists, the existing member of the opposition can take over (fully or partially) the articulatory peculiarities of the lacking member.
 Standardized  IF only one member of a customary phoneme opposition exists, THEN the existing member of the opposition can take over (fully or partially) the articulatory peculiarities of the lacking member.
 Keywords  phoneme, opposition
 Domain  phonology
 Type  no genuine implication; rather: provided that
 Status  unclear whether diachronic and/or achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  Finno-Ugric languages
 Source  Décsy 1970: 14

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Discussion
Notes
Finnish lacks the opposition s-ß , therefore s is spoken as , (Décsy 1970: 14-15).
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
Finnish lacks the opposition s-β, therefore s is spoken as, (Décsy 1970: 14-15).