Universal #1796

Legacy number: 1796

 Number  1791
 Original  Nasalization will be phonologized first on oxytone vowels before nasals, subsequently on penultimate stressed vowels and then last on antepenultimate stressed vowels. (The spread of N-deletion will follow nasalization in a similar fashion).
 Standardized  IF nasalization is phonologized first on proparoxytonic vowels before nasals, THEN nasalization will have already been phonologized on paroxytonic vowels before nasals.
IF nasalization is phonologized first on paroxytonic vowels before nasals, THEN nasalization will have already been phonologized on oxytonic vowels before nasals.
 Formula  ’σσσ# ⇒ ’σσ# ⇒ ’σ#
 Keywords  nasalization, nasal, oxytone, vowel
 Domain  prosodic phonology
 Type  implicational hierarchy
 Status  diachronic
 Quality  absolute
 Basis  8 North Italian dialects: Bolognese, Cairese, Imoloese, Lughese, Ravennate, Riminese, Milanese, Bergamese; Rhaeto-Romance (Taveschan dialect); Latin
 Source  Hajek 1997: 109

← Back to Universals Archive

Discussion
Notes
This may have something to do with length. Oxytonic vowels are phonetically longer than paroxytonic or proparoxytonic ones. Hajek suspects this may be the reverse for right-headed languages.
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
This may have something to do with length. Oxytonic vowels are phonetically longer than paroxytonic or proparoxytonic ones. Hajek suspects this may be the reverse for right-headed languages.