Universal #196

Legacy number: 196

 Number  196
 Original  OV languages tend to have simple syllable structure.
 Standardized  IF basic order is OV, THEN syllable structure is simple (tending towards CV).
 Formula  OV ⇒ simple syllable structure
 Keywords  order, OV, syllable, complexity
 Domain  phonology, syntax
 Type  implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  Turkish (Turkic, Altaic), Japanese (Japanese-Ryukyuan)
 Source  W.P.Lehmann 1973: 61, see Plank 1998 for discussion

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Discussion
Notes
Languages with flexive morphology (which tend to be OV) tend to have the ends of syllables closed, with consonant clusters occurring in this position as freely as in initial position (Lehmann 1973: 61).
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
Languages with flexive morphology (which tend to be OV) tend to have the ends of syllables closed, with consonant clusters occurring in this position as freely as in initial position (Lehmann 1973: 61).