Universal #795

Legacy number: 795

 Number  792
 Original  No language has Secondary Nasal Consonants unless it has one or more Primary Nasal Consonants.
 Standardized  IF there are Secondary Nasal Consonants, THEN there will be at least one Primary Nasal Consonant.
 Formula  secondary nasal consonant ⇒ primary nasal consonant
 Keywords  nasal, consonant
 Domain  phonology
 Type  implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  languages mentioned in Ferguson 1963; 317 language sample from Nartey 1979
 Source  Ferguson 1963: 58 (VI), Uspensky 1965: 192, Nartey 1979: 33

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Discussion
Counterexamples
Apinaye (Ge-Pano), Barasano (Tucanoan);Hakka (Chinese, Sino-Tibetan) (Nartey 1979: 33)
Notes
1. A Primary Nasal Consonant (PNC) is a phoneme of which the most characteristic allophone is a voiced nasal stop, that is, a sound produced by a complete oral stoppage (e.g., apical, labial), velic opening, and vibration of the vocal cords.2. A Secondary Nasal Consonant (SNC) is a nasal consonant phoneme the most characteristic phoneme of which is not a simple voiced nasal (Ferguson 1963: 56-7).
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
1. A Primary Nasal Consonant (PNC) is a phoneme of which the most characteristic allophone is a voiced nasal stop, that is, a sound produced by a complete oral stoppage (e.g., apical, labial), velic opening, and vibration of the vocal cords.

2. A Secondary Nasal Consonant (SNC) is a nasal consonant phoneme the most characteristic phoneme of which is not a simple voiced nasal (Ferguson 1963: 56-7).