Universal #796

Legacy number: 796

 Number  793
 Original  In a given language, the number of Secondary Nasal Consonants is never greater than the number of Primary Nasal Consonants.
 Standardized  IF there are n Secondary Nasal Consonants, THEN there will not be more than n Primary Nasal Consonants.
 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 (VII), cited in Uspensky 1965: 192, Nartey 1979: 34

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Discussion
Counterexamples
Amerind languages: Klamath (Klamath-Modoc), Mazahua, Otomi, Mazatec (all Oto-Manguean), Paez (Paezan); Papuan languages: Wantoat (Trans-New Guinea), Washkuk=Kuoma (Middle Sepik);Austro-Asiatic languages: Lakkia, Sui (both Daic);Nilo-Saharan languages: Kanuri (Western Saharan), Sara (Central Sudanic);Indo-European: Hindi-Urdu (Indo-Iranian), Irish (Celtic);Ngizim (West Chadic, Afro-Asiatic), Senadi=Senari (Gur, Niger-Congo), !Xu=Kung, Nama (both Khoisan), Nambakaengo (E. Papuan)(Nartey 1979: 35)
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).