Universal #865
Legacy number: 865
| Number | 862 |
| Original | Except for voiced nasal followed by homorganic unvoiced obstruent, an unvoiced consonant or sequence of unvoiced consonants in initial clusters immediately preceding a vowel is not itself preceded by one or more voiced consonants. |
| Standardized | In initial clusters, IF an unvoiced consonant or sequence of unvoiced consonants immediately precedes a vowel, THEN it will not itself be preceded by one or more voiced consonants. |
| Keywords | consonant cluster, initial, voice |
| Domain | phonology |
| Type | implication |
| Status | achronic |
| Quality | statistical |
| Basis | sample of 104 languages in Greenberg 1964 |
| Source | Greenberg 1964 [Greenberg 1965: 20, Greenberg 1978e: 260, #21] |
Discussion
Counterexamples
The exceptions were found to be in almost all cases of nasal + homorganic unvoiced stop followed by a vowel, e.g. Chatino, Pame (both Oto-Manguean), Chrau (Mon-Khmer, Austroasiatic). The other instances of the interruption of voicing in an initial sequence are found in :Khasi (both Mon-Khmer, Austroasiatic), e.g. bt, dp; Bilaan (W. Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian), e.g. bt, bs; Czech (Slavic, Indo-European), e.g. js. (Greenberg 1965: 20, 1978e: 260)
Notes
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