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Universal 1007:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 1007:

Original
Pidginization processes tend to replace fricatives other than s by stops.
Standardized
Pidginization processes tend to replace fricatives other than s by stops.
Keywords
spirantization, pidginization
Domain
phonology
Type
unconditional
Status
diachronic
Quality
statistical
Basis
Greek, Spanish, Danish, English (all Indo-European), Aramaic, Arabic (both Semitic, Afro-Asiatic)
Source
Ferguson 1978b: 437
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    All of these hypothesized “universals” may be modified or overridden by conflicting processes, particularly those involving social factors, and some exceptions are unexplained. (Ferguson 1978b: 437)

    1. May 2020

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