Universal 780:
- Original
- Standardized
- IF there is only one primary affricated stop, THEN the primary allophone is most likely to be /t∫/.
- Keywords
- affricate, allophone
- Domain
- phonology
- Type
- no genuine implication; rather: provided that
- Status
- achronic
- Quality
- statistical
- Basis
- 317 language sample from Nartey 1979
- Source
- Nartey 1979: 21, cited also in Lass 1984: 153
- Counterexamples
According to Nartey, 27% of languages have only /c/. Yasugi’s sample of 92 native Middle American languages does not support Nartey’s claim. The probability of encountering a language having /c/ as the primary allophone is much higher than Nartey’s findings (Yasugi 1995: 66).