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1. May 2020
FP
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Universal 789:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 789:

Original
If in a given language there are only two Primary Nasal Consonants, the other one is /m/, that is its most characteristic allophone is labial.
Standardized
IF there are only two Primary Nasal Consonants, THEN the first one is apical (/n/), and the other is /m/, that is its most characteristic allophone is labial.
Keywords
nasal, consonant, labial, apical, allophone
Domain
phonology
Type
no genuine implication; rather: provided that
Status
achronic
Quality
statistical
Basis
languages mentioned in Ferguson 1963; 317 language sample from Nartey 1979
Source
Ferguson 1963: 57 (III), also Ferguson 1974: 6, cited in Uspensky 1965: 191, Nartey 1979: 30
Counterexamples
Wapishana (Arawakan)(Nartey 1979: 31);Palauan (W. Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian) has /m/ and /©/ but not /n/. For details see Josephs 1975.
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One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    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. (Ferguson 1963: 56).

    1. May 2020

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