Re: Missing parts

Quoting Philip Newton <Philip.Newton@...>:

> On 28 Jun 02, at 11:07, Christopher B Wright wrote:
>
> > ObConlang: perhaps someone would make a language with no voiced
> > sounds at all
>
> Would that mean a language without vowels?
Generally not.  There are languages that have voiceless vowels
as allophones (e.g. Japanese) and perhaps even some that have
voiceless vowels phonemically distinct from voiced vowels.  But
voicing in almost all languages is a feature that distinguishes
among consonants, especially obstruents.

> So three voiced nasals (and no unvoiced ones); only unvoiced stops; and
> a voiced/unvoiced distinction in the fricative pair /v/ - /f/ (though
> the /v/ is historically from /w/ IIRC, which explains this pairing,
> since all other consonants are not paired).
But /w/ was presumably voiced in the earlier period as well, which
means that you have not reduced the "ultimate" number of voiced
segments.  Besides, the fact that some segment used to have different
features at any earlier stage in the language's history does not mean
that you can therefore ignore its presence as such in the current
language.  Niuean still has a voicing distinction in its segment
inventory.

=====================================================================
Thomas Wier          "...koruphàs hetéras hetére:isi prosápto:n /
Dept. of Linguistics  mú:tho:n mè: teléein atrapòn mían..."
University of Chicago "To join together diverse peaks of thought /
1010 E. 59th Street   and not complete one road that has no turn"
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