Re: CHAT: minimum phonemes, was Re: vrindo

Rotokas is usually cited as having the fewest consonants: Six, and
five vowels.  I don't have my copy of David Crystal's _Encyclopedia of
Language_ handy so I can't tell you what they are, though. :(


For fewest *stops*, Hawaiian and Maori beat out Rotokas (which has
four, I think: p t k g).  Hawaiian has p k ? and Maori has p t k.



+ Ed Heil ---------------------- edheil@postmark.net +
|    "What matter that you understood no word!       |
|    Doubtless I spoke or sang what I had heard      |
|           In broken sentences."  --Yeats           |
+----------------------------------------------------+

J.Barefoot wrote:

> >Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...> wrote:
> >In the initial design, only 7 consonants existed (p, t, k,
> >w, y, n, l), with a very simple syllable structure (C)V(n/l).  Watakas=
s=ED
> >is now more complex.
>=20
> That reminds me... Does anyone know what the lower bound for number of=20
> phonemes is for a natural language?
>=20
> Jennifer
>=20
>=20
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>=20