Re: Is this a realistic phonology?

Daniel Andreasson wrote:

> >Kristian Jensen wrote:
> >> There are many natlangs like this. I know many Tai and
> >> Austro-Asiatic languages with FOUR nasals and only two phonemic
> >> voiced stops. Thai, Vietnamese, and Cambodian are famous examples.
> >
> >Really?  Fascinating!  Thanks for the info.  That is certainly bizarre,
> >IMHO.
>
> I'm sorry that I ask, and it's possible that there's something here that I don't
> quite get, but what's bizarre about having more nasals than voiced stops?
> Swedish has six nasals (bilabial, labiodental, dental, retroflex, palatal and velar)
> and only four voiced stops (blb, dental, retroflex and velar).
At the risk of being presumptuous, I don't think Nik meant anything bad
about that... just that it's strange to him (and indeed, probably to any
English speaker, myself included).  No value judgments here :)

(Besides, if you want to be really picky, nasals *are* voiced stops! :) )

=======================================================
Tom Wier <artabanos@...>
ICQ#: 4315704   AIM: Deuterotom
Website: <http://www.angelfire.com/tx/eclectorium/>
"Cogito ergo sum, sed credo ergo ero."

There's nothing particularly wrong with the
proletariat. It's the hamburgers of the
proletariat that I have a problem with. - Alfred Wallace
========================================================