Would this consonant distribution be realistic?
| From: | Steven Williams <feurieaux@...> |
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| Date: | Saturday, October 5, 2002, 3:13 |
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In my conlang, tentatively called Mierii [mI.@\.'4i:],
the consonant distribution is a touch skewed, and I'd
like to know from those who know better than I do, if
my system is realistic and stable for a human-spoken
natlang.
Labials - [p], [m], [f], [v], [w]
Alveolars - [t], [d], [n], [s], [l]
Palatals - [c], [J], [n_j], [l_j], [j]
Velars - [k], [g]
Uvulars - [R\] (I'm thinking about adding [q] and
possibly [q_v], whatever the symbol for a voiced
uvular stop would be in X-SAMPA)
Glottals - [?] (allophonically either [?\] or [?_h
(VERY aspirated - pronounced a bit like a gasp)] in
the initial position in most dialects)
Please note the loss of the voicing contrast between
the labial stops - historically, [b] shifted to [v].
Is it realistic to have the only voicing contrast in
fricatives to be held in the labials, rather than the
alveolars? Does this violate any universals that I
should worry about, or should I simply not worry about
universals and just have a merry old time with my
beautifully asymmetrical phonetic chart?
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