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Re: Language "laws"?

From:Dirk Elzinga <dirk_elzinga@...>
Date:Monday, October 11, 2004, 18:46
On Oct 11, 2004, at 11:38 AM, Pascal A. Kramm wrote:

> On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 08:37:53 -0400, Yann Kiraly <yann_kiraly@...> > wrote: >> Is it possible for a conlang to have k,t,d,g,b but no p? And can it >> lack >> s,z,f,v,w and have th? Because, so far mine has these features. Also, >> I >> wanted to ask about the IPA signs for the following vowels: >> ö,ü,schwa,a in saw and for the consonant j as in jump. > > It's highly unlikely for a language to have a voiced consonant (like > b) but > not its unvoiced equivalent (p). So you'd better off with a lacking b.
Not so. When there are assymetries in voiced/voiceless pairs, it is the labials which lack a voiceless segment and the velars which lack a voiced one. A commonly encountered explanation for this is rooted in the aerodynamics of voicing. Voicing depends on a steep pressure gradient across the glottis--high pressure below it and low pressure above it. This ensures sufficient airflow across the glottis to keep the vocal folds vibrating. Since a stop is produced by blocking airflow, the pressure will quickly equalize; this results in the cessation of voicing. To maintain voicing during stop closure, supralayrngeal pressure must be bled off somehow. This can be done in one of three ways. 1) change the manner of articulation to a continuant, 2) open the nasal port and allow air to flow out through the nasal cavity, or 3) allow the supralaryngeal cavity to expand. This is easier for labials since the cheeks are flexible and expandable. With velar stops you don't get expansion of the cheeks to help bleed off supralaryngeal pressure, so the result is that voiced velar stops are much shorter in duration than their voiceless counterparts (true for other places of articulation as well), become continuants, or are absent altogether. For example, Dutch had a voiced velar stop historically, but it became a fricative (which was later devoiced in many varieties). Dirk -- Dirk Elzinga Dirk_Elzinga@byu.edu "I believe that phonology is superior to music. It is more variable and its pecuniary possibilities are far greater." - Erik Satie