Re: Underused phonemes

--- In conlang@yahoogroups.com, Andreas Johansson <andjo@F...> wrote:
>
> Quoting John Vertical <johnvertical@H...>:
>
>>>It occurred to me yesterday that I don't know of any conlangs that
>>> have [W] as a phoneme.
Is this X-SAMPA's "voiceless labial-velar fricative W"?

>>> I was wondering what other sounds people might think worthy
>>>of more exposure.
>>>
>>>Pete
>>
>> As far as POAs are concerned, I haven't seen much linguolabials or
>> epiglottals around. The same goes for the few natlang-unattested
>> POAs from the extIPA (dentolabials, labioalveolars, bidentals) but
>> that doesn't really surprize me. (I recall seeing 1 conlang with
>> some bidentals, which is probably statistically enuff.)
>
> Yargish has dentilabials (but no labiodentals, so no contrast).
>
> [snip]
>> I don't think
>> I've either seen anyone use flaps or taps besides /4/ -
>> surprizingly not even /l\/, let alone other POAs.
>
> My Dwarvish language, currently on hold, contrasts alveolar and
> retroflex taps.
>
> It also has alveolar, retroflex, palatal, and velar laterals and
> lateral affricates. Except for the alveolars, these sounds do not
> seem to get proper exercise.
>
>                                                   Andreas
>
Laver, in the book I've already turned in and don't have any more,
mentioned natlangs with "bi-dental approximants" and "bi-dental
fricatives".  Clench your teeth, open your lips, keep your tongue and
velum etc. out of the way, and make a voiced-or-mute fricative sound;
that's the "bidental fricative".  I guess if you open your teeth
slightly you get the "bidental approximant"; I can't hear the
difference between these two sounds, or else, between the bidental
approximant and other approximants.

The extIPA has not only the six "new" _points_-of-articulation,
(dentolabial, labioalveolar, linguolabial, interdental, bidental, and
velopharyngeal), but also the four "new" _manners_-of-articulation,
(fricative-central, fricative-lateral+central, fricative-nareal, and
percussive).  It also has "new" diacritics for these and for labial
spreading, whistled articulation, sliding articulation, nasal escape,
velopharyngeal friction, and others. And, it has two "new" clicks.

I wouldn't be certain that _all_ of these new PoAs and MoAs are, in
fact, unattested in natlangs; maybe all are _rare_, and many are
unattested.

I think a (pulmonic egressive) linguolabial voiced stop is "a natural
for inclusion".  I wouldn't be too surprised if some natlang includes
it.  Maybe I'll use some linguolabial sounds in a conlang.

Tom H.C. in MI

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