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Re: Why Not More Nasals!!!!? (was: Is this a realistic phonology?)

From:Kristian Jensen <kljensen@...>
Date:Tuesday, March 9, 1999, 0:44
Kenji Schwarz wrote:

>Hello, again, all. > >I'm with you, Kristian. FWIW, you can make the case that Manchu >and several (most?) other Tungusic languages (Altaic family) also >have more nasal phonemes /m n n^ N/ (common) than voiced stops /g b >d/ (max).
What is the main opposition between the series of oral stops? As Raymond pointed out more clearly than I did, it all depends on the voicing requirements of the individual languages. So if the main opposition between stops in Tungusic languages is between voice and voiceless, then alas: there IS a language who does have more nasals than voiced oral stops, even if the main opposition between stops is between voiced and voiceless. You might just be about the only one on this list who knows about such a lang. -kristian- 8-)