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

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-)