Re: simple phonology

#1 wrote:
> as much as you know, what is the natlang using the most little
> number of phonemes? I've heard about languages with only 4 wovels
> (nahuatl?) but wich one has the less sounds?
Nahuatl indeed has four vowel qualities (not counting /u/~/u:/ borrowed
from Spanish), but each of these also has a phonemically long counterpart,
thus totalling eight vocalic phonemes, which actually makes it above-average
for vowel inventories.

As for the smallest number of phonemes, it really depends on what you
mean.  Abkhaz has only two, and perhaps one, vowel phonemically, but
it has around 15 phonetic realizations of those two phonemes, and lots
and lots of phonemic consonants (70-80? IIRC).  Rotokas is sometimes
put forward as having the smallest number of total phonemes, since IIRC
it has six consonants and five vowels, but I am no expert on Rotokas.
The reality is probably that the language with the smallest number of
phonemes has not been documented yet.

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Thomas Wier	       "I find it useful to meet my subjects personally,
Dept. of Linguistics    because our secret police don't get it right
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