Phonological Typology of Velar Nasals

Abstract

This study covers four typological topics concerning the velar nasal, based on extensive language data (1,411 languages from 7 macro-areas): its types, inventories, distinctions from other primary nasals, and distribution within syllables. The findings indicate that the velar nasal is more marked and less prominent than other major nasals such as the bilabial and dental/alveolar nasals. Its type diversity, language frequency, and percentage in nasal inventories are low, and its hierarchy in implicational relationships is more marked than those of other nasals. In many languages, the plain voiced velar nasal, /ŋ/, is not restricted in terms of occurring either at onset or in the coda, contrary to a widespread misunderstanding.