Historical Linguistics 3130 A

Phonological typology

Crystal's chapter on Comparative Phonology is the basis for the class we did on phonological typology. Those who missed that class will find it especially useful to read this over. The important thing is not the numbers, but knowing which sounds are more common than others in a phonological system and also which sounds imply the existence of other sounds. Knowledge of this kind of information is helpful in reconstructing sound systems.