Another Universal Bites the Dust: Northwest Mekeo Lacks Coronal Phonemes

On the basis of cross-linguistic comparison, many universals have been proposed concerning the structure of phonological inventories. One universal of this kind states that every phonological system has coronal phonemes. In this study, Northwest Mekeo, an Oceanic language of Papua New Guinea, is shown to be a counter example. Northwest Mekeo lacks coronal phonemes, though surface coronals are found as predictable allophones of velar phonemes, and in some recent loans.