<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;">I don’t know the answer to this, but surely part of the explanation is that /np-/ and /mt-/ tend to assimilate to /mp-/ and /nt-/, respectively.<div><br></div><div>As for /pm-/ and /tn-/, note that despite being plosive–nasal sequences, they actually sound like affricates (due to the “sticky” lowering of the velum to unblock the nasal passage—the same thing happens when sneezing). I wouldn’t be surprised if this interferes with perception, and leads to reanalysis.</div><div><br></div><div>Siva<br id="lineBreakAtBeginningOfMessage"><div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div>On 5 Aug 2025, at 7:48 pm, JOO Ian via Lingtyp <lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div><meta charset="UTF-8"><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dear typologists,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It has occurred to me that homoorganic nasal-plosive onset clusters (e.g. /mp-/) seem to be more common than homoorganic plosive-nasal onset clusters (e.g. /pm-/), whereas heteroorganic plosive-nasal clusters (e.g. /pn-/) are more common than heteroorganic nasal-plosive clusters (e.g. /np/-).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">For example, based on<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/lingty-2023-0094" style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134); text-decoration: underline;">Phonotacticon 1.0</a>, which is limited to Eurasia, the following number of lects have the following onset clusters:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 44pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-indent: -22pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Wingdings;"><span>l<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">/pm-/ : 2<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 44pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-indent: -22pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Wingdings;"><span>l<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">/mp-/ : 12<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 44pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-indent: -22pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Wingdings;"><span>l<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">/pn-/ : 14<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 44pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-indent: -22pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Wingdings;"><span>l<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">/np-/ : 4<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When looking at, say, /tn- nt- tm- mt-/, the pattern is the sameː<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 44pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-indent: -22pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Wingdings;"><span>l<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">/tn-/ ː 8<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 44pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-indent: -22pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Wingdings;"><span>l<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">/nt-/ ː 13<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 44pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-indent: -22pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Wingdings;"><span>l<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">/tm- / ː 15<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 44pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-indent: -22pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Wingdings;"><span>l<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">/mt-/ ː 11<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What could explain this assymetry?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">From Otaru,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ian<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div><div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; word-break: keep-all;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span lang="EN-US">-</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; 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