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Sometimes two elements don't go together

I just dodged a bullet –

I was going to make a conlang with both labial–velar consonants and clicks.

I realised in time that having both isn't right. You choose one or the other. No natural language has both.


There's a more general lesson here: across phonetics, grammar, etc., there are various features that don't get along like grass and trees. Another example would be having a very strict word order (like creole) and also a very strict case-system (like Latin). Any more you can think of?

AllNewTypeFace @leminal.space - 1w

You could have a strict word order and case system. It would just evolve into a formal register, used to denote authority, ritual or similar, as casual/spontaneous use flowed into the redundant expressive space walled off by the rules. (Perhaps beyond a given level of informality it would become something disreputable, like a thieves’ argot.)

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