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There are several non-constructed languages, including English, in which almost all words end in consonants, but what about a language in which almost all words end in a certain type of consonant? In my case, I'm trying a synthetic language which relies on different types of fricatives at the end of words to show grammatical meaning. The language has several non-fricative consonants, but would it be realistic for those consonants not to form endings while the fricatives do?

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  • ‘would it be realistic for those consonants to form endings while the fricatives do?’ — I have no idea what you’re asking here. Also, the obvious answer is: this conlang sounds like it isn’t intended to be naturalistic, so you can do what you like in it.
    – bradrn
    Sep 16, 2021 at 3:39
  • @bradrn I think they mean 'for those consonants NOT to form endings while the fricatives do'
    – Richard
    Sep 16, 2021 at 8:54
  • @Richard That’s what I assume, but I’d appreciate confirmation from OP.
    – bradrn
    Sep 16, 2021 at 10:02
  • Yes, I mean what @Richard said.
    – Why It
    Sep 16, 2021 at 16:19
  • @WhyIt In the future, please edit your question to fix the mistake. People who see your question shouldn't have to look to the comments for a clarification.
    – A. R.
    Sep 21, 2021 at 18:14

1 Answer 1

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Yes, of course, that's entirely possible!

See also word-final voicing in Basque, which is an example of a sound change that affects word-final consonants especially much. Conceivable, such could also lead to spirantization (plosive>fricative) word-finally. (And there are certainly more other ways such a trait could come to be)

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    In German you get "Auslautverhaertung", where voiced consonants become de-voiced (/d/ -> /t/, /g/ -> /k/)
    – Oliver Mason
    Sep 16, 2021 at 11:31
  • @OliverMason True, it's a feature if other Germanic languages as well.
    – Richard
    Sep 16, 2021 at 11:58
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    @OliverMason And Russian, and Sanskrit (there the change is shown in writing), and likely many others.
    – Anton Sherwood
    Sep 17, 2021 at 2:02
  • @Richard Very cool, thank's for the answer!
    – Why It
    Sep 17, 2021 at 21:18
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    @WhyIt If you think the answer is sufficient, you can also accept it by clicking the checkmark!
    – Richard
    Sep 23, 2021 at 17:37

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