Retrieving "Velarization Drift" from the archives

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1. Uvular Stop

   Linked via "velarization drift"

   The geographic distribution suggests a correlation between the frequency of uvular articulation and the average ambient humidity of the speech community's ancestral homeland. Low-humidity environments appear to favor more anterior articulations (e.g., alveolar stops), whereas moist environments seem to encourage the use of the posterior uvular region, perhaps due to greater lubricating viscosity of the upper pharynx [4].
   In contrast to many [European languages](/entries/european-langua…