L-Parameter: Three or more series of stop initials

From Contribution: Sinitic between Altaic and Mainland Southeast Asia

This feature marks the retention of the Middle Chinese three-way distinction between voiced, voiceless, and aspirated stops (e.g. [b], [p], [pʰ]). This contrast is preserved in Wu, Southern Min, and Southern Xiang dialects but is rare in other regions. The three-way distinction is also common in many MSEA languages but rare across Altaic languages.