At some point in OT I hinted that a language's phonology is determined by the climate of the place where it is spoken. That notion was based on the thought that more vowels = more air being exhaled, which is a good body-ventilation technique (sort of speak) and thus it follows that languages that evolve in hotter climates allow many vowels and have less consonants, crudely put. The opposite for colder climates: more consonants = less air exhaled = less heat being wasted.

This is in fact not a correct statement to make since there are several examples that defy that supposed "rule" to an extraordinary degree.

For instance Finnish is spoken in a place that is very cold all year round. Its phonology though is full of vowels (if I recall there can be even 3 vowels in a row within a word).

As for hotter climates, Turkish is full of consonants.

I should have seen that coming since it did occur to me a couple of times -and especially about Finnish that I had read when looking at Tolkien's influences- but the official answer came from my professor this semester. Another student asked if this notion is true and he pretty much said its a myth.

So there you (I) go.