The Universal Atlas of Phonetic Evolution
Back to Matrix [ɛ] → [ã] Edit this Data

[ã]→[ɛ]Certainty: 4/5Commonality: 3/5

Nasalized open front unrounded vowel to Open-mid front unrounded vowel

This transformation describes the denasalization and raising of a nasalized open front unrounded vowel (ã) to an oral open-mid front unrounded vowel (ɛ). This sound change is often observed in languages where nasal vowels undergo shifts in both nasality and vowel height, driven by phonetic and perceptual factors.

Phonetic Effects

Denasalization, Vowel Raising

Language Examples

/ã/→[ɛ]— Acoustic realization of the phonemic nasal vowel /ã/ is at the same vowel height as the oral /ɛ/ by speakers of Santiago Mexquititlán Otomi, indicating a phonetic overlap or near-merger in terms of height, even if phonemically distinct.
[ã]→[ɛ]— An older variety of Gascon, specifically medieval Bayonnese Gascon, is documented to have undergone a raising process where the nasalized open front unrounded vowel [ã] shifted to a mid-front vowel.

Related Transformations

More Romance Shifts

Sources & References

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