[ʕ]→[ə]Certainty: 2/5Commonality: 1/5

Centralization Debuccalization Vowel Reduction Afro-Asiatic

Voiced pharyngeal fricative to Mid central vowel

The pharyngeal fricative [ʕ] or glottalized vowel reduction to schwa [ə] is a process documented in languages with emphatic consonants and gutturals, where unstressed positions favor centralization to schwa.

Phonetic Effects

Centralization, Debuccalization, Vowel Reduction

Language Examples

Arabic varieties Afro-Asiatic

[ʕ]→[ə]— Reduction of pharyngeal fricatives in unstressed positions in rapid or casual Arabic speech varieties.

Related Transformations

Reverse

More Centralization Shifts

[a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction [ʌ] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction [e] → [ə] — Reduction [ei] → [e] — Monophthongization [ɛ] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction

Sources & References

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