The Universal Atlas of Phonetic Evolution
Back to Matrix [bʲ] → [b] Edit this Data

[b]→[bʲ]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 5/5

Voiced bilabial plosive to Palatalized voiced bilabial plosive

Palatalization (specifically secondary palatalization or 'softening') is a phonetic process where the middle of the tongue is raised toward the hard palate during the articulation of a consonant. This is a hallmark of Slavic languages like Russian and often occurs before front vowels or palatal glides.

Phonetic Effects

Palatalization

Language Examples

Russian Native
был→/bɨl/— was (masc.)
бил→/bʲil/— beat (masc.)

Related Transformations

Spotted a mistake or have a better example?

EchoDrift is community-driven. You can suggest a change directly through GitHub.

Propose an Edit on GitHub