[ǃ]→[n]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 2/5

Click Loss Nasal Retention Simplification Bantu Khoe

Alveolar click to Alveolar nasal

The shift from an alveolar click [ǃ] to the alveolar nasal [n] occurs during the process of click loss, specifically when the original click had a nasal accompaniment (transcribed as [ⁿǃ] or [ŋǃ]). When the complex suction mechanism is lost, the velar and nasal features simplify, leaving behind a standard pulmonic nasal at the front place of articulation.

Phonetic Effects

Click Loss, Nasal Retention, Simplification

Language Examples

Fwe Bantu

[ⁿǃ] (nasal alveolar click)→[n]— In northern Fwe varieties undergoing click loss, nasalized alveolar clicks reduce to their pulmonic nasal counterparts; the nasal feature is retained while the velaric mechanism is abandoned.

Khoe Languages Khoe

[ⁿǃ]→[n]— Similar nasal-click → nasal simplification attested in Kalahari Khoe languages undergoing click inventory reduction.

Related Transformations

Reverse

More Bantu Shifts

[d] → [n] — Nasal Assimilation [j] → [ʑ] — Fortition [k] → [g] — Voicing [k] → [ɣ] — Lenition [ts] → [l] — Lenition

Sources & References

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