[d]→[n]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 5/5
Voiced alveolar plosive to Alveolar nasal
The shift from the alveolar stop [d] to the alveolar nasal [n] is a classic example of nasal assimilation. When a voiced stop occurs in a cluster with a nasal consonant (like [nd]), it frequently assimilates the nasal manner of articulation, resulting in a geminate [nn].
Phonetic Effects
Nasal Assimilation, Gemination
Language Examples
quandō [nd]→quanno [nn]— Regressive nasal assimilation: the [d] in [nd] cluster assimilates to the preceding nasal, yielding geminate [nn].
mundus→munno
ndimi [nd]→nnimi [nn]— Meinhof's Law: voiced stop in prenasalized cluster assimilates to nasal when the following syllable also contains a prenasalized consonant.
ⁿd (prenasalized voiced alveolar stop)→n— In Trans-New Guinea languages including Kalam, the Proto-TNG prenasalized stop *ⁿd undergoes simplification to a plain alveolar nasal [n] in certain phonological environments, particularly word-finally. Kalam orthographic /d/ represents an historically prenasalized stop that has retained or partially lost its oral closure component across TNG subgroups.
ⁿd (prenasalized stop, Proto-TNG)→n (coda position)— Huli (Engan branch, Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea) exhibits reduction of word-final prenasalized stops to their nasal components. The Proto-Trans-New Guinea *ⁿd series is realized as [n] in syllable-final position, consistent with the broader Trans-New Guinea tendency to restrict final consonant inventories to nasals and sonorants.
Related Transformations
More Romance Shifts
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