[∅]→[ã]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 5/5
Empty sound / Zero to Nasalized open front unrounded vowel
The transformation from a 'zero sound' (specifically, the loss of a nasal consonant) to a nasalized open front unrounded vowel ([ã]) is a well-attested historical phonetic shift. This process typically involves the deletion of a nasal consonant (such as /m/ or /n/) that was adjacent to a vowel, with the nasal quality of the consonant being transferred to and preserved by the vowel, resulting in a distinctive nasal vowel.
Phonetic Effects
Compensatory Nasalization, Nasal Consonant Deletion, Phonologization of Nasal Vowels
Language Examples
manum→mão— Latin /a/ followed by /n/ becomes nasalized [ã] after the loss of /n/ in Old Portuguese. The original Latin form was *manum*.
canes→cães— Latin /a/ followed by /n/ becomes nasalized [ɐ̃] (an open nasal vowel, close to [ã]) after the loss of /n/ in Medieval Galician-Portuguese, which evolved into Portuguese. The original Latin form was *canes*.
grandem→grant— Latin /a/ followed by /n/ becomes nasalized [ã] after the loss of /n/ in Old French. The original Latin form was *grandem*.
Related Transformations
More Nasalization Shifts
Sources & References
- Nasal Vowels. Working Papers 'an Language Universals, Phonetics; Phonological Units - ERIC.
- Vowel Nasalization and Nasal Loss in Italian - International Phonetic Association.
- “Linguistic Change and Generative Theory” | Open Indiana.
- Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics - AIP Publishing.
- A Description of Papiamentu - Brill.
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