[∅]→[ɟ]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 3/5
Empty sound / Zero to Voiced palatal plosive
The emergence of a voiced palatal plosive (ɟ) from an empty sound or zero is a documented phonetic transformation, primarily occurring through the process of epenthesis. This involves the insertion of a consonant, often to resolve hiatus (a sequence of vowels) between morphemes or words, or as the surfacing of a historically latent segment.
Phonetic Effects
Epenthesis
Language Examples
/e/ + /i/→/eɟi/— Historically driven insertion of [ɟ] to resolve hiatus, particularly after bases ending in /e/, as a relic from Middle (Pahlavi) Persian. For example, the word /bande/ 'servant' in Middle Persian could historically trigger [ɟ] epenthesis when followed by a vowel-initial suffix.
i- + ayvu→i-ɟ-ayvu— Epenthetic [ɟ] (which can vary to [ɟʝ], [ʝ], or [j]) inserted between the 3rd person prefix 'i-' and a vowel-initial root to avoid hiatus.
Related Transformations
More Indo-Iranian Shifts
Sources & References
- Hiatus resolution in Persian: The case of [ɟ]-epenthesis - AKJournals
- (PDF) Head position parameter in Persian: An Optimality-theoretic approach
- Loanword syllable adaptation in Persian: An Optimality-theoretic account - ResearchGate
- Constraints and Representation in Subsegmental Phonology - ResearchGate
- Emphatics are uvularized | Request PDF - ResearchGate
- Proceedings of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Workshop on Structure and Constituency in the Languages of the Americas - UBCWPL
- Reducing the Number of Farsi Epenthetic Consonants - Marc van Oostendorp
- The phonology of reduplication in Paraguayan Guaraní
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