The Universal Atlas of Phonetic Evolution
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Empty sound / Zero to Nasalized close-mid front unrounded vowel

The development of nasalized vowels from the loss of a preceding or following nasal consonant is a common historical phonetic shift, often referred to as compensatory nasalization. This process involves the nasalization of an oral vowel due to the influence of an adjacent nasal consonant, which is subsequently lost, leaving the vowel with its acquired nasal quality. This transformation has played a significant role in the phonological evolution of many languages, notably in the Romance family.

Phonetic Effects

Compensatory Nasalization, Vowel Nasalization, Nasal Consonant Deletion

Language Examples

panem (Vulgar Latin)→pain [pɛ̃] (Modern French)— The Latin sequence of vowel + nasal consonant (/an/) led to the nasalization of the vowel and the subsequent loss of the nasal consonant, resulting in the nasalized vowel /ɛ̃/.

Related Transformations

More Nasalization Shifts

Sources & References

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