[g]→[ɣ]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 5/5
Voiced velar plosive to Voiced velar fricative
The shift from the voiced velar stop [ɡ] to the voiced velar fricative [ɣ] (gamma) is a classic form of lenition known as spirantization. It most frequently occurs in intervocalic or post-vocalic positions where the closure required for a stop is incomplete, allowing continuous voiced airflow.
Phonetic Effects
Language Examples
geel (historical [ɡ])→[ɣeːl]— Historical spirantization of initial voiced stops in most Dutch dialects.
ger [ɡɛr] (house)→[ɣɛr]— In Khalkha Mongolian, /g/ is realized as [ɣ] in intervocalic position and between sonorants. The stop allophone [ɡ] appears word-initially and after nasals.
egch [eɡtʃ] (older sister)→[eɣtʃ]— Intervocalic /g/ spirantizes to [ɣ] in medial consonant clusters when preceded by a vowel. Attested across Khalkha and Inner Mongolian varieties.
agellid [ɡ] (king)→[aɣellid] (spirantized)— Kabyle spirantization: lax /g/ in post-vocalic position weakens to the voiced velar fricative [ɣ]. This is part of the same Northern Berber spirantization rule affecting all voiced stops in lax (non-geminate) positions. Geminate /gg/ remains a stop.
גָּדוֹל gādōl [ɡ] (great, word-initial)→[ɣādōl] (post-vocalic in connected speech)— Beged-Kefet spirantization: /g/ (gimel) is realized as [ɡ] word-initially or after a consonant, and as [ɣ] after a vowel in connected speech. The distinction is marked with a dagesh (dot) in the Biblical text: גּ [ɡ] vs. ג [ɣ]. Attested in Tiberian Hebrew vocalization (c. 7th–10th century CE) and retained in Yemenite Hebrew pronunciation.
/g/ in intervocalic position→[ɣ]— Tarifit (Rif Berber, northern Morocco) participates in the general Northern Berber spirantization: lax /g/ between vowels or after a vowel weakens to the velar fricative [ɣ]. The shift parallels /b/→[β], /d/→[ð], /t/→[θ], /k/→[x] in the same dialects.
Related Transformations
More Romance Shifts
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