[g]→[ʃ]Certainty: 3/5Commonality: 2/5
Voiced velar plosive to Voiceless postalveolar fricative
Assibilation of [g] can lead to the voiceless sibilant [ʃ] (sh) through a chain of palatalization, voicing changes, and spirantization.
Phonetic Effects
Assibilation, Palatalization
Language Examples
Latin g + front vowel [dʒ]→[ʒ] (French)— Latin /g/ before front vowels → Old French [dʒ] → Modern French [ʒ]. NOTE: this example produces voiced [ʒ], not voiceless [ʃ]; the g→ʃ path would require additional devoicing.
/g/ (lax velar stop)→[ʃ]— In some Central Atlas Tamazight and Zenati Berber dialects, lax /g/ spirantizes through palatalization to the voiceless postalveolar fricative [ʃ]. This shift, documented by Kossmann (1997), is one of the most advanced outcomes of the Northern Berber spirantization chain (g → ɣ → ʝ → ʃ) and is particularly found in Zenati varieties of northern Algeria and Morocco.
Related Transformations
More Romance Shifts
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