[ɣ]→[ʕ]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 3/5

Retraction Pharyngealization Semitic Afro-Asiatic

Voiced velar fricative to Voiced pharyngeal fricative

The voiced velar fricative /ɣ/ can undergo a phonetic transformation to the voiced pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/. This shift involves a significant retraction of the place of articulation from the velum to the pharynx, while maintaining the fricative manner and voicing.

Phonetic Effects

Retraction, Pharyngealization

Language Examples

Arabic Semitic

/ɣamdan/→/ʕamdan/— This substitution is noted in linguistic studies of Arabic, though some attribute it to misspelling rather than a purely phonetic shift.

Sabaic Semitic

ġbr→ʕbr— This shift is a characteristic feature of Sabaic as spoken in Ethiopia during the first half of the first millennium BCE.

Related Transformations

Reverse

More Semitic Shifts

[ã] → [õ] — Raising [ʕ] → [a] — Vocalization [ʕ] → [ʔ] — De-pharyngealization [b] → [v] — Spirantization [d] → [ð] — Spirantization

Sources & References

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