[h]→[ŋ]Certainty: 4/5Commonality: 1/5

Nasalization Consonant Shift Indo-European Iranian Indo-Iranian

Voiceless glottal fricative to Velar nasal

The transformation of the voiceless glottal fricative /h/ to the velar nasal /ŋ/ is a phonetically unusual, yet attested, historical sound change. This shift involves a significant change in both the place of articulation, moving from the glottis to the velum, and the manner of articulation, from a fricative to a nasal consonant. Such a transformation often occurs under specific phonetic conditioning, typically involving nasalization and sometimes assimilation to surrounding sounds.

Phonetic Effects

Nasalization, Velarization, Loss of Frication, Change in Place of Articulation, Change in Manner of Articulation

Language Examples

Avestan Indo-Iranian

h→ŋ— The change of /h/ (which itself derived from Proto-Indo-European *s) to /ŋ/ occurred word-medially before /r/. For instance, PIE *-sr- became Avestan -ŋr-.

asrá-→aŋra-— In Avestan, the Proto-Indo-European sequence *-sr- became -ŋr-. For example, Sanskrit 'asrá-' (evil) corresponds to Avestan 'aŋra-'. Here, the reflex of PIE *s (which would typically be /h/ in Avestan) became /ŋ/ before /r/.

dasrá-→daŋra-— Another example of PIE *-sr- becoming Avestan -ŋr- is Sanskrit 'dasrá-' (experienced) corresponding to Avestan 'daŋra-'.

More Nasalization Shifts

[ã] → [õ] — Raising [a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [b] → [v] — Spirantization [tɕ] → [ʃ] — De-affrication [d] → [dʑ] — Palatalization

Sources & References

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