[k]→[ɣ]Certainty: 4/5Commonality: 5/5

Lenition Voicing Fricativization Velar Consonant Bantu

Voiceless velar plosive to Voiced velar fricative

The transformation of a voiceless velar plosive /k/ into a voiced velar fricative /ɣ/ is a common phonetic shift known as lenition. This process involves two key changes: the vocal cords begin to vibrate, making the sound voiced, and the complete closure of the plosive is relaxed to a partial obstruction, creating a fricative sound. This type of sound change often occurs in specific phonetic environments, such as between vowels, where the surrounding voiced sounds can influence the consonant.

Phonetic Effects

Lenition, Voicing, Fricativization, Spirantization, Velarization

Language Examples

Ekegusii Bantu

/bıskıt/→[eɣesuɣuti]— Adaptation of the English loanword 'biscuit' into Ekegusii, where /k/ becomes /ɣ/.

More Lenition Shifts

[a] → [∅] — Elision [b] → [v] — Spirantization [tɕ] → [ʃ] — De-affrication [tɕ] → [ɕ] — Lenition [d] → [∅] — Elision

Sources & References

Phonological Processes in Ekegusii Borrowing: A Constraint-based Approach. (April 15 2022).

Spotted a mistake or have a better example?

EchoDrift is community-driven. You can suggest a change directly through GitHub.

Propose an Edit on GitHub