[k]→[w]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 2/5

Lenition Vocalization Germanic Uto-Aztecan

Voiceless velar plosive to Voiced labio-velar approximant

The shift from the voiceless velar stop [k] to the voiced labio-velar approximant [w] is a multi-stage lenition process. This transformation typically involves voicing to [ɡ] and spirantization to [ɣ] before the sound fully vocalizes into a glide, often observed in intervocalic positions or following back vowels.

Phonetic Effects

Lenition, Vocalization

Language Examples

Old to Middle English Germanic

historical /k/ (Verner's Law variants)→[w]— Stages in the weakening of velars where voiceless stops eventually surfaced as glides in specific dialectal environments.

Related Transformations

Reverse Stage 1: Voicing Alternative lenition

More Germanic Shifts

[a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [a] → [∅] — Elision [a] → [ʔ] — Glottalization [a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction [ʕ] → [a] — Vocalization

Sources & References

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