Back to Matrix [s] → [kʲ] Edit this Data

[kʲ]→[s]Certainty: 4/5Commonality: 5/5

Palatalization Sibilantization Lenition Fronting Indo-European Slavic Satemization Balto-Slavic

Palatalized voiceless velar plosive to Voiceless alveolar fricative

The transformation of a palatalized voiceless velar plosive (kʲ) into a voiceless alveolar fricative (s) is a well-attested sound change in historical linguistics, primarily occurring through a process known as sibilantization. This shift is often triggered by the presence of adjacent front vowels or palatal glides, which induce the velar consonant to move forward in the mouth and adopt a fricative manner of articulation.

Phonetic Effects

Fronting, Lenition, Assibilation

Language Examples

Proto-Slavic Balto-Slavic

*ḱm̥tóm→*sъto— The Proto-Indo-European palatovelar *ḱ (often considered a palatalized velar) shifted to a sibilant /s/ in Proto-Slavic as part of the Satemization process, exemplified by the word for 'hundred'.

Related Transformations

Reverse

More Lenition Shifts

[a] → [∅] — Elision [a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction [b] → [bʲ] — Palatalization [b] → [v] — Spirantization [tɕ] → [ʃ] — De-affrication

Sources & References

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