[l]→[q]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 4/5

Assimilation Fortition Consonant Shift Northwest Semitic Semitic

Alveolar lateral approximant to Voiceless uvular plosive

The transformation of the alveolar lateral approximant [l] into the voiceless uvular plosive [q] is a documented instance of phonetic assimilation, particularly notable in the historical development of Northwest Semitic languages. This shift typically occurs when [l] is adjacent to a uvular consonant, resulting in the lateral sound adopting the place and manner of articulation of its uvular neighbor.

Phonetic Effects

Assimilation, Fortition, Delateralization

Language Examples

Ugaritic Northwest Semitic

l→q— in the verb root *lqḥ 'take', as seen in *yilqaḥ- > yqḥ 'he will take'

Hebrew Northwest Semitic

l→q— in the verb root *lqḥ 'take', as seen in *yilqaḥ > yiqqaḥ 'he will take'

Related Transformations

Reverse

More Semitic Shifts

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

Sources & References

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