[mʲ]→[ɲ]Certainty: 3/5Commonality: 1/5
Palatalized voiced bilabial nasal to Palatal nasal
A palatalized bilabial nasal /mʲ/ can develop into a palatal nasal /ɲ/ through fortition of the palatal secondary articulation, which overtakes the primary bilabial closure. This change is documented in Yawalapiti (Arawakan), where internal reconstruction reveals the sequence *m > *mʲ > ɲ before high front vowels, with the intermediate *mʲ stage responsible for morphological alternations in modern paradigms.
Phonetic Effects
Palatalization, Place Shift, Fortition
Language Examples
im (1sg) ~ mpi (1sg)→hiɲ (2sg) ~ ɲpi (2sg)— Paradigmatic alternation in forms for 'skin' and 'hair'; the 2sg prefix triggers a change where historical *m, palatalized to *mʲ before high front vowels, strengthened further to ɲ. The alternation is limited to a small set of morphologically conditioned forms.
Related Transformations
More Palatalization Shifts
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