[ɲ]→[y]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 3/5
Palatal nasal to Close front rounded vowel
The shift from the voiced palatal nasal [ɲ] to the palatal glide [j] (y) is a process of reduction or lenition. In this change, the tongue loses its full stop contact with the hard palate, often resulting in a nasalized glide that may eventually lose its nasal quality entirely.
Phonetic Effects
Reduction, Lenition
Language Examples
ninho [ɲ]→[ˈnĩj̃u]— Widespread Brazilian realization where the palatal nasal /ɲ/ (nh) is reduced to a nasalized palatal glide.
gagné [ɲ]→[ɡãj̃ẽ]— Systematic reduction of the historical French palatal nasal into a nasalized glide between vowels.
Related Transformations
More Romance Shifts
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