[ŋ]→[∅]Certainty: 4/5Commonality: 3/5
Velar nasal to Empty sound / Zero
The deletion of the velar nasal /ŋ/ in word-initial position is a documented sound change across unrelated language families, driven by the cross-linguistic rarity and articulatory difficulty of word-initial /ŋ/ in many phonological systems. It is attested in ongoing change in Hong Kong Cantonese, where the onset /ŋ/ is merging with a zero onset, and as a completed change in dialects of Bininj Kunwok (Northern Australia).
Phonetic Effects
Nasal Deletion, Lenition, Onset Reduction
Language Examples
ŋɔː˨˧→ɔː˨˧— 我 'I/me'; word-initial /ŋ/ is deleted, merging with the zero-onset class. The change is widespread in younger speakers and is stigmatized by prescriptivists as 'lazy pronunciation' (懶音).
ŋɐu˩˩→ɐu˩˩— 牛 'cow'; another high-frequency word where onset /ŋ/ is variably deleted.
nganabbarru→anabbarru— Buffalo (loanword); word-initial /ŋ/ has been deleted in dialects of this non-Pama-Nyungan language of western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia.
Related Transformations
More Lenition Shifts
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