[r]→[ɣ]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 5/5
Alveolar trill to Voiced velar fricative
The phonetic transformation from an alveolar trill /r/ to a voiced velar fricative /ɣ/ involves a shift in the place of articulation from the alveolar ridge to the velum, and a change in the manner of articulation from a trill, produced by the vibration of the tongue tip, to a fricative, characterized by turbulent airflow through a narrow constriction. This sound change is a form of backing and can be considered a type of lenition, where a more complex articulation (trill) is replaced by a simpler one (fricative).
Phonetic Effects
Backing, Lenition, Change in Place of Articulation, Change in Manner of Articulation
Language Examples
/r/→/ɣ/— The original pre-Masoretic Hebrew /r/ is posited to have evolved to /ɣ/ during the first millennium CE, although the exact intermediate steps (e.g., via /ɾ/) are debated.
*r-→/ɣ-/— Pre-Pakanic initial *r- frequently changed to /ɣ-/ in Proto-Pakanic, a shift also observed in many Angkuic languages.
/r/→/ɣ/— Documented in certain Qiltu dialects of Southern Iraq.
/r/→/ɣ/— Observed in the phonology of Arabic loanwords in Central Kurdish.
Related Transformations
More Backing Shifts
Sources & References
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