The Universal Atlas of Phonetic Evolution
Back to Matrix [j] → [r] Edit this Data

[r]→[j]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 4/5

Alveolar trill to Voiced palatal approximant

R-vocalization into a palatal glide occurs in various dialects and speech stages, reflecting a reduction in the articulatory effort of the rhotic and its transition into a semivowel.

Phonetic Effects

Vocalization, Reduction

Language Examples

mar (sea)→maj (dialectal)— In certain rural Brazilian Portuguese dialects, the coda /r/ vocalizes to a palatal glide /j/.
rabbit→yabbit— A common phonological substitution in child language development where the complex rhotic is replaced by the simpler palatal glide.
Proto-Mayan *r→/j/ (palatal glide)— One of the most consistent sound changes in Mayan historical phonology: Proto-Mayan *r shifted to /j/ in the western branches including Chujean-Q'anjob'alan, Cholan-Tseltalan, Yukatek, and Huastecan. Eastern branches (K'ichean-Mamean) retain the original *r, providing the comparative basis for reconstruction.
*r (initial and medial positions)→j [j]— Attested in Ch'ol, Tzeltal, Yucatec Maya, and Tojolab'al. The change is exceptionless within each affected branch and serves as one of the primary isoglosses distinguishing western from eastern Mayan.

Related Transformations

More Germanic Shifts

Sources & References

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