[r]→[t]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 3/5

Fortition Consonant Shift Alveolar Bantu Japonic Assimilation Niger-Congo

Alveolar trill to Voiceless alveolar plosive

The phonetic transformation from an alveolar trill [r] to a voiceless alveolar plosive [t] represents a process of fortition, where a sound's articulation becomes 'stronger' or more constricted. This shift involves the cessation of the rapid, intermittent contact characteristic of a trill, replaced by a complete closure and release typical of a plosive. It also entails a change in voicing if the original trill was voiced, resulting in a voiceless stop.

Phonetic Effects

Fortition, De-trilling, Plosivization, Devoicing, Assimilation

Language Examples

Setswana Niger-Congo

/r/→[tʰ]— Fortition of the alveolar trill to an aspirated voiceless alveolar plosive in post-nasal contexts.

Japanese Japonic

/r/→/t/— Assimilation of a rhotic /r/ to a following alveolar stop /t/, as seen in verb conjugations (e.g., kar-ta > katta 'shear (past)').

Related Transformations

Reverse

More Assimilation Shifts

[a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [tɕ] → [ʃ] — De-affrication [d] → [dʑ] — Palatalization [d] → [n] — Nasal Assimilation [e] → [o] — Backing

Sources & References

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