Back to Matrix [ʃ] → [sʲ] Edit this Data

[sʲ]→[ʃ]Certainty: 4/5Commonality: 4/5

Palatalization Assimilation Yod-Coalescence Iotation Germanic Slavic Fricative

Palatalized voiceless alveolar fricative to Voiceless postalveolar fricative

The palatalized voiceless alveolar fricative, often arising from an alveolar fricative followed by a palatal approximant, can undergo a historical shift to a voiceless postalveolar fricative. This process, a form of palatalization, involves the tongue moving from an alveolar position with secondary palatal articulation to a primary postalveolar articulation.

Phonetic Effects

Palatalization, Assimilation, Yod-coalescence, Fronting of Articulation

Language Examples

English Germanic

/sjuːr/→/ʃuːr/— The word 'sure' developed from an earlier pronunciation with /sj/ to /ʃ/ through palatalization.

/sjuːɡər/→/ʃuːɡər/— The word 'sugar' underwent a similar palatalization, with /sj/ becoming /ʃ/.

/sjən/→/ʃən/— The suffix '-sion', as in 'mission', historically shifted from /sj/ to /ʃ/ through yod-coalescence.

Russian Slavic

/pʲɪˈsatʲ/→/pʲɪˈʃu/— Iotation of historical *s + *j yields š, seen in the contrast between the infinitive писать 'to write' and the 1sg present пишу 'I write'.

/ˈnosʲɪtʲ/→/nɐˈʃu/— The same *sj > š alternation appears in носить 'to carry' versus the 1sg present ношу 'I carry'.

Related Transformations

Reverse

More Assimilation Shifts

[a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [a] → [∅] — Elision [a] → [ʔ] — Glottalization [a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction [æ] → [ɛ] — Vowel Raising

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