[t]→[n]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 4/5

Nasalization Assimilation Koreanic Germanic

Voiceless alveolar plosive to Alveolar nasal

The shift from the voiceless alveolar stop [t] to the alveolar nasal [n] is a form of nasal assimilation. It occurs when the velum is lowered prematurely in anticipation of a following nasal sound, or as a strategy to ease the transition between obstruents and sonorants in rapid speech.

Phonetic Effects

Nasalization, Assimilation

Language Examples

Korean Koreanic

nat-mal [t̚m]→[nanmal]— Mandatory regressive nasalization where stops become nasals before another nasal.

English (Connected Speech) Germanic

button [tn̩]→[bʌn̩]— Rapid speech reduction where the oral closure for [t] is merged into the nasal release.

Related Transformations

Reverse

More Nasalization Shifts

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

Sources & References

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