[tʰ]→[x]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 3/5
Voiceless aspirated alveolar plosive to Voiceless velar fricative
This phonetic transformation describes the historical sound change where a voiceless aspirated alveolar plosive (`tʰ`) undergoes lenition and velarization, resulting in a voiceless velar fricative (`x`). This involves a weakening of the articulation from a stop to a fricative, coupled with a retraction of the place of articulation from the alveolar ridge to the velum.
Phonetic Effects
Lenition, Velarization
Language Examples
tʰ→x— The historical sound change of *tʰ to [x] is attested in Xiaoling Junhua, a Mandarin dialect. This shift is notably blocked by the presence of a following front vowel [i].
tʰ-→x-— Initial voiceless aspirated alveolar plosives (`tʰ-`) have undergone a shift to voiceless velar fricatives (`x-`) in certain Gàn dialects.
Related Transformations
More Lenition Shifts
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