[x]→[h]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 5/5
Voiceless velar fricative to Voiceless glottal fricative
Debuccalization of the voiceless velar fricative /x/ to the glottal fricative /h/ is a common form of lenition. By moving the site of friction from the soft palate (velar) to the glottis, the speaker reduces the articulatory effort. This process is highly productive in Spanish dialects and has occurred historically in Germanic languages.
Phonetic Effects
Language Examples
Post-velar/velar fricative [x], [χ]→[h] in contact varieties and rapid speech— Circassian varieties in contact with Russian show debuccalization of back fricatives to glottal [h] in casual contexts.
ojo [x]→[ˈoho]— The standard velar fricative /x/ (written as 'j') debuccalizes to [h] in much of Andalusia, the Canary Islands, and the Americas.
night [xt]→[naɪt]— The Middle English velar fricative [x] (written 'gh') weakened to [h] before being lost in most positions.
Related Transformations
More Romance Shifts
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