[z]→[h]Certainty: 4/5Commonality: 2/5
Voiced alveolar fricative to Voiceless glottal fricative
The debuccalization of the voiced alveolar fricative [z] into the glottal fricative [h] is a documented form of lenition, typically occurring in colloquial speech where oral articulation is weakened and replaced by glottal friction.
Phonetic Effects
Debuccalization, Lenition, Weakening
Language Examples
coisa [ˈkojza]→[ˈkoha]— Casual speech variation where the voiced sibilant is realized as a soft glottal fricative.
Historical [s/z]→[h]— While the shift is most prominent for voiceless [s], the voiced counterpart follows parallel paths of weakening in specific clusters or environments.
Related Transformations
More Romance Shifts
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