Types of sound change
Uradhi (QL)
*pinta winta ‘arm’
*pilkul wilu ‘hip’
*pat̪a wat̪a ‘bite
Palauan
*paqi waɁ ‘leg’
*paqit waɁəð ‘bitter’
*qatəp Ɂaðow ‘root’
p→w
Lenition: the change of a sound from a “stronger” sound to a “weaker” sound
stronger weaker
b p
p f
f h
x h
b w
v w
a ə
i ɨ
d l
s r
k Ɂ
voiced > voiceless
stop > continuant
consonants > glides
oral > glottal
peripheral > central
Lenition: Kara (NI, PNG)
*bulan fulan ‘moon’
*tapine tefin ‘woman’
*punti fut ‘banana’
*topu tuf ‘sugarcane’
Lenition: Jajgir (NSW)
*ɖaːlaɲ jaːlaɲ ‘mouth’
*buːluɲ juluɲ ‘belly’
*gaɲaːmbil jaɲaːmbil ‘tongue’
Lenition: rhotacitism in Latin
*amiːkosum amiːkorum ‘of the friends’
*genesis generis ‘of the type’
*honoːsis honoːris ‘of the honor’
Lenition? intervocalic voicing in Spanish
Latin Spanish
skōpa escoba ‘broom’
natāre nadar ‘swim’
amīka amiga ‘friend’
Fortition: relatively rare
Q’eqchi’
*winq kwiːnq ‘person’
*ijax itjax ‘seed’
Latin French Italian
i- j- gi-
[j]ucundus [ʒ]aconde [ʤ]acondo ‘mirthful’
[j]uventa [ʒ]eune [ʤ]ovane ‘young’
[j]uncare [ʒ]oindre [ʤ]ungere ‘join (v.)’
[j]akobus [ʒ]acques [ʤ]acomo ‘James’
[j]ubilantem [ʒ]ubilante [ʤ]ubilante ‘jubilant’
[j]udex [ʒ]uge [ʤ]udice ‘judge’
[j]urata [ʒ]uree [ʤ]uria ‘jury’
[j]ustus [ʒ]uste [ʤ]usto ‘just (a.)’
v- v- v-
[w]entus [v]ent [v]ento ‘wind’
[w]ariare [v]arier [v]ariare ‘vary’
[w]anitas [v]anite [v]anita ‘vanity’
[w]idere [v]oire [v]edere ‘see’
[w]enire [v]enir [v]enire ‘come’
[w]olare [v]ouloir [v]olere ‘want’
Deletion: lenition down to nothing
syncope: loss of medial segment syncpe
apocope: loss of final segment apocop
aphaeresis: loss of initial segment phaeresis
Syncope: Spanish
populus pueblo ‘people’
fābulare hablar ‘speak’
Syncope: Lenakel
*namatana nɨmrɨn ‘his/her eye’
*nalimana nelmɨn ‘his/her hand’
*masa mha ‘low tide’
Deletion: Swedish
norðman norman ‘Norseman’
Apocope: English
sticca stick
sunu son
mōna moon
Apocope: Fijian
*ɲiur niu ‘coconut’
*taŋis taŋi ‘cry’
*ikan ika ‘fish’
*bulan vula ‘moon’
*tansik taði ‘sea’
*lajar laða ‘sail’
*laŋit laŋi ‘sky’
Apocope: SE Ambrym
*utu ut ‘lice’
*aŋo aŋ ‘fly’
*asue asu ‘rat’
*tohu toh ‘sugarcane’
*hisi his ‘banana’
*use us ‘rain’
Apocope: Estonian
jalka jalk ‘foot’
hærkæ kærk ‘bull’
hooli hool ‘care’
leemi leem ‘broth’
Aphaeresis: Angkamuthi
*maji aji ‘food’
*nani ani ‘ground’
*ŋampu ampu ‘tooth’
*nukal ukaː ‘foot’
*ɣantu antu ‘canoe’
*wapun apun ‘head’
Apocope: Mbabaram
*wula lo die
*ŋali li we
*ɟiwa we month
*bamba mba belly
*guju ju fish
*ɟina ne stand
*ŋuba bo bath
*wuna no lie down
*ɟiba be liver
*gumbi mbi penis
*naga ga east
*ŋulu lu s/he
*gunda ndo cut up
*guwa wo west
Insertion: epenthesis
prothesis: insertion of initial vowel
paragoge: insertion of final vowel
excrescence: consonant insertion
prothesis: Latin → Spanish
scutu escudo shield
scola escuele school
stabula estable stable
excrescence: English
thimble, humble, thunder, chamber
some[p]thing
chan[t]ce
Metathesis: linear reordering of segments
Metathesis: English
thridda third
hros horse
brid bird
Metathesis:Rotuman
*hula hual ‘moon'
*hɔsa hɔas ‘flower'
*rito riot ‘to glitter’
*seseva seseav ‘erroneous’
*ulo wol ‘kind of bird’
*pure pwer ‘to rule’
*fupa fwap ‘to distribute’
*karpiso karpjos ‘kind of plant’
*aire ajer ‘true’
*kawika kawiak ‘shoal’
*fæeŋa fæjaŋ ‘to speak’
*hoɁa hwaɁ ‘to take’
Metathesis: Sinhalese
kareɲu kaɲera ‘elephant (f.)’
upaːnah vahan ‘sandals’
Fusion (Coalescence): two segments combine into one
Fusion: French nasal vowels
*œn œ̃ ‘a’
*bɔn bɔ̃ ‘good’
*vɛn vɛ̃ ‘wine’
*blan blã ‘white’
Fusion: Attic Greek
*gwous bous ‘cow’
*gwatis basis ‘going’
*gwasileus basileus ‘official’
*leikwoː leipoː ‘I leave’
*jɛkwar hɛpar ‘liver’
Compensatory lengthening: one segment is lost; another lengthens to fill the gap
Compensatory lengthening: English
*fimf fīf five *hlink hlink ridge
*gans- gōs goose *hund hund hound
*grinst grīst grist *land land land
*hanh- hōh heel *sing sing sing
*linθj- līθe lithe *slink slink slink
*munθ- mūθ mouth *sundan sund sound
*tanθ tōθ tooth *swing swing swing
*grind grind grind *wund wund wound
Unpacking: one segment splits into two; each has some features of original
French Bislama
kamiɔ̃ kamioŋ ‘truck’
aksidã aksidaŋ ‘accident’
kaʁtɔ̃ kartoŋ ‘carton’
kalsɔ̃ kalsoŋ ‘skivvies’
lagɔ lagoŋ ‘lagoon’
pytɛ̃ piteŋ ‘whore’
avãs avaŋs ‘advance pay’
busɔ busoŋ ‘cork’
Breaking: one vowel splits into two
Southern American English
bid [biəd]
bed [beəd]
bad [bæɪəd]
brown [bræɪaʊn]
Assimilation (Palatalization, affrication, voicing, devoicing)
total/partial, progressive/regressive, contact(immediate)/distant
Italian: total regressive assimilation
octo otto ‘eight’
noctem notte ‘night’
factum fatto ‘done’
septem sette ‘seven’
aptum atto ‘apt’
somnus sonno ‘sleep’
English/Latin: partial regressive
combust, contest, conquest
imperfect, intend, inconsiderate
English palatalization: partial regressive
kinn chin kuman kʌm come
kɛːsi cheese kandəl̩ kændl̩ candle
geldan yield
korn koɹn corn
gearn yarn
keaf ʧæf chaff kreːodan kɹaʊd crowd
keːse ʧijz cheese kweːn kwijn queen
keːap ʧijp cheap klaːθ klaːθ cloth
kiːld ʧajld child kuː kaʊ cow
kald kold cold
kirike ʧɹ̩ʧ church
klɪf klɪf cliff
kiːdan ʧajd chide
kleːofan klijv cleave
keastr ʧɛstɹ̩ chester
keːosan ʧuwz choose
Total distant assimilation:
IE *penkwe ‘five’
Italic *kwenkwe regressive assimilation
pre-Germanic *penpe progressive assimilation (
→ fenfe)
Contact assimilation: Spanish intervocalic voicing:
Latin Spanish
skōpa escoba ‘broom’
natāre nadar ‘swim’
amīka amiga ‘friend’
contact assimilation: Banoni intervocalic voicing and spirantization
pekas beɣasa feces
wakar baɣara root
pakan vaɣana add meat to staple
tipi tsivi traditional dance
makas maɣasa dry coconut
Final devoicing
German, Polish, etc.
Vowel harmony: distant assimilation
Proto-Micronesian → Chuukese
aːwo ɒː fishline maŋini menin poison
tasi seti salt water
taːpwo sɒːpwo- division
tau soː dead person
mwaːne mwæːn man
kapi -kepi- bottom
faːle fæːn meeting house raːni ræːni- day
mwaːre mwæːr lei maːta maːs eye
faifine feːfin woman paŋaki peŋgesi- crosswise
sai teː sew maːi mæːj breadfruit
masaki meteki pain faso fɒto- planting
aːfi æːf fire tapwo sɒpw be at an end
tau-tau soː-soː holder
maːŋo mɒːŋ head
Dissimilation
English/Latin
alveolar, velar, uvular, circular, regular, solar, lunar
labial, dental, palatal, tonal, cerebral, vocal, floral, global, normal
Spanish
encinal, pinal; frijolar, tular, chilar
Grassman’s law
phephūka pephuka converted (Gr.)
bhabhūva babhuva became (Sk)
ti-sthaːsa ‘stand’
di-dhiːrʂa ‘hold’ (desiderative)
ja-ghása ‘eat’
bi-bhr̩ ‘bear’
bu-bhuːrʂa ‘carry’ (desiderative)
Relative chronology
Latin → French
kentum → sã
kentum → cent → sent → sen → sẽ → sã
t→w
t→θ→f→v→w
p→Ø
p→f→h→Ø
Mekeo
*dua ŋua two
*dau ŋaŋau leaf
d→ŋ?
d→l→n→ŋ
Spanish
hominem → homne → homre → hombre ‘man’
femina → femna → femra → hembra ‘female’
nomina → nomna → nomra → nombre ‘name’
Chain shifts
Great vowel shift
Grimm’s law
