Palatalizations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process in phonetics where a consonant sound becomes more like a palatal consonant due to the influence of neighboring sounds
2. A phonological change occurring when certain non-palatal sounds transform into palatal sounds influenced by vowels or other consonants
3. The alteration of speech sounds where segments shift towards a palatal articulation, often occurring in specific linguistic environments

Etymology: The word "palatalization" is built from "palatal," which comes from the Latin "palātum," meaning the roof of the mouth, and the English suffix "-ize," which descends from Greek verbs ending in "-izein," and "-ation," the familiar suffix for process nouns. Put together, the sense is "the process of making a sound more like the palate." The palate sound is the key. Consonants described as palatal are articulated with the middle of the tongue raised toward the hard palate, the firm front portion of the roof of the mouth. When a neighboring vowel or consonant pulls the tongue toward that position, a sound can shift, which is what linguists mean when they describe a consonant as palatalized. The term is a recent scientific coinage. The spelling "palatalisation" appeared in 1862, in W. H. I. Bleek's "A comparative grammar of South African languages," with the "-ization" spelling first recorded in 1863. Its formation follows the pattern of many nineteenth-century linguistic terms, which drew on Latin and Greek building blocks to name newly described phenomena.