Assibilation
Encyclopedia
In linguistics
, assibilation is the term for a sound change
resulting in a sibilant consonant. It is commonly the final phase of palatalization
.
it assibilated to /tsio/, and this can still be seen in Italian: attenzione. In French, lenition
gave /sjə/, which in English then palatalized to the /ʃə/.
, voiceless stops /p, t, k/ spirantized to /f, s, x/ at the end
of a syllable
. The shift of /t/ to /s/ (as in English water, German
Wasser) is assibilation.
and (Greek th) before shifted to Proto-Greek
/s/. -> Homeric
tóssos > Attic
tósos "this much" (Latin tot) > Homeric méssos > Attic mésos "middle" (Latin medius)
shifted to /si/ finally in Attic and Ionic
, but not in Doric
.
, /ti/ changed to /si/. The alternation can be seen in dialectal and inflected word-forms: kielti vs. kielsi "s/he denied"; vesi "water", vetenä "as water".
(particularly Levantine
and Egyptian
) to assibilate the interdental consonant
s of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) in certain contexts (mostly defined culturally rather than phonotactically). Thus ṯāʾ, pronounced θ in MSA, becomes s (as MSA /θaqaːfah/ → Levantine /saqaːfeh/ "culture"); ḏāl
, pronounced ð in MSA, becomes z (as MSA /ðanb/ → Levantine /zamb/ "guilt"); and ẓāʾ, pronounced ðˤ in MSA, becomes zˤ (as MSA /maħðˤuːðˤ/ → Levantine /maħzˤuːzˤ/ "lucky").
Diachronically, the phoneme represented by the letter ǧīm has in some dialects experienced assibilation as well. The ancestral pronunciation in Classical Arabic
is reconstructed to have been [ɡʲ] or ɟ (or perhaps both dialectically); it is cognate to ɡ in most other Semitic languages
, and is understood to be derived from that sound in Proto-Semitic
. It has experienced extensive change in pronunciation over the centuries, and is pronounced at least six different ways across the assorted varieties of Arabic. Of these, a common one is ʒ, the end result of a process of palatalization starting with Proto-West Semitic ɡ, then [ɡʲ] or ɟ, then d͡ʒ (a pronunciation still current), and finally ʒ (in Levantine and non-Algerian Maghrebi). This pronunciation is considered acceptable for use in Modern Standard Arabic, along with ɡ and d͡ʒ.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, assibilation is the term for a sound change
Sound change
Sound change includes any processes of language change that affect pronunciation or sound system structures...
resulting in a sibilant consonant. It is commonly the final phase of palatalization
Palatalization
In linguistics, palatalization , also palatization, may refer to two different processes by which a sound, usually a consonant, comes to be produced with the tongue in a position in the mouth near the palate....
.
Romance languages
The word "assibilation" itself contains an example of the phenomenon, being pronounced /əsɪbɪleɪʃən/. The classical Latin tio was pronounced /tio/ (for example, assibilatio was pronounced /asːibilatio/ and attentio /atːentio/). However, in Vulgar LatinVulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin is any of the nonstandard forms of Latin from which the Romance languages developed. Because of its nonstandard nature, it had no official orthography. All written works used Classical Latin, with very few exceptions...
it assibilated to /tsio/, and this can still be seen in Italian: attenzione. In French, lenition
Lenition
In linguistics, lenition is a kind of sound change that alters consonants, making them "weaker" in some way. The word lenition itself means "softening" or "weakening" . Lenition can happen both synchronically and diachronically...
gave /sjə/, which in English then palatalized to the /ʃə/.
High German consonant shift
In the High German consonant shiftHigh German consonant shift
In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift is a phonological development that took place in the southern parts of the West Germanic dialect continuum in several phases, probably beginning between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD, and was almost...
, voiceless stops /p, t, k/ spirantized to /f, s, x/ at the end
Syllable coda
In phonology, a syllable coda comprises the consonant sounds of a syllable that follow the nucleus, which is usually a vowel. The combination of a nucleus and a coda is called a rime. Some syllables consist only of a nucleus with no coda...
of a syllable
Syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
. The shift of /t/ to /s/ (as in English water, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Wasser) is assibilation.
Greek
Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
and (Greek th) before shifted to Proto-Greek
Proto-Greek language
The Proto-Greek language is the assumed last common ancestor of all known varieties of Greek, including Mycenaean, the classical Greek dialects , and ultimately Koine, Byzantine and modern Greek...
/s/. -> Homeric
Homeric Greek
Homeric Greek is the form of the Greek language that was used by Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey. It is an archaic version of Ionic Greek, with admixtures from certain other dialects, such as Aeolic Greek. It later served as the basis of Epic Greek, the language of epic poetry, typically in...
tóssos > Attic
Attic Greek
Attic Greek is the prestige dialect of Ancient Greek that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. Of the ancient dialects, it is the most similar to later Greek, and is the standard form of the language studied in courses of "Ancient Greek". It is sometimes included in Ionic.- Origin and range...
tósos "this much" (Latin tot) > Homeric méssos > Attic mésos "middle" (Latin medius)
shifted to /si/ finally in Attic and Ionic
Ionic Greek
Ionic Greek was a subdialect of the Attic–Ionic dialect group of Ancient Greek .-History:Ionic dialect appears to have spread originally from the Greek mainland across the Aegean at the time of the Dorian invasions, around the 11th Century B.C.By the end of the Greek Dark Ages in the 5th Century...
, but not in Doric
Doric Greek
Doric or Dorian was a dialect of ancient Greek. Its variants were spoken in the southern and eastern Peloponnese, Crete, Rhodes, some islands in the southern Aegean Sea, some cities on the coasts of Asia Minor, Southern Italy, Sicily, Epirus and Macedon. Together with Northwest Greek, it forms the...
.
- Doric títhēti – Attic-Ionic títhēsi "he/she places"
Finnish
In the history of FinnishFinnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
, /ti/ changed to /si/. The alternation can be seen in dialectal and inflected word-forms: kielti vs. kielsi "s/he denied"; vesi "water", vetenä "as water".
Arabic
It is characteristic of Mashreqi varieties of ArabicVarieties of Arabic
The Arabic language is a Semitic language characterized by a wide number of linguistic varieties within its five regional forms. The largest divisions occur between the spoken languages of different regions. The Arabic of North Africa, for example, is often incomprehensible to an Arabic speaker...
(particularly Levantine
Levantine Arabic
Levantine Arabic is a broad variety of Arabic spoken in the 100 to 200 km-wide Eastern Mediterranean coastal strip...
and Egyptian
Egyptian Arabic
Egyptian Arabic is the language spoken by contemporary Egyptians.It is more commonly known locally as the Egyptian colloquial language or Egyptian dialect ....
) to assibilate the interdental consonant
Interdental consonant
Interdental consonants are produced by placing the blade of the tongue against the upper incisors...
s of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) in certain contexts (mostly defined culturally rather than phonotactically). Thus ṯāʾ, pronounced θ in MSA, becomes s (as MSA /θaqaːfah/ → Levantine /saqaːfeh/ "culture"); ḏāl
Dal
Dal is a preparation of pulses which have been stripped of their outer hulls and split. It also refers to the thick stew prepared from these, an important part of Indian, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, and Bangladeshi cuisine...
, pronounced ð in MSA, becomes z (as MSA /ðanb/ → Levantine /zamb/ "guilt"); and ẓāʾ, pronounced ðˤ in MSA, becomes zˤ (as MSA /maħðˤuːðˤ/ → Levantine /maħzˤuːzˤ/ "lucky").
Diachronically, the phoneme represented by the letter ǧīm has in some dialects experienced assibilation as well. The ancestral pronunciation in Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...
is reconstructed to have been [ɡʲ] or ɟ (or perhaps both dialectically); it is cognate to ɡ in most other Semitic languages
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
, and is understood to be derived from that sound in Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic language
Proto-Semitic is the hypothetical proto-language ancestral to historical Semitic languages of the Middle East. Locations which have been proposed for its origination include northern Mesopotamia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Levant with a 2009 study proposing that it may have originated around...
. It has experienced extensive change in pronunciation over the centuries, and is pronounced at least six different ways across the assorted varieties of Arabic. Of these, a common one is ʒ, the end result of a process of palatalization starting with Proto-West Semitic ɡ, then [ɡʲ] or ɟ, then d͡ʒ (a pronunciation still current), and finally ʒ (in Levantine and non-Algerian Maghrebi). This pronunciation is considered acceptable for use in Modern Standard Arabic, along with ɡ and d͡ʒ.