Fortition
Encyclopedia
Fortition is a consonantal change from a 'weak' sound to a 'strong' one, the opposite of the more common lenition
. For example, a fricative or an approximant may become a plosive (i.e. [v] becomes [b] or [r] becomes [d]). Although not as typical of sound change
as lenition, fortition may occur in prominent positions, such as at the beginning of a word or stressed syllable; as an effect of reducing markedness
; or due to morphological leveling
.
, such as the Eskimo–Aleut languages and Ket
, and also in some varieties of Spanish
. Via a voiceless palatal approximant, it has turned in some Germanic languages
into [ç], the voiceless equivalent of [ʝ] and also cross-linguistically rare though less so than [ʝ]. Another change turned [j] to an affricate [dʒ] during the development of the Romance languages
.
Fortition of the cross-linguistically rare interdental fricatives [θ] and [ð] to the almost universal corresponding stops [t] and [d] is relatively common. This has occurred in most continental Germanic languages
and several English dialects, several Uralic languages
, and a few Semitic languages
, among others. This has the result of reducing the markedness
of the sounds [θ] and [ð].
Fortition also frequently occurs with voiceless versions of the common lateral
approximant [l], which are usually source from combinations of [l] with a voiceless obstruent
. The product is a voiceless alveolar lateral fricative
[ɬ].
An example of simultaneous fortition and lenition is Spanish, which changed [b] into [β] medially, but exhibits the opposite change in initial position. This resulted in the corresponding phoneme
s (written b and v) merging into one.
In the Cushitic language Iraqw
, *d has lenited to /r/ between vowels, but *r has undergone fortition to /d/ word initially.
In addition to language-internal development, fortition can also occur when a language acquires loanwords. Goidelic languages frequently display fortition in loanwords as most initial fricatives (except for [s̪] and [ʃ]) are disallowed in the citation form of Goidelic words. Thus initial fricatives of loanwords are strengthened to the corresponding unlenited
variant or the nearest equivalent if the fricative is not part of the phoneme inventory.
Examples from Scottish Gaelic:
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...
. For example, a fricative or an approximant may become a plosive (i.e. [v] becomes [b] or [r] becomes [d]). Although not as typical of sound change
Sound change
Sound change includes any processes of language change that affect pronunciation or sound system structures...
as lenition, fortition may occur in prominent positions, such as at the beginning of a word or stressed syllable; as an effect of reducing markedness
Markedness
Markedness is a specific kind of asymmetry relationship between elements of linguistic or conceptual structure. In a marked-unmarked relation, one term of an opposition is the broader, dominant one...
; or due to morphological leveling
Morphological leveling
In linguistics, morphological leveling is the generalization of an inflection across a paradigm or between words. For example, the extension of the form is to persons such as I is and they is in some dialects of English is leveling, by analogy with a more frequent form, as is the reanalysis of...
.
Examples
The extremely common approximant sound [j] is sometimes subject to fortition; since it is a semivowel, almost any change to the sound other than simple deletion would constitute fortition. It has changed into the voiced fricative [ʝ] in a number of indigenous languages of the ArcticArctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
, such as the Eskimo–Aleut languages and Ket
Ket language
The Ket language, formerly known as Yenisei Ostyak, is a Siberian language long thought to be an isolate, the sole surviving language of a Yeniseian language family...
, and also in some varieties of Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Via a voiceless palatal approximant, it has turned in some Germanic languages
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
into [ç], the voiceless equivalent of [ʝ] and also cross-linguistically rare though less so than [ʝ]. Another change turned [j] to an affricate [dʒ] during the development of the Romance languages
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
.
Fortition of the cross-linguistically rare interdental fricatives [θ] and [ð] to the almost universal corresponding stops [t] and [d] is relatively common. This has occurred in most continental Germanic languages
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
and several English dialects, several Uralic languages
Uralic languages
The Uralic languages constitute a language family of some three dozen languages spoken by approximately 25 million people. The healthiest Uralic languages in terms of the number of native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Mari and Udmurt...
, and a few 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...
, among others. This has the result of reducing the markedness
Markedness
Markedness is a specific kind of asymmetry relationship between elements of linguistic or conceptual structure. In a marked-unmarked relation, one term of an opposition is the broader, dominant one...
of the sounds [θ] and [ð].
Fortition also frequently occurs with voiceless versions of the common lateral
Lateral consonant
A lateral is an el-like consonant, in which airstream proceeds along the sides of the tongue, but is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth....
approximant [l], which are usually source from combinations of [l] with a voiceless obstruent
Obstruent
An obstruent is a consonant sound formed by obstructing airflow, causing increased air pressure in the vocal tract, such as [k], [d͡ʒ] and [f]. In phonetics, articulation may be divided into two large classes: obstruents and sonorants....
. The product is a voiceless alveolar lateral fricative
Voiceless alveolar lateral fricative
The voiceless alveolar lateral fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents voiceless dental, alveolar, and postalveolar fricatives is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is K...
[ɬ].
An example of simultaneous fortition and lenition is Spanish, which changed [b] into [β] medially, but exhibits the opposite change in initial position. This resulted in the corresponding phoneme
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
s (written b and v) merging into one.
In the Cushitic language Iraqw
Iraqw language
Not to be confused with Iroquois language.Iraqw is a Cushitic language spoken in Tanzania in the Arusha and Manyara Regions. It is expanding in numbers, as the Iraqw people absorb neighboring ethnic groups. The language has a large number of Datooga loanwords, especially in poetic language...
, *d has lenited to /r/ between vowels, but *r has undergone fortition to /d/ word initially.
In addition to language-internal development, fortition can also occur when a language acquires loanwords. Goidelic languages frequently display fortition in loanwords as most initial fricatives (except for [s̪] and [ʃ]) are disallowed in the citation form of Goidelic words. Thus initial fricatives of loanwords are strengthened to the corresponding unlenited
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...
variant or the nearest equivalent if the fricative is not part of the phoneme inventory.
Examples from Scottish Gaelic:
| /v/ | → /p/ | Scots Scots language Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted... vervain → bearbhain /pɛɾavɛɲ/ |
| /hw/ | → /kʰ/ | Scots Scots language Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted... wheel → cuidheall /kʰujəl̪ˠ/ |
| /w/ | → /p/ | Scots Scots language Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted... wall → balla /pal̪ˠə/ |
| /f/ | → /p/ | Latin Latin Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and... fundus → bonn /pɔun̪ˠ/ (foundation) |
| /θ/ | → /t̪ʰ/ | Norse þrǣll → tràill /t̪ʰɾaːʎ/ (slave) |
| /h/ | → /t̪ʰ/ | Scots Scots language Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted... Hogshead Hogshead A hogshead is a large cask of liquid . More specifically, it refers to a specified volume, measured in either Imperial units or U.S. customary units, primarily applied to alcoholic beverages such as wine, ale, or cider.... → tocasaid /t̪ʰɔʰkəs̪ətʲ/ |
| /j/ | → /kʲ/ | Scots Scots language Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted... yawl Yawl A yawl is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an additional mast located well aft of the main mast, often right on the transom, specifically aft of the rudder post. A yawl (from Dutch Jol) is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an... → geòla /kʲɔːl̪ˠə/ |
See also
- Consonant mutationConsonant mutationConsonant mutation is when a consonant in a word changes according to its morphological and/or syntactic environment.Mutation phenomena occur in languages around the world. A prototypical example of consonant mutation is the initial consonant mutation of all modern Celtic languages...
- Grimm's lawGrimm's lawGrimm's law , named for Jacob Grimm, is a set of statements describing the inherited Proto-Indo-European stops as they developed in Proto-Germanic in the 1st millennium BC...
- Historical linguisticsHistorical linguisticsHistorical linguistics is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:* to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages...
- Sesotho nasalization