palatalization
/ˌpælətəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/
noun
- The process or result of making a speech sound palatal, often by raising the tongue toward the hard palate.
- Historical palatalization changed the pronunciation of Latin words into French.
- The linguist explained how palatalization affects the sound of consonants in Slavic languages.
- Palatalization is common in many languages, such as when 't' becomes 'ch' before 'u'.