palatalizations
/ˌpælətələˈzeɪʃənz/
noun
- The process or result of changing a speech sound so that it is pronounced with the tongue touching or near the hard palate (the roof of the mouth).
- The palatalizations of certain consonants in Italian give the language its characteristic soft sound.
- In the history of English, palatalizations changed the pronunciation of words like 'church' from older forms.
- Linguists study palatalizations in different languages to understand how sounds evolve.