Phonological change

In historical linguistics, phonological change is any sound change which alters the number or distribution of phonemes in a language.

In a typological scheme first systematized by Henry M. Hoenigswald, a historical sound law can only affect a phonological system in one of three ways:

Conditioned merger (which Hoenigswald calls "primary split"), in which some instances of phoneme A become an existing phoneme B; the number of phonemes does not change, only their distribution.

Phonemic split (which Hoenigswald calls "secondary split"), in which some instances of A become a new phoneme B; this is phonemic differentiation in which the number of phonemes increases.

Unconditioned merger, in which all instances of phonemes A and B become A; this is phonemic reduction, in which the number of phonemes decreases.

This classification does not consider mere changes in pronunciation, that is, phonetic change, even chain shifts, in which neither the number nor the distribution of phonemes is affected.

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Phonological_change

Email this Page Play all in Full Screen Show More Related Videos

developed with YouTube

back

Most Related
Most Recent
Most Popular
Top Rated

expand screen to full width
repeat playlist
shuffle
replay video
clear playlist restore
images list

developed with YouTube

PLAYLIST TIME:

Phonological change

EXPLORE WN.com