Editing Lenition (section)

==Types==
Lenition involves changes in [[manner of articulation]], sometimes accompanied by small changes in [[place of articulation]]. There are two main lenition pathways: opening and sonorization. In both cases, a stronger sound becomes a weaker one. Lenition can be seen as a movement on the [[sonority hierarchy]] from less sonorous to more sonorous, or on a strength hierarchy from stronger to weaker.

In examples below, a [[greater-than sign]] indicates that one sound changes to another. The notation {{IPA|[t]}} > {{IPA|[ts]}} means that {{IPA|[t]}} changes to {{IPA|[ts]}}.

The [[Palatalization (sound change)|sound change of palatalization]] sometimes involves lenition.

Lenition includes the loss of a feature, such as [[glottalic consonant|deglottalization]], in which [[glottalization]] or [[ejective consonant|ejective articulation]] is lost: {{IPA|[kʼ]}} or {{IPA|[kˀ]}} > {{IPA|[k]}}.

The tables below show common sound changes involved in lenition. In some cases, lenition may skip one of the sound changes. The change voiceless stop > fricative is more common than the series of changes voiceless stop > affricate > fricative.

===Opening===
In the opening type of lenition, the articulation becomes more open with each step. Opening lenition involves several sound changes: shortening of double consonants, [[affrication]] of stops, [[Lenition#Spirantization|spirantization]] or [[assibilation]] of stops or affricates, [[debuccalization]], and finally [[elision]].
* {{IPA|[tt]}} or {{IPA|[tː]}} > {{IPA|[t]}} (shortening, example in [[Greek language|Greek]])
* {{IPA|[t]}} > {{IPA|[ts]}} (affrication, for example {{langx|la|terra}} to {{langx|rup|tsarã}})
* {{IPA|[t]}} or {{IPA|[ts]}} > {{IPA|[s]}} (spirantization, example in [[Gilbertese language]])
* {{IPA|[t̚]}} > {{IPA|[ʔ]}}; {{IPA|[s]}} > {{IPA|[h]}} (debuccalization, example in [[English language|English]] or [[Spanish language|Spanish]])
* {{IPA|[t]}}, {{IPA|[ts]}}, {{IPA|[s]}}, {{IPA|[ʔ]}}, {{IPA|[h]}} > ∅ (elision, for example {{langx|fro|feste}} to {{langx|fr|fête}} (cf. {{langx|es|fiesta}}))

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! geminated stop !!→ !! stop!!→ !!affricate!!→ !!fricative!!→ !!placeless approximant!!→ !!no sound
|-
| original sound ||→ || degemination||→ ||affrication||→ ||spirantization<br/> (deaffrication)||→ ||debuccalization||→ ||elision
|-
|rowspan=2|{{IPA|[pp] or [ppʰ]}}||rowspan=2|→||rowspan=2|{{IPA|[p] or [pʰ]}}||→||{{IPA|[pɸ]}}||→||{{IPA|[ɸ]}}||→ ||rowspan=5|{{IPA|[h]}}||rowspan=5|→ ||rowspan=5|(zero)
|-
|→||{{IPA|[pf]}}||→||{{IPA|[f]}}||→
|-
|rowspan=2|{{IPA|[tt] or [ttʰ]}}||rowspan=2|→||rowspan=2|{{IPA|[t] or [tʰ]}}||→ ||{{IPA|[tθ]}}||→ ||{{IPA|[θ]}}||→
|-
|→||{{IPA|[ts]}}||→||{{IPA|[s]}}||→
|-
|{{IPA|[kk] or [kkʰ]}}||→||{{IPA|[k] or [kʰ]}}||→ ||{{IPA|[kx]}}||→|| {{IPA|[x]}}||→
|}

===Sonorization===
The sonorization type involves voicing. Sonorizing lenition involves several sound changes: voicing, approximation, and vocalization.{{clarify|reason=More sound changes are involved, and if there are specific names for the different changes, these should be listed.|date=February 2015}}
* {{IPA|[t]}} > {{IPA|[d]}} (voicing, example in [[Korean language|Korean]])
* {{IPA|[d]}} > {{IPA|[ð]}} (approximation, example in [[Spanish language|Spanish]])
* {{IPA|[d]}} > {{IPA|[i]}} (vocalization)

Sonorizing lenition occurs especially often intervocalically (between vowels).  In this position, lenition can be seen as a type of [[assimilation (linguistics)|assimilation]] of the consonant to the surrounding vowels, in which features of the consonant that are not present in the surrounding vowels (e.g. obstruction, voicelessness) are gradually eliminated.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! stop!!→
!voiced stop!!→
!colspan=3|continuant<br /> (fricative, trill, etc.)!!→
!colspan=3|approximant!!→
!no sound
|-
| original sound || →
|[[consonant voicing and devoicing|voicing]]<br /> (sonorization)||→
|colspan=3|spirantization, trilling||→
|colspan=3| approximation||→
|elision
|-
|rowspan=3|{{IPA|[p]}} ||rowspan=3|→
|rowspan=3|{{IPA|[b]}} ||→
|style="border-right: 0px;"| {{IPA|[β]}} ||colspan=2 style="border-left: 0px;" | ||→
|style="border-right: 0px;"| {{IPA|[β̞]}} ||style="border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px;"| ||style="border-left: 0px;"| ||→
|rowspan=8|(zero)
|-
|rowspan=2|→
|rowspan=2 style="border-right: 0px;"|  ||rowspan=2 style="border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px;"|  {{IPA|[v]}} ||rowspan=2 style="border-left: 0px;"| ||→
|style="border-right: 0px;"| ||style="border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px;"| {{IPA|[ʋ]}} ||style="border-left: 0px;"| ||→
|-
|→
|style="border-right: 0px;"| ||style="border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px;"| ||style="border-left: 0px;"| {{IPA|[w]}} ||→
|-
|rowspan=3|{{IPA|[t]}} ||rowspan=3|→
|rowspan=3|{{IPA|[d]}} ||→
|style="border-right: 0px;"| {{IPA|[ð]}} ||style="border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px;"| ||style="border-left: 0px;"| ||→
|colspan=3|{{IPA|[ð̞]}} ||→
|-
|→
|style="border-right: 0px;"|  ||style="border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px;"|  {{IPA|[z]}} ||style="border-left: 0px;"| ||→
|colspan=3 rowspan=2|{{IPA|[ɹ]}} ||rowspan=2|→
|-
|→
|style="border-right: 0px;"|  ||style="border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px;"| ||style="border-left: 0px;"| {{IPA|[r]}} ||→
|-
|rowspan=2|{{IPA|[k]}} ||rowspan=2|→
|rowspan=2|{{IPA|[ɡ]}} ||rowspan=2|→
|rowspan=2 colspan=3|{{IPA|[ɣ]}} ||→
|style="border-right: 0px;"| {{IPA|[ɰ]}} ||colspan=2 style="border-left: 0px;" | ||→
|-
|→
|style="border-right: 0px;"| ||colspan=2 style="border-left: 0px;" |{{IPA|[j], [w]}} ||→
|}

Some of the sounds generated by lenition are often subsequently "normalized" into related but cross-linguistically more common sounds.  An example would be the changes {{IPA|[b]}} → {{IPA|[β]}} → {{IPA|[v]}} and {{IPA|[d]}} → {{IPA|[ð]}} → {{IPA|[z]}}.  Such normalizations correspond to diagonal movements down and to the right in the above table.  In other cases, sounds are lenited and normalized at the same time; examples would be direct changes {{IPA|[b]}} → {{IPA|[v]}} or {{IPA|[d]}} → {{IPA|[z]}}.

====Vocalization====
[[L-vocalization|''L''-vocalization]] is a subtype of the sonorization type of lenition. It has two possible results: a velar approximant or back vowel, or a palatal approximant or front vowel. In [[French language|French]], ''l''-vocalization of the sequence {{IPA|/al/}} resulted in the [[diphthong]] {{IPA|/au/}}, which was [[monophthongized]], yielding the [[monophthong]] {{IPA|/o/}} in Modern French.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! lateral approximant !! → !!  semivowel !! → !! vowel
|-
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|[l]}} || → || {{IPA|[w]}}<br>{{IPA|[ɰ]}} || → || {{IPA|[u]}}<br>{{IPA|[o]}}
|-
| → || {{IPA|[j]}} || → || {{IPA|[i]}}
|}

===Mixed===
Sometimes a particular example of lenition mixes the opening and sonorization pathways. For example, {{IPA|[kʰ]}} may spirantize or open to {{IPA|[x]}}, then voice or sonorize to {{IPA|[ɣ]}}.

Lenition can be seen in [[Canadian English|Canadian]] and [[American English]], where {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/d/}} soften to a tap {{IPA|[ɾ]}} ([[flapping]]) when not in initial position and followed by an unstressed vowel. For example, both ''rate'' and ''raid'' plus the suffix ''-er'' are pronounced {{IPA|[ˈɹeɪ̯ɾɚ]}}.  The Italian of Central and Southern Italy has a number of lenitions, the most widespread of which is the deaffrication of {{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}} to {{IPA|[ʃ]}} between vowels: post-pausal {{lang|it|cena}} {{IPA|[ˈt͡ʃeːna]}} 'dinner' but post-vocalic {{lang|it|la cena}} {{IPA|[laˈʃeːna]}} 'the dinner'; the name {{lang|it|Luciano}}, although structurally {{IPA|/luˈt͡ʃano/}}, is normally pronounced {{IPA|[luˈʃaːno]}}. In Tuscany, {{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}} likewise is realized {{IPA|[ʒ]}} between vowels, and in typical speech of Central Tuscany, the voiceless stops {{IPA|/p t k/}} in the same position are pronounced respectively {{IPA|[ɸ θ x/h]}}, as in {{IPA|/la kasa/}} → {{IPA|[laˈhaːsa]}} 'the house', {{IPA|/buko/}} → {{IPA|[ˈbuːho]}} 'hole'.