Editing Palatalization (phonetics) (section)

==Types==
In technical terms, palatalization refers to the [[secondary articulation]] of [[consonant]]s by which the body of the [[tongue]] is raised toward the [[hard palate]] and the [[alveolar ridge]] during the articulation of the consonant. Such consonants are phonetically palatalized. "Pure" palatalization is a modification to the articulation of a consonant, where the middle of the tongue is raised, and nothing else. It may produce a [[laminal consonant|laminal]] articulation of otherwise [[apical consonant|apical]] consonants such as {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/s/}}.

Phonetically palatalized consonants may vary in their exact realization. Some languages add [[semivowel]]s before or after the palatalized consonant (onglides or offglides). In such cases, the vowel (especially a non-front vowel) following a palatalized consonant typically has a palatal onglide. In [[Russian language|Russian]], both plain and palatalized consonant phonemes are found in words like {{lang|ru|большой}} {{IPA|ru|bɐlʲˈʂoj||Ru-большой.ogg}}, {{lang|ru|царь}} {{IPA|ru|tsarʲ||Ru-царь.ogg}} and {{lang|ru|Катя}} {{IPA|ru|ˈkatʲə||Ru-Катя.ogg}}. In [[Hupa language|Hupa]], on the other hand, the palatalization is heard as both an onglide and an offglide. In some cases, the realization of palatalization may change without any corresponding phonemic change. For example, according to Thurneysen,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thurneysen |first1=Rudolf |title=A Grammar of Old Irish |publisher=Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies |page=55 |edition=Fifth |url=https://archive.org/details/thurneysen-a-grammar-of-old-irish/page/54/mode/2up?q=palatal&view=theater |access-date=28 October 2024}}</ref> palatalized consonants at the end of a syllable in [[Old Irish]] had a corresponding onglide (reflected as {{angbr|i}} in the spelling), which was no longer present in [[Middle Irish]] (based on explicit testimony of grammarians of the time).

In a few languages, including [[Skolt Sami language|Skolt Sami]] and many of the [[Central Chadic languages]], palatalization is a [[suprasegmental feature]] that affects the pronunciation of an entire syllable, and it may cause certain vowels to be pronounced [[front vowel|more front]] and consonants to be slightly palatalized. In [[Skolt Sami]] and its relatives ([[Kildin Sami language|Kildin Sami]] and [[Ter Sami language|Ter Sami]]), suprasegmental palatalization contrasts with segmental palatal articulation (palatal consonants).