Can you give me some examples of a palatalization?
Can you give me some examples of a palatalization?
user
The term palatalization refers to a sound shift, and is typically used in a technical sense. There are two basic kinds of sound shift: velarization and palatalization. Velarization refers to a shift from a sound in the back of the mouth to a sound in the front. Palatalization refers to a shift from a sound in the front of the mouth to a sound in the back of the mouth. These types of shifts are actually quite common, as a lot of languages change their sound systems over time. Take the English words for “old” and “cold”. In Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon, or sometimes “OE”), these were pronounced as [a:dl] and [k:ld]. In Middle English (or “ME”), they were pronounced with a “d” that’s like a “t” (like in the “t” in the word “toy”), and [k]. But in Modern English, we now pronounce the “d” more like “t”, and the [k] has palatalized to a [t]. Try pronouncing those two words now with the English pronunciations of each of those Old and Middle English words, and you should get a clear feel for
assistant
Would tube be an example?
user
Oh, not quite. I think the tube example is a little different - it refers to an assimilation, where [u] tends to move closer to [a] (like in the vowel sound of “father”) as a result of being pronounced together with a consonant.  Also, this shift happens from the Middle to the Modern English, not Old to Middle or Modern. Here’s an example:
assistant
I thought tube would be a good example of a palatalization as the t makes a 'ch' sound
user
Oh yes, that’s one example of velarization. Velarization is often used in scientific writing to refer to a front-back movement in the mouth like you’re talking about, but it usually just means in general any kind of sound shift like you’re thinking of.  Can I ask why you’re confused about this?
assistant
I have to give examples for a school paper. Do you have any example words I could use that have palatalization when pronounced?
user