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Palatalization

In linguistics, palatalization ( /ˌpælətəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/), also palatization, may refer to two different processes by which a sound, usually a consonant, comes to be produced with the tongue in a position in the mouth near the palate.

In describing the phonetics of an existing language (i.e., in synchronic descriptions), a palatalized consonant is one pronounced with a palatal secondary articulation. This means that the consonant is pronounced as if followed very closely by the sound [j] (a palatal approximant, like the sound of "y" in "yellow"). For example, in the Polish word kiedy ("when"), the letters ki represent a palatalized [k], indicated in IPA notation as [kʲ], with a superscript "j". This sound is similar to the combination of "k" and "y" in English "thank you".

The other meaning of palatalization is encountered in historical linguistics, and refers to a sound change in which a consonant's place of articulation becomes closer to the palatal position. This change is often triggered by a following [j] sound or a front vowel. For example, in Italian, before the front vowels e and i, the letter c (which otherwise represents [k], a velar consonant), has come to be pronounced as the palato-alveolar consonant [tʃ], like English "ch" (see hard and soft c).