Last night I realised the Secunda romanizes (hellenises?) מלך as μαλκ. Does… does this mean we really don’t have lenition of stops yet?!?!?
November 5, 2026 at 11:58 AM
Last night I realised the Secunda romanizes (hellenises?) מלך as μαλκ. Does… does this mean we really don’t have lenition of stops yet?!?!?
Lenition and eclipsis in Irish (and their equivalents in Welsh) shown as two-dimensional charts
A *bunch* of background linguistics knowledge needed that I can't really recap here
A *bunch* of background linguistics knowledge needed that I can't really recap here
November 3, 2026 at 10:15 PM
Lenition and eclipsis in Irish (and their equivalents in Welsh) shown as two-dimensional charts
A *bunch* of background linguistics knowledge needed that I can't really recap here
A *bunch* of background linguistics knowledge needed that I can't really recap here
the use of kappa is irregular; that was usually reserved for ק. This is why I was thinking about it as I slept.
Counterargument: they used k here because χ would have suggested lenition? Maybe? Idk it doesn't make sense.
Counterargument: they used k here because χ would have suggested lenition? Maybe? Idk it doesn't make sense.
November 5, 2026 at 12:48 PM
the use of kappa is irregular; that was usually reserved for ק. This is why I was thinking about it as I slept.
Counterargument: they used k here because χ would have suggested lenition? Maybe? Idk it doesn't make sense.
Counterargument: they used k here because χ would have suggested lenition? Maybe? Idk it doesn't make sense.
I think the route would be /kʷ/ > /kw/ > /gw/ > /ɣw/ > /w/ (i.e. French's regular /k/ to zero lenition, as in 'locāre' > 'louer') > /v/.
'Suivre' I find harder to explain; it appears to have arisen from a merger of metathesised OF 'siure' on the one hand, and 'sivre' with /w/ > /v/ on the other.
'Suivre' I find harder to explain; it appears to have arisen from a merger of metathesised OF 'siure' on the one hand, and 'sivre' with /w/ > /v/ on the other.
November 4, 2026 at 11:59 PM
I think the route would be /kʷ/ > /kw/ > /gw/ > /ɣw/ > /w/ (i.e. French's regular /k/ to zero lenition, as in 'locāre' > 'louer') > /v/.
'Suivre' I find harder to explain; it appears to have arisen from a merger of metathesised OF 'siure' on the one hand, and 'sivre' with /w/ > /v/ on the other.
'Suivre' I find harder to explain; it appears to have arisen from a merger of metathesised OF 'siure' on the one hand, and 'sivre' with /w/ > /v/ on the other.
Again, the Hebrew p t k were normally written with aspirate stops in the Septuagint on, in all positions, as they were a match for Hebrew phonology.
Normally we can't really tell if lenition happened, as they're written the same. We only see stuff like w and b rafe being confused
Normally we can't really tell if lenition happened, as they're written the same. We only see stuff like w and b rafe being confused
November 5, 2026 at 12:52 PM
Again, the Hebrew p t k were normally written with aspirate stops in the Septuagint on, in all positions, as they were a match for Hebrew phonology.
Normally we can't really tell if lenition happened, as they're written the same. We only see stuff like w and b rafe being confused
Normally we can't really tell if lenition happened, as they're written the same. We only see stuff like w and b rafe being confused
I am a lay researcher. This is not my work; this is all from reading Suchard and others. Nobody really knows when lenition happened. It's typically assumed it was "old" but scholars don't agree: we say Gomorrah and Gaza today, not Omorrah and Aza, because the Septuagint has ghayn and khet
November 5, 2026 at 12:57 PM
I am a lay researcher. This is not my work; this is all from reading Suchard and others. Nobody really knows when lenition happened. It's typically assumed it was "old" but scholars don't agree: we say Gomorrah and Gaza today, not Omorrah and Aza, because the Septuagint has ghayn and khet
Did I put my children into Gaelic Medium Education so that, years later, I could be amused by their grumblings about lenition? Well, no. But it is a nice bonus 😈
("Gabh and ghabh mean the same thing! What's the point? The h just ruins the g!" etc. etc.)
("Gabh and ghabh mean the same thing! What's the point? The h just ruins the g!" etc. etc.)
October 29, 2026 at 7:58 PM
Did I put my children into Gaelic Medium Education so that, years later, I could be amused by their grumblings about lenition? Well, no. But it is a nice bonus 😈
("Gabh and ghabh mean the same thing! What's the point? The h just ruins the g!" etc. etc.)
("Gabh and ghabh mean the same thing! What's the point? The h just ruins the g!" etc. etc.)
And tbc these both mean Jewish as well, "Giùdais" only really makes linguistical sense once you understand the lenition you get in Celtic languages
October 29, 2026 at 1:47 PM
And tbc these both mean Jewish as well, "Giùdais" only really makes linguistical sense once you understand the lenition you get in Celtic languages
For the record, the letter H in Gaelic changes the sound of the consonant before it (lenition). In the case of M it makes a "v" or "w" sound. #TheMoreYouKnow #TheLastDriveIn
October 24, 2026 at 1:08 AM
For the record, the letter H in Gaelic changes the sound of the consonant before it (lenition). In the case of M it makes a "v" or "w" sound. #TheMoreYouKnow #TheLastDriveIn
Yes. Voiceless stop lenition is actually less common in languages where there is a voicing contrast.
October 20, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Yes. Voiceless stop lenition is actually less common in languages where there is a voicing contrast.
Our current tools allow us to see the last one with a lot more clarity (well, the phoneticians always saw it, but the phonologists didn't believe it as much). That's why we chose to use the word "allophony" in our paper a few years ago (www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...).
Extreme stop allophony in Mixtec spontaneous speech: Data, word prosody, and modelling
Word-level prosody plays an important role in processes of consonant lenition. Typically, consonants in word-initial position are strengthened while t…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 20, 2026 at 3:44 PM
Our current tools allow us to see the last one with a lot more clarity (well, the phoneticians always saw it, but the phonologists didn't believe it as much). That's why we chose to use the word "allophony" in our paper a few years ago (www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...).
And as an example of a much lower-effort zine: I made this one years ago (in <1 hour) for class. (An example of mid-term presentation option for research papers!) The quotes are sourced from twitter--perhaps even from you!
-Full zine: tinyurl.com/4tspjfmj
-IDs: tinyurl.com/49vv32pa
-Full zine: tinyurl.com/4tspjfmj
-IDs: tinyurl.com/49vv32pa
October 9, 2026 at 4:20 PM
And as an example of a much lower-effort zine: I made this one years ago (in <1 hour) for class. (An example of mid-term presentation option for research papers!) The quotes are sourced from twitter--perhaps even from you!
-Full zine: tinyurl.com/4tspjfmj
-IDs: tinyurl.com/49vv32pa
-Full zine: tinyurl.com/4tspjfmj
-IDs: tinyurl.com/49vv32pa
62 years in the lenition made you a fucking overcalls!
September 22, 2026 at 1:00 PM
62 years in the lenition made you a fucking overcalls!
I think about this act of eyeball lenition more often than is probably normal.
September 15, 2026 at 9:23 PM
I think about this act of eyeball lenition more often than is probably normal.
Faoi takes lenition and puts the noun into the dative case or else it gets the hose again. (except éire) faoin takes eclipsis instead. Faoina thaobh de only triggers lenition for masculine nouns. fá dtaobh de triggers eclipsis.
September 13, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Faoi takes lenition and puts the noun into the dative case or else it gets the hose again. (except éire) faoin takes eclipsis instead. Faoina thaobh de only triggers lenition for masculine nouns. fá dtaobh de triggers eclipsis.
Do we know roughly when lenition happened in Aramaic? (Are there dialects of Neo-Aramaic where it’s not happened at all?)
September 10, 2026 at 6:52 PM
Do we know roughly when lenition happened in Aramaic? (Are there dialects of Neo-Aramaic where it’s not happened at all?)
Esbonio’r treigladau sefyllfaol cwmmerddog.substack.com/p/esbonior-t...
Esbonio’r treigladau sefyllfaol
Un o’r nodweddion sy’n gyffredin i bob un o’r ieithoedd Celtaidd byw yw’r treigladau (lenition), sef newid morffoffonolegol systemig ar ddechrau gair (fel rheol).
cwmmerddog.substack.com
September 6, 2026 at 10:22 AM
Esbonio’r treigladau sefyllfaol cwmmerddog.substack.com/p/esbonior-t...
Counterpoint - we turn to studies measuring VOffT instead: voice offset time during obstruent production. It’s usually more interesting for processes of lenition.
September 5, 2026 at 9:36 PM
Counterpoint - we turn to studies measuring VOffT instead: voice offset time during obstruent production. It’s usually more interesting for processes of lenition.
Or it could come from the Irish word 'móidín' (with lenition changing the sound to v).
August 21, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Or it could come from the Irish word 'móidín' (with lenition changing the sound to v).
Le moyen breton note déjà la lénition à l'intérieur des mots, et il écrivait <haff>. C'est le vieux breton qui n'écrivait pas encore la lénition et qui écrivait donc <ham>, même si la prononciation était déjà /haβ̃/
August 20, 2026 at 10:14 PM
Le moyen breton note déjà la lénition à l'intérieur des mots, et il écrivait <haff>. C'est le vieux breton qui n'écrivait pas encore la lénition et qui écrivait donc <ham>, même si la prononciation était déjà /haβ̃/
lenition marked in two different ways between the first and third column. hyphens are part of the word in column 2 but not in column 3. with all due respect, HELLO????? CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME HELLO?????????
August 16, 2026 at 4:42 PM
lenition marked in two different ways between the first and third column. hyphens are part of the word in column 2 but not in column 3. with all due respect, HELLO????? CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME HELLO?????????
These songs are not as angry as Tori Amos' song, nor are they are uncompromising with pop. So we are seeing, within pop music in the mid-to-late 90's, a gradual entry of an idea into the mainstream, with a lenition of its power.
May 4, 2024 at 3:48 PM
These songs are not as angry as Tori Amos' song, nor are they are uncompromising with pop. So we are seeing, within pop music in the mid-to-late 90's, a gradual entry of an idea into the mainstream, with a lenition of its power.
This is pretty funny, but Ireland should be red in some places. I'm studying Irish for my third language and OMG, it's not easy and I die inside with lenition!!!
June 8, 2025 at 2:26 PM
This is pretty funny, but Ireland should be red in some places. I'm studying Irish for my third language and OMG, it's not easy and I die inside with lenition!!!
Ah, yes: it’s important to know how broad and slender vowels affect lenition in Welsh, just the same way as a thorough grounding in the treigladau is essential for an understanding of Gaelic
September 16, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Ah, yes: it’s important to know how broad and slender vowels affect lenition in Welsh, just the same way as a thorough grounding in the treigladau is essential for an understanding of Gaelic
This. And once you know the vocabulary (lenition, initial mutation, etc) you'll know what to google. Teanglann has a grammar section too. www.siopa.ie/en/i-39-quic...
QuickGuide™ Irish Grammar
QuickGuide™ Irish Grammar
www.siopa.ie
November 18, 2024 at 10:28 PM
This. And once you know the vocabulary (lenition, initial mutation, etc) you'll know what to google. Teanglann has a grammar section too. www.siopa.ie/en/i-39-quic...