Palatalization

//ˌpælətəlaɪˈzeɪʃən// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The state or quality of being palatalized, of pronouncing a sound with the tongue against the palate of the mouth that normally is not. uncountable

    "The word "nature" is commonly pronounced with a palatalization of the letter t to sound like ch."

  2. 2
    An instance of pronunciation in which a sound is palatalized. countable

Synonyms

All synonyms
palatization

Example

More examples

"The word "nature" is commonly pronounced with a palatalization of the letter t to sound like ch."

Etymology

From palatal + -ization or palatalize + -ation. First attested in 1863 in this spelling, 1862 in the spelling palatalisation.

Related phrases

first palatalizationsecond palatalization

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.