palatalize

American  

[pal-uh-tl-ahyz] / ˈpæl ə tlˌaɪz /

especially British, palatalise

verb (used with object)

palatalized, palatalizing

1. to articulate (a consonant other than a normal palatal) as a palatal or with relatively more contact between the blade of the tongue and the hard palate, as in certain pronunciations of the l- sound in million.

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verb (used without object)

palatalized, palatalizing

1. (of a consonant) to undergo palatalization.

palatalize British  

/ ˈpælətəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. (tr) to pronounce (a speech sound) with the blade of the tongue touching the palate

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Other Word Forms

• nonpalatalization
  noun
• palatalization
  noun

Etymology

Origin of palatalize

First recorded in 1865–70; palatal + -ize

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

palatalized

Just to what extent g, c, sc were palatalized in O. Nhb. is not definitely known.

From Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch by Flom, George Tobias

This Lindelöf explains as due to the different quality of the h—in W.  S. it was guttural, hence caused breaking; in Nhb. it was palatal and hence the preceding a was palatalized to æ.

From Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch by Flom, George Tobias

Again there is a tendency to insert a sibilant in the group rt, thus ceart, “right,” is sounded kearšt, and the distinction between palatalized and non-palatalized sounds is not so rigidly observed as in Irish.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 "Cat" to "Celt" by Various

The ultimate origin of the word is obscure; the early forms appear with a palatalized initial letter, still surviving in such dialectical forms as “yate,” or in Scots “yett.”

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 "Gassendi, Pierre" to "Geocentric" by Various