Definitions for lenition
lɪˈnɪʃ ənle·ni·tion

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. lenitionnoun

   A weakening of articulation causing the consonant to become lenis (soft).

2. Etymology: From lenis + -ition (modelled on German Lenierung).

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Lenition

   In linguistics, lenition is a sound change that alters consonants, making them more sonorous. The word lenition itself means "softening" or "weakening" (from Latin lēnis 'weak'). Lenition can happen both synchronically (within a language at a particular point in time) and diachronically (as a language changes over time). Lenition can involve such changes as voicing a voiceless consonant, causing a consonant to relax occlusion, to lose its place of articulation (a phenomenon called debuccalization, which turns a consonant into a glottal consonant like [h] or [ʔ]), or even causing a consonant to disappear entirely. An example of synchronic lenition is found in most varieties of American English, in the form of flapping: the /t/ of a word like wait [weɪt] is pronounced as the more sonorous [ɾ] in the related form waiting [ˈweɪɾɪŋ]. Some varieties of Spanish show debuccalization of /s/ to [h] at the end of a syllable, so that a word like estamos "we are" is pronounced [ehˈtamoh]. An example of diachronic lenition can be found in the Romance languages, where the /t/ of Latin patrem ("father", accusative) has become /d/ in Italian and Spanish padre (the latter weakened synchronically /d/ → [ð̞]), while in Catalan pare, French père and Portuguese pai historical /t/ has disappeared completely. In some languages, lenition has been grammaticalized into a consonant mutation, which means it is no longer triggered by its phonological environment but is now governed by its syntactic or morphological environment. For example, in Welsh, the word cath "cat" begins with the sound /k/, but after the definite article y, the /k/ changes to [ɡ]: "the cat" in Welsh is y gath. This was historically due to intervocalic lenition, but in the plural, lenition does not happen, so "the cats" is y cathod, not *y gathod. The change of /k/ to [ɡ] in y gath is thus caused by the syntax of the phrase, not by the modern phonological position of the consonant /k/. The opposite of lenition, fortition, a sound change that makes a consonant "stronger", is less common.

WikidataRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Lenition

   In linguistics, lenition is a kind of sound change that alters consonants, making them more sonorous. The word lenition itself means "softening" or "weakening". Lenition can happen both synchronically and diachronically. Lenition can involve such changes as making a consonant more sonorous, causing a consonant to lose its place of articulation, or even causing a consonant to disappear entirely. An example of synchronic lenition in English is found in flapping in some dialects: the of a word like wait becomes the more sonorous in the related form waiting. Some dialects of Spanish show debuccalization of to at the end of a syllable, so that a word like estamos "we are" is pronounced. An example of diachronic lenition can be found in the Romance languages, where the of Latin patrem becomes in Italian padre and in Spanish padre, while in French père and Portuguese pai it has disappeared completely. Along with assimilation, lenition is one of the primary sources of phonological change of languages.

How to pronounce lenition?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say lenition in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of lenition in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of lenition in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

References

1. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Lenition
2. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenition
3. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=lenition