Palatalization of <c>

Palatalization of <c>

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Notes for the Instructor: Palatalization can refer to a historical-linguistic sound change that results in a palatalized articulation of a consonant or, in certain cases, a front vowel, according to Wikipedia. One trigger for palatalization are the mid and high front vowels /ɛ/ as in bet, /ɪ/ as in bit, and /i/ as in beet, typically represented in the orthography as <e>, <i>, and <y> accordingly. . Linguist Edgar Howard Sturtevant, author of The Pronunciation of Greek and Latin, says of the change in pronunciation of C before front vowels (p. 167): "The epigraphical evidence of this change is not abundant enough to inspire confidence before the sixth century". Therefore, these pronunciation changes happened long before their adoption into English. In other words, they are no longer productive. So-called “exceptions” may occur in words like Celt, soccer, or facade. The word Celt may have been Latinized. The word soccer is actually a clip to which a suffix may have been added. The word facade, from French, is often accompanied with a cedilla on the bottom of the <c> to show its pronunciation as /s/. Colloquially, the <c> as /s/ is known as “soft <c>” and the <c> as /k/ is known as “hard <c>.” We do not use this terminology as we refer to the letter by its name and the phoneme by actual pronunciation of the “sound.” The sort and slides will contain an assortment of words where the <c> appears in the beginning, middle, and end positions of the word. Note that when <c> comes at the end, it is often part of the suffix <-ic>, as we don’t generally conclude words with <c> in complete English content words. Also, a <c> spelling /s/ at the end of a word will be accompanied by <e> to mark this pronunciation. Later in the slides, you will see words with two <c>s consecutively, such as accent and succumb. You will notice that in the first word, the two <c>s are pronounced /ks/ as the following vowel is /ɛ/. In succumb, the two <c>s are pronounced as /k/ due to the following /^/. The first <c> in these words is part of an assimilated prefix; whereas, the second <c> is the first letter of the base. They are not a “double <c>” or a “doubled <c>,” but a <c><c>.

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actor

civil

cake

city

cent

coconut

bracelet

celebrate

haircut

decide

cute

crayons

decent

decorate

cover

voice

record

police

juice

medicine

scab

space

icy

/s/

/k/

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Odd One Out

/k/

On each slide, select the word that doesn't belong. Think about what the <c> is spelling.

<c>

/s/

Start

<e>, <i>, <y>

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Which word doesn't belong? Why?

cat

can

car

city

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Which word doesn't belong? Why?

corn

celery

carrot

cabbage

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Which word doesn't belong? Why?

mercy

cry

fancy

juicy

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Which word doesn't belong? Why?

princess

castle

cottage

cook

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Which word doesn't belong? Why?

camel

canary

porcupine

rhinoceros

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Which word doesn't belong? Why?

center

bacon

pencil

except

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Which word doesn't belong? Why?

clever

curious

graceful

logical

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Which word doesn't belong? Why?

circle

bicycle

concept

circus

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Which word doesn't belong? Why?

accept

accent

account

accident

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Congratulations!

In this word, the <c> spells /k/.

Try again.

In this word, the <c> spells /k/.

Try again.

Correct!

In the word graceful, the <c> spells /s/. In the words clever, curious, and logical, the <c> spells /k/.

Correct!

In the word city, the <c> spells /s/. In the words cat, car, and can, the <c> spells /k/.

In this word, the <c> spells /s/.

Try again.

In this word, the <c> spells /k/.

Try again.

In this word, the <c> spells /s/.

Try again.

Correct!

In the word celery, the <c> spells /s/. In the words corn, carrot, and cabbage, the <c> spells /k/.

In this word, the first <c> spells /s/ and the second <c> spells /k/.

Try again.

Correct!

In the word rhinoceros, the <c> spells /s/. In the words camel, canary, and porcupine, the <c> spells /k/.

In this word, the <c> spells /s/.

Try again.

In this word, the first <c> spells /s/ and the second <c> spells /k/.

Try again.

In this word, the <c> spells /k/.

Try again.

The <c> in this word spells /k/.

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The <c> in this word spells /k/.

Try again.

Correct!

In the word princess, the <c> spells /s/. In the words castle, cottage, and cook, the <c> spells /k/.

In this word, the <c> spells /k/.

Try again.

Correct!

In the word concept, the first <c> spells /k/ and the second <c> spells /s/. In the words circle, bicycle, and circus, the first <c> spells /s/ and the second <c> spells /k/.

Correct!

In the word bacon, the <c> spells /k/. In the words center, pencil, and except, the <c> spells /s/.

In this word, the <c> spells /k/.

Try again.

In this word, the <c> spells /k/.

Try again.

In this word, the <c> spells /s/.

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In this word, the first <c> spells /s/ and the second <c> spells /k/.

Try again.

In this word, the <c> spells /k/.

Try again.

Correct!

In the word account, both <c>s spell /k/. In the words accept, accent, and accident, the first <c> spells /k/ and the second <c> spells /s/.

In this word, the <c> spells /s/.

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In this word, the first <c> spells /k/ and the second <c> spells /s/.

Try again.

In this word, the <c> spells /k/.

Try again.

In this word, the <c> spells /k/.

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The <c> in this word spells /k/.

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In this word, the <c> spells /k/.

Try again.

In this word, the <c> spells /s/.

Try again.

In this word, the first <c> spells /k/ and the second <c> spells /s/.

Try again.

Correct!

In the word cry, the <c> spells /k/. In the words mercy, fancy, and juicy, the <c> spells /s/.

In this word, the first <c> spells /k/ and the second <c> spells /s/.

Try again.

In this word, the <c> spells /k/.

Try again.