Palatalization-split

A palatalization-split consonant inventory is one where every or almost every non-palatal consonant has a phonemical palatalized counterpart. This setup occurs mostly in North-Central Asia, including Russian, Nenets and Khalkha Mongolian. (More limited palatalization contrasts are common in the area, too.)

Palatalization splits (and especially the more complex variants - see below), go frequently together with wholly or partly vertical vowel systems, with vowel frontness filled in from palatality of the preceding consonant, eg. /mʲi/ → [mʲi], but /mi/ → [mɨ]. It is these kind of languages where palatalized palatals are possible: this will be a segment that is both palatal in its articulation and imparts a palatal coloring: /ja/ → [ja], but /jʲa/ → [jɛ] vel. sim. Interaction with vowel harmony offers similar possibilities (perhaps implying a suprasegmental interpretation of palatality).

History

A palatalization split can come about by excessive diachronic palatalization followed by neutralization of the conditioning vowel contrasts (eg. /mi/ → /mʲi/, but /mɨ/ → /mi/). The neutralization does not need to be immediately phonetical, if apparent front/back vowel contrasts can now be explained in terms of vowel coloring by a consonant's palatalization. Thus, we have the following phases:

1. Palatalization of many consonants
2. Non-palatal consonants no longer occur before front vowels
3. Palatalization is reanalyzed as a feature of the consonants rather than the vowels
4. Vowel frontness is reanalyzed as resulting from consonant palatality

Not all languages can reach phase 4: this will be rendered impossible if palatalized consonants end up occurring also next to back vowels, via changes such as /Cju/ → /Cʲu/, or non-palatalized consonants end up occurring next to front vowels again, via changes such as /Cai/ → /Ce/.

Variations

Some corresponding pairs of consonants may differ in more than palatalization. For example, alveolars will commonly become postalveolar, or wholly palatal: /sʲ/ → [ʃ], /tʲ/ → [c]. (Irish has an example with velarity: /vˠ/ → [w].) Also near the apex of the palatal POA, some series may merge, leading to eg. non-palatal three-way distinction /p t k/ vs. palatal two-way distinction /pʲ c/.

More complex variations featuring other modes of secondary articulations are found dispersed over the world:

• Irish has no plain consonants, only palatalized and velarized variants.
• Marshallese takes this one step further with a palatalized/velarized/labialized tripartite division.
• Many Caucasian, especially Northwest Caucasian languages have idiosyncratic variations where certain but not all series can occur palatalized or labialized.

Curiously, purely labialization or velarization-split systems do not seem to exist. Languages with many emphatic consonants can be essentially pharyngealization-split however.