Lleis fonètiques · Llei 19 · Grups consonàntics

NN, GN and N + yod

NN, GN, NI/NE + vowel

De moment, les explicacions d’aquesta secció són en anglès; els exemples són en totes les llengües.

Espanyol

ñ [ɲ]

Francès

gn [ɲ]; NN → n (nasal vowel at the end)

Italià

nn kept; GN, NI → gn [ɲɲ]

Portuguès

nh [ɲ]; NN → n

Romanès

NI → i (vie); GN → mn (pumn); NN → n (an)

Català

ny [ɲ], also from NN (any)

Què va passar

N followed by a yod, and the cluster GN, both became the palatal nasal [ɲ] (the tongue body pressed against the palate) in the western sisters and Italian, written ñ in Spanish, gn in French and Italian, nh in Portuguese and ny in Catalan. Spanish and Catalan also palatalized double NN, a change the others did not share: Italian kept nn, French and Portuguese reduced it to n. Romanian went its own way: NI lost the n (vie), and GN became mn (see velar-to-labial).

Exemples

Llatí	Italià	Espanyol	Francès	Portuguès	Romanès	Català	Parent anglès
ANNUM‘year’	anno	año	an	ano	an	any	annual
VĪNEAM‘vineyard’	vigna	viña	vigne	vinha	vie	vinya	vine
PUGNUM‘fist’	pugno	puño	poing	punho	pumn	puny
SENIŌREM‘older → lord’	signore	señor	seigneur	senhor	—	senyor	senior
CASTANEAM‘chestnut’	castagna	castaña	châtaigne	castanha	—	castanya
*MONTĀNEAM‘mountain’	montagna	montaña	montagne	montanha	—	muntanya	mountain

Descodificador

Spanish ñ = Portuguese nh = Catalan ny = French and Italian gn when the source is n + i or gn (señor, senhor, senyor, seigneur, signore), but Italian nn and French and Portuguese n when it is Latin NN (año, any → anno, an, ano).

Excepcions

At the end of a French word ɲ dissolved into a nasal vowel (poing). Learned words keep a plain n: Spanish anual beside año, French annuel, Italian annuale. Catalan any shows the NN → ny shared with Spanish año, so Catalan ny can stand for Italian nn.

Mira com passa: ANNUM

Què va passar

Exemples

Descodificador

Excepcions

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