Sound change

Sound change or phonetic change is a historical process of language change consisting in the replacement of one speech sound or, more generally, one phonetic feature by another in a given phonological environment. Sound change is supposed to be regular, which means that it should be expected to apply mechanically whenever its structural condition is met, irrespective of any non-phonological factors (such as the meaning of the words affected). Hence the somewhat hyperbolic term sound law, introduced in the 19th c. and still applied traditionally to some of the historically important sound changes, e.g. Grimm's law. While real-world sound changes often admit of exceptions (for a variety of known reasons, and sometimes without a known reason), the expectation of their regularity or "exceptionlessness" is of great heuristic value, since it allows historical linguists to define the notion of regular correspondence (see: comparative method).

Related Topics:
Grimm's law - Comparative method

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Each sound change is limited in space and time. It means it functions within a specified area (only in some dialects / ethnolects) and within a specified period of time. These limitations are one of the reasons for which some scholars refuse using the term "sound law" (asserting that laws should not have such spatial and temporal limitations) and replace it with phonetic rule.

Related Topics:
Dialect - Ethnolect

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Sound change is part of the larger process of language change.

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