Galician phonology explained

pronounced as /notice/This article is about the phonology and phonetics of the Galician language.

Vowels

Galician has seven vowel phonemes, which are represented by five letters in writing. Similar vowels are found under stress in standard Catalan and Italian. It is likely that this 7-vowel system was even more widespread in the early stages of Romance languages.

Vowels

Phoneme (IPA)	Grapheme	Examples
pronounced as //a//	a	Galician: nada
pronounced as //e//	e	Galician: tres
pronounced as //ɛ//		Galician: ferro
pronounced as //i//	i	Galician: min
pronounced as //o//	o	Galician: bonito
pronounced as //ɔ//		Galician: home
pronounced as //u//	u	Galician: rúa

Some characteristics of the vocalic system:

• In Galician the vocalic system is reduced to five vowels in post-tonic syllables, and to just three in final unstressed position: pronounced as /[{{IPAplink|ɪ}}, {{IPAplink|ʊ}}, {{IPAplink|ɐ}}]/ (which can instead be transcribed as pronounced as /[e̝, o̝, a̝]/).^[1] In some cases, vowels from the final unstressed set appear in other positions, as e.g. in the word Galician: termonuclear pronounced as /[ˌtɛɾmʊnukleˈaɾ]/, because the prefix Galician: termo- is pronounced pronounced as /[ˈtɛɾmʊ]/.
• Unstressed close-mid vowels and open-mid vowels (pronounced as //e ~ ɛ// and pronounced as //o ~ ɔ//) can occur in complementary distribution (e.g. Galician: ovella pronounced as /[oˈβeɟɐ]/ 'sheep' / Galician: omitir pronounced as /[ɔmiˈtiɾ]/ 'to omit' and Galician: pequeno pronounced as /[peˈkenʊ]/ 'little, small' / Galician: emitir pronounced as /[ɛmiˈtiɾ]/ 'to emit'), with a few minimal pairs like Galician: botar pronounced as /[boˈtaɾ]/ 'to throw' vs. Galician: botar pronounced as /[bɔˈtaɾ]/ 'to jump'. In pretonic syllables, close-/open-mid vowels are kept in derived words and compounds (e.g. Galician: c{{IPA|[ɔ]- > Galician: corda pronounced as /[ˈkɔɾðɐ]/ 'string' → Galician: cordeiro pronounced as /[kɔɾˈðejɾʊ]/ 'string-maker'—which contrasts with Galician: cordeiro pronounced as /[koɾˈðejɾʊ]/ 'lamb').
• The distribution of stressed close-mid vowels (/e/, /o/) and open-mid vowels (/ɛ/, /ɔ/) are as follows:^[2]
  • Vowels with graphic accents are usually open-mid, such as vén [bɛŋ], só [s̺ɔ], póla [ˈpɔlɐ], óso [ˈɔs̺ʊ], présa [ˈpɾɛs̺ɐ].
  • Nouns ending in -el or -ol and their plural forms have open-mid vowels, such as papel [paˈpɛl] 'paper' or caracol [kaɾaˈkɔl] 'snail'.
  • Second-person singular and third-person present indicative forms of second conjugation verbs (-er) with the thematic vowel /e/ or /u/ have open-mid vowels, while all remaining verb forms maintain close-mid vowels:
    • bebo [ˈbeβʊ], bebes [ˈbɛβɪs̺], bebe [ˈbɛβɪ], beben [ˈbɛβɪŋ]
    • como [ˈkomʊ], comes [ˈkɔmɪs̺], come [ˈkɔmɪ], comen [ˈkɔmɪŋ]
  • Second-person singular and third-person present indicative forms of third conjugation verbs (-ir) with the thematic vowel /e/ or /u/ have open-mid vowels, while all remaining verb forms maintain close vowels:
    • sirvo [ˈs̺iɾβʊ], serves [ˈs̺ɛɾβɪs̺], serve [ˈs̺ɛɾβɪ], serven [ˈs̺ɛɾβɪŋ]
    • Galician: fuxo [ˈfuʃʊ], foxes [ˈfɔʃɪs̺], foxe [ˈfɔʃɪ], foxen [ˈfɔʃɪŋ]
  • Certain verb forms derived from irregular preterite forms have open-mid vowels:
    • preterite indicative: coubeches [kowˈβɛt͡ʃɪs̺], coubemos [kowˈβɛmʊs̺], coubestes [kowˈβɛs̺tɪs̺], couberon [kowˈβɛɾʊŋ]
    • pluperfect: eu/el coubera [kowˈβɛɾɐ], couberas [kowˈβɛɾɐs̺], couberan [kowˈβɛɾɐŋ]
    • preterite subjunctive: eu/el coubese [kowˈβɛs̺ɪ], coubeses [kowˈβɛs̺ɪs̺], coubesen [kowˈβɛs̺ɪŋ]
    • future subjunctive: eu/el couber [kowˈβɛɾ], couberes [kowˈβɛɾɪs̺], coubermos [kowˈβɛɾmʊs̺], couberdes [kowˈβɛɾðɪs̺], couberen [kowˈβɛɾɪŋ]
  • The letter names e [ˈɛ], efe [ˈɛfɪ], ele [ˈɛlɪ], eme [ˈɛmɪ], ene [ˈɛnɪ], eñe [ˈɛɲɪ], erre [ˈɛrɪ], ese [ˈɛs̺ɪ], o [ˈɔ] have open-mid vowels, while the remaining letter names have close-mid vowels.
  • Close-mid vowels:
    • verb forms of first conjugation verbs with a thematic mid vowel followed by -i- or palatal x, ch, ll, ñ (deitar, axexar, pechar, tellar, empeñar, coxear)
    • verb forms of first conjugation verbs ending in -ear or -oar (voar)
    • verbs forms derived from the irregular preterite form of ser and ir (fomos, fora, fose, for)
    • verbs forms derived from regular preterite forms Galician: (collemos, collera, collese, coller)
    • infinitives of second conjugation verbs (coller, pór)
    • the majority of words ending in -és (coruñés, vigués, montañés)
    • the diphthong ou (touro, tesouro)
    • nouns ending in -edo, -ello, -eo, -eza, ón, -or, -oso (medo, cortello, feo, grandeza, corazón, matador, fermoso)
• Of the seven vocalic phonemes of the tonic and pretonic syllables, only pronounced as //a// has a set of different renderings (allophones), forced by its context:
  • pronounced as /link/ (short central): normal realization of the phoneme.
  • pronounced as /link/ (long central): due to contraction, as in Galician: ra pronounced as /[ˈraː]/ 'frog' < Galician: rãa < Latin .^[3]
  • pronounced as /link/ (short advanced back): when next to pronounced as //ŋ, k, ɡ, l, w//.
  • pronounced as /link/ (short retracted front): before a palatal consonant.
• All dialectal forms of Galician but Ancarese, spoken in the Ancares valley in León, have lost the phonemic quality of mediaeval nasal vowels. Nevertheless, any vowel is nasalized in contact with a nasal consonant.
• The vocalic system of Galician language is heavily influenced by metaphony. Regressive metaphony is produced either by a final pronounced as //a//, which tend to open medium vowels, or by a final pronounced as //o//, which can have the reverse effect. As a result, metaphony affects most notably words with gender opposition: Galician: sogro pronounced as /[ˈsoɣɾʊ]/ ('father-in-law') vs. Galician: sogra pronounced as /[ˈsɔɣɾɐ]/ ('mother-in-law'). On the other hand, vowel harmony, triggered by pronounced as //i// or pronounced as //u//, has had a large part in the evolution and dialectal diversification of the language.

DiphthongsGalician language possesses a large set of falling diphthongs:

Galician diphthongs

falling
pronounced as /[aj]/	Galician: c'''ai'''xa	'box'	pronounced as /[aw]/	Galician: '''au'''tor	'author'
pronounced as /[ɛj]/	Galician: pap'''ei'''s	'papers'	pronounced as /[ɛw]/	Galician: d'''eu'''	'he/she gave'
pronounced as /[ej]/	Galician: qu'''ei'''xo	'cheese'	pronounced as /[ew]/	Galician: bat'''eu'''	'he/she hit'
pronounced as /[ɔj]/	Galician: boc'''oi'''	'barrel'
pronounced as /[oj]/	Galician: l'''oi'''ta	'fight'	pronounced as /[ow]/	Galician: p'''ou'''co	'little'

There are also a certain number of rising diphthongs, but they are not characteristic of the language and tend to be pronounced as hiatus.

Consonants

Consonant phonemes of Galician

	Labial		Dental		Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Palatal		Velar
Nasal	pronounced as /ink/				pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/
Plosive/Affricate	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
Fricative	pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
Approximant	pronounced as /ink/				pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/
Trill					pronounced as /ink/
Flap					pronounced as /ink/

Consonants

Phoneme (IPA)	Main allophones	Graphemes	Example
pronounced as //b//	pronounced as /[b]/, pronounced as /[β̞]/	Galician: b, v	Galician: bebo pronounced as /[ˈbeβ̞ʊ]/ '(I) drink', Galician: alba pronounced as /[ˈalβ̞ɐ]/ 'sunrise', Galician: vaca pronounced as /[ˈbakɐ]/ 'cow', Galician: cova pronounced as /[ˈkɔβ̞ɐ]/ 'cave'
pronounced as //θ//	pronounced as /[θ]/ (dialectal pronounced as /[s]/)	Galician: z, c	Galician: macio pronounced as /[ˈmaθjʊ]/ 'soft', Galician: cruz pronounced as /[ˈkɾuθ]/ 'cross'
pronounced as //tʃ//	pronounced as /[tʃ]/	Galician: ch	Galician: chamar pronounced as /[tʃaˈmaɾ]/ 'to call', Galician: achar pronounced as /[aˈtʃaɾ]/ 'to find'
pronounced as //d//	pronounced as /[d]/, pronounced as /[ð̞]/	Galician: d	Galician: vida pronounced as /[ˈbið̞ɐ]/ 'life', Galician: cadro pronounced as /[ˈkað̞ɾʊ]/ 'frame'
pronounced as //f//	pronounced as /[f]/	Galician: f	Galician: feltro pronounced as /[ˈfɛltɾʊ]/ 'filter', Galician: freixo pronounced as /[ˈfɾejʃʊ]/ 'ash-tree'
pronounced as //ɡ//	pronounced as /[ɡ]/, pronounced as /[ɣ]/ (dialectal pronounced as /[ħ]/)	Galician: g, gu	Galician: fungo pronounced as /[ˈfuŋɡʊ]/ 'fungus', Galician: guerra pronounced as /[ˈɡɛrɐ]/ 'war', Galician: o gato pronounced as /[ʊ ˈɣatʊ]/ 'the cat'
pronounced as //ɟ//	pronounced as /[ɟ]/, pronounced as /[ʝ˕]/, pronounced as /[ɟʝ]/	Galician: ll, i	Galician: mollado pronounced as /[moˈɟað̞ʊ]/ 'wet'
pronounced as //k//	pronounced as /[k]/	Galician: c, qu	Galician: casa pronounced as /[ˈkasɐ]/ 'house', Galician: querer pronounced as /[keˈɾeɾ]/ 'to want'
pronounced as //l//	pronounced as /[l]/	Galician: l	Galician: lúa pronounced as /[ˈluɐ]/ 'moon', Galician: algo pronounced as /[ˈalɣʊ]/ 'something', Galician: mel pronounced as /[ˈmɛl]/ 'honey'
pronounced as //m//	pronounced as /[m], [ŋ]/[4]	Galician: m	Galician: memoria pronounced as /[meˈmɔɾjɐ]/ 'memory', Galician: campo pronounced as /[ˈkampʊ]/ 'field', Galician: álbum pronounced as /[ˈalβuŋ]/
pronounced as //n//	pronounced as /[n], [m], [ŋ]/	Galician: n	Galician: niño pronounced as /[ˈniɲʊ]/ 'nest', Galician: onte pronounced as /[ˈɔntɪ]/ 'yesterday', Galician: conversar pronounced as /[kombeɾˈsaɾ]/ 'to talk', Galician: irmán pronounced as /[iɾˈmaŋ]/ 'brother'
pronounced as //ɲ//	pronounced as /[ɲ]/	Galician: ñ	Galician: mañá pronounced as /[maˈɲa]/ 'morning'
pronounced as //ŋ//	pronounced as /[ŋ]/	Galician: nh	Galician: algunha pronounced as /[alˈɣuŋɐ]/ 'some'
pronounced as //p//	pronounced as /[p]/	Galician: p	Galician: carpa pronounced as /[ˈkaɾpɐ]/ 'carp'
pronounced as //ɾ//	pronounced as /[ɾ]/	Galician: r	Galician: hora pronounced as /[ˈɔɾɐ]/ 'hour', Galician: coller pronounced as /[koˈʎeɾ]/ 'to grab'
pronounced as //r//	pronounced as /[r]/	Galician: r, rr	Galician: rato pronounced as /[ˈratʊ]/ 'mouse', Galician: carro pronounced as /[ˈkarʊ]/ 'cart'
pronounced as //s//	pronounced as /[s̺, z̺]/ (dialectal pronounced as /[s̻, z̻]/)	Galician: s	Galician: selo pronounced as /[ˈs̺elʊ]/ 'seal, stamp', Galician: cousa pronounced as /[ˈkows̺ɐ]/ 'thing', Galician: mesmo pronounced as /[ˈmɛz̺mʊ]/ 'same'
pronounced as //t//	pronounced as /[t]/	Galician: t	Galician: trato pronounced as /[ˈtɾatʊ]/ 'deal'
pronounced as //ʃ//	pronounced as /[ʃ]/	Galician: x[5]	Galician: xente pronounced as /[ˈʃentɪ]/ 'people', Galician: muxica pronounced as /[muˈʃikɐ]/ 'ash-fly'

Voiced plosives (pronounced as //ɡ//, pronounced as //d// and pronounced as //b//) are lenited (weakened) to approximants or fricatives in all instances, except after a pause or a nasal consonant; e.g. Galician: un gato 'a cat' is pronounced pronounced as /[uŋ ˈɡatʊ]/, whilst Galician: o gato 'the cat' is pronounced pronounced as /[ʊ ˈɣatʊ]/.

During the modern period, Galician consonants have undergone significant sound changes that closely parallel the evolution of Spanish consonants, including the following changes that neutralized the opposition of voiced fricatives / voiceless fricatives:

• pronounced as //z// > pronounced as //s//;
• pronounced as //dz// > pronounced as //ts// > pronounced as /[s]/ in western dialects, or pronounced as /[θ]/ in eastern and central dialects;
• pronounced as //ʒ// > pronounced as //ʃ//;

For a comparison, see Differences between Spanish and Portuguese: Sibilants. Additionally, during the 17th and 18th centuries the western and central dialects of Galician developed a voiceless fricative pronunciation of pronounced as //ɡ// (a phenomenon called Galician: [[gheada]]). This may be glottal pronounced as /[h]/, pharyngeal pronounced as /[ħ]/, uvular pronounced as /[χ]/, or velar pronounced as /[x]/.

The distribution of the two rhotics pronounced as //r// and pronounced as //ɾ// closely parallels that of Spanish. Between vowels, the two contrast (e.g. Galician: mi'''rr'''a pronounced as /[ˈmirɐ]/ 'myrrh' vs. Galician: mi'''r'''a pronounced as /[ˈmiɾɐ]/ 'look'), but they are otherwise in complementary distribution. pronounced as /link/ appears in the onset, except in word-initial position (Galician: '''r'''ato), after pronounced as //l//, pronounced as //n//, and pronounced as //s// (Galician: hon'''r'''a, Galician: Is'''r'''ael), where pronounced as /link/ is used.

As in Spanish, pronounced as //ɟ// derives from historical pronounced as /link/ (Spanish; Castilian: [[yeísmo]]) and from syllable-initial pronounced as //j//. In some dialects, it lenites to approximant pronounced as /link/ in the same environments where pronounced as //b, d, ɡ// lenite. It may also be realized as pronounced as /link/ where it derives from pronounced as //j//. The realization pronounced as /[ʎ]/ remains in select older speakers in isolated regions.

Notes and References

1. E.g. by
2. Web site: Pautas para diferenciar as vogais abertas das pechadas . Manuel Antón Mosteiro . 2019-02-19.
3. Web site: Dicionario de pronuncia da lingua galega: á . Ilg.usc.es . 2012-06-30.
4. The phonemes pronounced as //m//, pronounced as //n//, pronounced as //ɲ// and pronounced as //ŋ// coalesce in implosive position as the archiphoneme pronounced as //N//, which, phonetically, is usually pronounced as /link/. Cf.
5. Galician: x can stand also for pronounced as /[ks]/