![Gheda idioma gallego](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Gheda_idioma_gallego.png)
Gheada () is a term in
Galician to describe the
debuccalisation of the
voiced velar stop
The voiced velar plosive or stop is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages.
Some languages have the voiced pre-velar plosive, which is articulated slightly more front compared with the place of articulation of the prototyp ...
to a, usually voiceless, back fricative, most often a
voiceless pharyngeal fricative
The voiceless pharyngeal fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is an h-bar, , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is X\. In the transc ...
.
Although it is found throughout
Galicia, its use is declining in
Lugo
Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...
and eastern
Ourense
Ourense (; es, Orense ) is a city and capital of the province of Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path of the Way of St ...
, and it is rarely encountered in education or broadcasting. While it is neither considered incorrect nor stigmatised, it is generally considered appropriate only for familiar rather than formal domains.
Occasionally, the sound is articulated as a
voiceless velar fricative
The voiceless velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. It was part of the consonant inventory of Old English and can still be found in some dialects of English, most notably in Scottish English, e.g. in ''loc ...
, as in
Castilian ''
jamón
''Jamón'' (, pl. ''jamones'') is a kind of dry-cured ham produced in Spain. It is one of the most globally recognized food items of Spanish cuisine. It is also regularly a component of tapas.
Most ''jamón'' is commonly called ''jamón serrano ...
''.
Orthography
The pronunciation is sometimes indicated by the
digraph ''
gh'':
* ''gato'' (; "cat") >
* ''pago'' (; "payment") >
Phonetic realizations
Pharyngeal realizations of the ''gheada'' are the most common, but there's considerable variation. Speakers from inland villages tend to prefer
uvular
Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be stops, fricatives, nasals, trills, or approximants, though the IPA does not provid ...
, pharyngeal, or
glottal fricatives, which are often
voiced
Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds (usually consonants). Speech sounds can be described as either voiceless (otherwise known as ''unvoiced'') or voiced.
The term, however, is used to refer ...
between vowels. In contrast, speakers from coastal villages prefer
velar
Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth (known also as the velum).
Since the velar region of the roof of the mouth is relatively extensive an ...
, pharyngeal, or occasional uvular fricatives, which are always voiceless.
Possible systems
There are three different systems of ''gheada''. In the most widespread one, is pronounced as a voiceless fricative in any position. For example:
This system is found in the major cities of Galicia:
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
,
Pontevedra
Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...
, and
A Coruña
A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...
, as well as in the eastern part of the
Province of A Coruña
The province of A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical en, link=no, Corunna) is the northwesternmost province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia. This province is surrounded by the A ...
.
Another system has both and voiceless fricative allophones:
In this system, found in the western parts of
Ourense
Ourense (; es, Orense ) is a city and capital of the province of Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path of the Way of St ...
and
Lugo
Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...
, northern areas of
Pontevedra
Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...
, and south-eastern areas of
A Coruña
A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...
, is only found after a nasal consonant in the middle of words. Speakers often have trouble recognizing and as allophones of the same phoneme.
A third system has merged into , eliminating the allophone completely:
This system is found in the western parts of Galicia, in
Fisterra
Fisterra (; es, Finisterre) is a municipality in the province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Fisterra. Fisterra is on Cape Finisterre, the final destination for many pilgrims on the Wa ...
and the Ría de Muros.
See also
*
Phonological history of Spanish coronal fricatives
In Spanish dialectology, the realization of coronal fricatives is one of the most prominent features distinguishing various dialect regions. The main three realizations are the phonemic distinction between and ('), the presence of only alveo ...
*
Lenition
In linguistics, lenition is a sound change that alters consonants, making them more sonority hierarchy, sonorous. The word ''lenition'' itself means "softening" or "weakening" (from Latin 'weak'). Lenition can happen both synchronic analysis, s ...
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Map of gheada and seseo use in Galician-speaking areas
Galician language
{{Romance-lang-stub