26: Why do C and G come in hard and soft versions? Palatalization (Patreon)

A letter stands for a sound. Or at least, it’s supposed to. Most of  the time. Unless it’s C or G, which each stand for two different sounds  in a whole bunch of languages. C can be soft, as in circus or acacia, or hard, as in the other C in circus or acacia. G can be hard, as in gif, or soft, as in gif. 

Why can C and G be hard or soft? And why don’t other letters come in hard and soft versions? 

In  this episode of the podcast that’s enthusiastic about linguistics, your  hosts Lauren Gawne and Gretchen McCulloch get enthusiastic about the  group of sounds that are pronounced with the back part of the roof of  your mouth, aka the palate. When one sound in a word is produced at the  palate, it tends to pull neighbouring sounds towards the palate as well,  and this palatal attraction explains so many weird mismatches of sound  and spelling. Why can C and G be hard and soft? Why do T and D sometimes  get different pronunciations as well, as in nation and didja?  Why are Irish and Scottish Gaelic names spelled that way? Why is it so  hard to spell the clipped forms of “usual” and “casual”? How are cheese and cacio e pepe and queso and Käse all related?   

This is also our anniversary episode! Whether you’ve been with us for  the whole two years or you’ve joined us more recently, we’re glad you’re  here. Thank you to everyone who has helped bring the show to more  language fans in honour of our anniversary. There’s still a bit of time  to get your name on the special thank you post and help more people get a  fun language thing in their ears by recommending Lingthusiasm on social  media before the end of the month. 

For links to everything mentioned in this episode visit https://lingthusiasm.com/post/180153994181/lingthusiasm-episode-26-why-do-c-and-g-come-in