Konsonantenschwächung

From Konsonant +‎ -en- +‎ Schwächung, literally “consonant weakening”.

Konsonantenschwächung f (genitive Konsonantenschwächung, plural Konsonantenschwächungen)

1. (linguistics) a sound shift whereby consonants are lenited and/or distinctions between fortis-lenis pairs lost

   die Konsonantenschwächung im Dänischen ― the consonant lenitions in Danish

   1. (specifically) a shift of this kind which occurred in many dialects of Late Middle High German

      Synonym: binnendeutsche Konsonantenschwächung

• With regard to German dialects, both the underlying consonantal systems (see High German consonant shift) and the rules of Konsonantenschwächung themselves vary. For example, mostly stem-initial consonants are affected in Bavarian, but mostly stem-internal ones in Rhine Franconian. When the development has resulted in mergers, merged stops are unaspirated and usually voiceless (or weakly voiced), while merged fricatives may be voiced or voiceless.