Slavic first palatalization

A Proto-Slavic sound change that changed velars *k, *g, and *x into sibilants before front vowels and *j. Its outcomes include *č, *ž, and *š.

Proto-Slavic phonology: The reconstructed sound system of the common ancestor of the Slavic languages. The first palatalization was a regular change within this reconstructed sound system.
Proto-Indo-European language: The reconstructed ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its inherited vocabulary provides the earlier forms used to trace Slavic velar changes.
Slavic languages: A branch of Indo-European languages descended from Proto-Slavic. Their inherited words preserve reflexes that help reconstruct the change.
Velar–sibilant alternation in Slavic: A recurring correspondence between Slavic velars and sibilants across related word forms. The first palatalization created alternations when inflection or derivation placed a front vowel after a velar.
Velar consonant: A consonant articulated with the back of the tongue against the soft palate. The change targeted the Proto-Slavic velars *k, *g, and *x.
Proto-Balto-Slavic language: The reconstructed common ancestor of the Baltic and Slavic language groups. Its history supplies the earlier linguistic stage from which Proto-Slavic developed.
Old Church Slavonic: The earliest attested Slavic literary language, based on a South Slavic dialect. Its written forms provide early evidence for outcomes of the palatalization.
Slavic nominal inflection: The patterns by which Slavic nouns mark grammatical categories through changes in form. Some inherited case forms preserve consonant alternations associated with the sound change.
Front vowel: A vowel produced with the tongue positioned toward the front of the mouth. Front vowels triggered the change by drawing adjacent velars forward.
Proto-Slavic language: The reconstructed common ancestor of the Slavic languages. The first palatalization is reconstructed as a sound change in this language.

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Proto-SlavicBroader topic: This named change illustrates how the inherited consonant system was transformed.