Slavic second palatalization

Slavic second palatalization was a Proto-Slavic sound change that changed velar consonants into sibilants before certain front vowels and diphthongs.

Proto-Slavic velars: The Proto-Slavic consonants reconstructed as *k, *g, and *x, inherited from earlier Indo-European stages. These three velars underwent the change into sibilants.
Proto-Slavic: The reconstructed common ancestor of the Slavic languages, spoken before their historical diversification. The second palatalization is reconstructed as a sound change in this ancestor.
Slavic consonant mutation: Alternations among consonants in Slavic word forms that reflect historical sound changes. The palatalization contributed consonant alternations retained in Slavic paradigms.
Comparative method: A procedure for reconstructing ancestral languages by comparing systematic correspondences among related languages. It helps infer Proto-Slavic consonants and the changes that produced their descendants.
Front vowel: A vowel articulated with the tongue body raised toward the front of the mouth. Front-vowel environments conditioned the shift of velars toward sibilants.
Proto-Indo-European: The reconstructed ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Proto-Slavic inherited the velar consonants that later changed.
Old Church Slavonic: The earliest attested Slavic literary language, recorded in the ninth century. Its forms provide early evidence for outcomes of Proto-Slavic sound changes.
Historical linguistics: The study of how languages change and how they are related through time. The palatalization is reconstructed by tracing sound patterns across Slavic history.
Sibilant: A consonant produced by directing airflow through a narrow channel to create a hissing or buzzing sound. The new consonants belong to this manner-of-articulation class.
Slavic first regressive palatalization: A Proto-Slavic change that palatalized velars before front vowels inherited from Proto-Indo-European. It is an earlier, separately conditioned change often compared with the second palatalization.

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