Akanye


Akanye or akanje is a sound change in Slavic languages in which the phonemes or are realized as more or less close to. It is a case of vowel reduction.
The most familiar example is probably Russian akanye. Akanye also occurs in:
In Belarusian аканне, both non-softened and softened and and other phonemes phonetically merge into in unstressed positions; see Belarusian phonology.
In Russian а́канье , and phonetically merge in unstressed positions. If not preceded by a palatalized consonant, these phonemes give in the syllable immediately before the stress and in absolute word-initial position. In other unstressed locations, non-softened and are further reduced towards a short, poorly enunciated. The phonemic dialectal feature of clear distinction of the unstressed o is called , literally "o-ing".
After soft consonants, unstressed and are pronounced like in most varieties of Russian ; this reduction is not considered a manifestation of akanye. Unlike Belarusian akanne, Russian akanye does not affect softened vowels.
In Slovene, akanje may be partial or complete. Examples from various Slovene dialects: domú → damú 'at home', dnò → dnà 'bottom', léto → líəta, ne vém → na vém 'I don't know', hléb → hlàb 'loaf', jêčmen → jèčman 'barley'.