Initial dropping facts for kids

Imagine words losing their first sounds! That's what initial dropping is all about. It's a type of sound change where the very first consonants (like 'b', 'd', 'k') of words disappear.

Sometimes, when this happens, the stress (the part of the word you say with more emphasis) might move from the first part of the word to the second. Also, the first vowel (like 'a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u') might become shorter, change, or even disappear completely. This can mean the whole first syllable (a part of a word, like 'ba' in 'banana') of a word is lost!

This interesting sound change has happened on its own in many different Australian Aboriginal language groups.

Initial dropping can affect all the starting consonants in a language, or just a few specific ones. It might happen to every word that starts with those sounds, or only to some words here and there. In some languages, it seems to have mostly affected interjections (like "ouch!" or "wow!") and words often used to call someone, such as pronouns (like "you" or "he") and family terms (like "mother" or "brother").

Like all sound changes, initial dropping can affect an entire language or just certain dialects (different ways of speaking a language). It can also spread across several languages or dialects that are spoken next to each other.

Why Words Lose Their First Sounds

Initial dropping happens because of how stress works in Australian languages. Even though the stress is usually on the first syllable, the strongest part of the sound (the "pitch peak") happens later in that syllable. This means the stress affects the vowel and the consonant that comes *after* it, but not the consonant that comes *before* it. Because that first consonant isn't stressed, it's easier for it to be dropped over time.

What Happens Next: Other Effects

Making Consonant Groups Simpler

When the first vowel of a word is lost, it can sometimes create a difficult consonant cluster (two or more consonants together, like 'str' in 'street'). Some languages avoid this by not allowing initial dropping if it would create a tricky cluster.

For example, in the Mbabaram language, initial dropping doesn't happen if it would create a consonant cluster that isn't a nasal sound (like 'm' or 'n') followed by a stop sound (like 'p' or 't').

Other languages allow initial dropping, but then they drop even more consonants if needed to make the cluster simpler. For instance, in Ngkoth:

New Sounds Appear

Sometimes, a sound in a word might have an allophone (a slightly different way of saying a sound that doesn't change the word's meaning). This allophone might only appear because of what the first consonant or vowel in the word is. When that first sound is lost due to initial dropping, these allophones become phonemes. A phoneme is a distinct sound that *can* change the meaning of a word.

New Vowel Sounds

In Mbabaram, the vowel /a/ in the second syllable used to sometimes sound like [ɔ] (like the 'o' in 'got'). This happened only if the first syllable started with /ɡ/ or /ŋ/. When initial dropping occurred and the /ɡ ŋ/ sounds were lost, the [ɔ] sound was no longer predictable. It had become its own distinct sound, /ɔ/, separate from /a/.

Sounds with a Little Stop

In Australian languages, nasalization (when air comes out of your nose while you make a sound, like 'm' or 'n') often starts late. This means that nasal sounds might have a short stop (a quick blockage of air, like a tiny 'b' before an 'm') right before them.

In Olgolo, nasal sounds in the second syllable used to have a prestopped version if the first syllable started with a stop (like 'p', 't', 'k') or a /w/, and the first vowel was short. When initial consonants were dropped and initial vowels became shorter, these prestopped nasals were no longer predictable. Olgolo had created a new set of distinct prestopped nasal phonemes.

Languages with Initial Dropping

If you want to know more about how much initial dropping happens in a specific language, you can look up that language's article!

• Adjnjamathanha
• Arabana
• Arrernte
• Baagandji
• Bidjara (Gunggari and Yanjdjibara dialects)
• Dharambal (Wapabara dialect)
• Kalkatungu
• Kaytetj
• Maljangapa
• Mbabaram
• Muruwarri
• Nganjaywana
• Nhanta
• Ogh-Undjan
• Oykangand/Olgolo
• Many Paman languages
• Umbindhamu
• Uradhi
• Yaygirr
• Yugambal
• Western Desert Language (some dialects)

See also

• Aphesis