View source for Ukrainian phonology

{{Short description|Phonology of the Ukrainian language}}
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{{more citations needed|date=November 2009}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=May 2015}}
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{{IPA notice}}
This article deals with the [[phonology]] of the standard [[Ukrainian language]].

== Stress ==
Stress is phonemic in Ukrainian. With most Ukrainian nouns, the stress falls on either the final vowel of the stem or the initial vowel of the inflection. In a few nouns the stress may be further forward.{{Clarify|reason=Forward could mean more to the front, i.e. the beginning of the word. It could also mean more in the direction of progression, i e. more towards the end of the word. Which is meant here?|date=August 2023}} The position is generally fixed for the various cases of the noun (though inflection stress shifts to the last vowel of the stem if the inflection is a [[zero suffix]]), but may change with number (stem stress in both singular and plural, e.g. теа́тр ~ теа́три 'theater'; stem stress in the singular and inflection stress in the plural, e.g. жі́нка ~ жінки́ 'woman'; and so on for all permutations.)

The pattern with adjectives is similar to that of nouns, but does not differ between singular and plural (all stem stress or all inflection stress). In some inflection-stressed adjectives, stress shifts to the stem in the [[comparative]].

With most verbs, stress falls on a syllable in the stem. That syllable may differ between the perfective and imperfective aspects (verbs with 'shifting stress'), but otherwise the stress remains on the same syllable for all inflections. A small group of verbs which do not shift for aspect and have ''е'' in their stems bear stress on the inflection. That stress is always on the last syllable of the word apart from in the future imperfective, where it is on the same syllable as in the infinitive ({{gcl|INF}} нести́, {{gcl|FUT}}.{{gcl|NPFV}}.{{gcl|3SG}} нести́ме 'carry').

With numerals, stress placement may differ between ordinal and cardinal forms.

For names, stress may shift between given names (Богда́н, Рома́н) and family names (Бо́гдан, Ро́ман), and between patronymics (Іва́нович, Богда́нович) and family names (Івано́вич, Богдано́вич).

== Vowels ==
[[File:Ukrainian vowel chart.svg|thumb|upright=1.13|Ukrainian vowel chart, from {{Harvcoltxt|Pompino-Marschall|Steriopolo|Żygis|2016|p=353}}]]
Ukrainian has the six monophthong [[phoneme]]s shown below. {{IPA|/ɪ/}} is a retracted close-mid front vowel {{IPAblink|ɪ|ɪ̞}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Rusanivs’kyj|Taranenko|Zjabljuk|2004|p=104}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}}
| {{IPA link|ɪ}}
| {{IPA link|u}}
|- 
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛ}}
| 
| {{IPA link|o̞|ɔ}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| 
| {{IPA link|a}}
| 
|}

Ukrainian has no phonemic distinction between long and short vowels; however, unstressed vowels are shorter and tend to be more centralized.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Rusanivs’kyj|Taranenko|Zjabljuk|2004|p=407}}</ref> The unstressed vowel allophones are as follows:<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Buk|Mačutek|Rovenchak|2008|=3}}, §2.2</ref>
* {{IPA|/i/}} remains more or less {{IPAblink|i}}.
* {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/ɪ/}} approach {{IPAblink|e}}, which may be a shared [[allophone]] for the two phonemes.
* {{IPA|/a/}} is realized as {{IPAblink|ɐ}}.
* {{IPA|/ɔ/}} is realized as {{IPAblink|o}}, or more towards {{IPA|/u/}} if it is [[Metaphony|followed by a syllable]] with {{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/u/}}.
* {{IPA|/u/}} is realized as {{IPAblink|ʊ}}.
{{clear}}

== Consonants ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Dental consonant|Dental]]/[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br />alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! <small>Hard</small>
! <small>Soft</small>
|-
! [[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n̪|n}}
| {{IPA link|nʲ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! [[Stop consonant|Stop]]
| {{IPA link|p}} {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|t̪|t}} {{IPA link|d̪|d}}
| {{IPA link|tʲ }} {{IPA link|dʲ }}
|
|
| {{IPA link|k}} {{IPA link|ɡ}}
|
|-
! [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
|
| {{IPA link|t̪͡s̪|t͡s}} {{IPA link|d̪͡z̪|d͡z}}
| {{IPA link|t͡sʲ}} {{IPA link|d͡zʲ}}
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} {{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}
|
|
|
|-
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|s̪|s}} {{IPA link|z̪|z}}
| {{IPA link|sʲ}} {{IPA link|zʲ}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}} {{IPA link|ʒ}}
|
| {{IPA link|x}}
|{{IPA link|ɦ|ɦ}}
|-
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|{{IPA link|ʋ}} ~ {{IPA link|β̞|w}}
|{{IPA link|l}}
|{{IPA link|lʲ}}
|
|{{IPA link|j}}
|
|
|-
! [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|{{IPA link|r}}
|{{IPA link|rʲ}}
|
|
|
|
|}

In the table above, whenever two consonants share a cell, the one to the left is voiceless, while the one to the right is voiced.

Phonetic details:
* There is no complete agreement about the phonetic nature of {{IPA|/ɦ/}}. According to some linguists, it is pharyngeal {{IPAblink|ʕ}} (when devoiced, {{IPAblink|ħ}} or sometimes {{IPAblink|x}} in weak positions).<ref name="DanVak12">{{Harvcoltxt|Danyenko|Vakulenko|1995|p=12}}</ref> According to others, it is glottal {{IPAblink|ɦ}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Pugh|Press|2005|p=23}}</ref><ref>The sound is described as "laryngeal fricative consonant" ({{lang|uk|гортанний
щілинний приголосний}}) in the official orthography: '§&nbsp;14. Letter H' in Український правопис, Kyiv: Naukova dumka, 2012, p. 19 ([http://izbornyk.org.ua/pravopys/rozdil1.htm#par14 see e-text])</ref><ref>Українська мова: енциклопедія, Kyiv, 2000, p. 85.</ref>
* After voiceless consonants, word-final {{IPA|/m/}}, {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/r/}} are voiceless {{IPAblink|m̥}}, {{IPAblink|l̥}}, {{IPAblink|r̥}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Danyenko|Vakulenko|1995|pp=6, 8}}</ref> For {{IPA|/r/}}, this only happens after {{IPA|/t/}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Danyenko|Vakulenko|1995|p=8}}</ref>
* {{IPA|/w/}} is most commonly bilabial {{IPAblink|β̞}} before vowels but can alternate with labiodental {{IPAblink|ʋ}} (most commonly before {{IPA|/i/}}),<ref name="w1">{{Harvcoltxt|Žovtobrjux|Kulyk|1965|pp=121–122}}</ref> and it can be a true labiovelar {{IPAblink|w}} before {{IPA|/ɔ/}} or {{IPA|/u/}}.<ref name="bmr3">{{Harvcoltxt|Buk|Mačutek|Rovenchak|2008|=3}}</ref> It is also vocalized to {{IPA|[u̯]}}{{clarify|reason=How does this differ from [w]?|date=March 2022}} before a consonant at the beginning of a word (вже {{IPA|[u̯ʒɛ]}}), after a vowel before a consonant or after a vowel at the end of a word.<ref name="w1"/><ref name="w2">{{Harvcoltxt|Rusanivs’kyj|Taranenko|Zjabljuk|2004|pp=522–523}}</ref> If {{IPA|/w/}} occurs before a voiceless consonant and not after a vowel, the voiceless articulation {{IPAblink|ʍ}} is also possible.<ref name="bmr3"/>
* {{IPA|/r/}} is often realized as a single tap {{IPAblink|ɾ}}.
* {{IPA|/t, d, dʲ, n, nʲ, s, sʲ, z, zʲ, t͡s, t͡sʲ, d͡z, d͡zʲ/}} are dental {{IPA|[{{IPAplink|t̪}}, {{IPAplink|d̪}}, {{IPA link|d̪ʲ }}, {{IPAplink|n̪}}, {{IPA link|n̪ʲ}}, {{IPAplink|s̪}}, {{IPA link|s̪ʲ}}, {{IPAplink|z̪}}, {{IPA link|z̪ʲ}}, {{IPAplink|t̪͡s̪}}, {{IPA link|t̪͡s̪ʲ}}, {{IPAplink|d̪͡z̪}}, {{IPA link|d̪͡z̪ʲ}}]}},<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Danyenko|Vakulenko|1995|pp=8–10}}</ref> while {{IPA|/tʲ, l, lʲ, r, rʲ/}} are alveolar {{IPA|[{{IPA|tʲ }}, {{IPAplink|l}}, {{IPA|lʲ}}, {{IPAplink|r}}, {{IPA|rʲ}}]}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Danyenko|Vakulenko|1995|pp=8 and 10}}</ref>
* The group of palatalized consonants consists of 10 phonemes: {{IPA|/j, dʲ, zʲ, lʲ, nʲ, rʲ, sʲ, tʲ, t͡sʲ, d͡zʲ/}}. All except {{IPA|/j/}} have a soft and a hard variant. There is no agreement about the nature of the palatalization of {{IPA|/rʲ/}}; sometimes, it is considered as a semi-palatalized{{clarify|date=September 2017}} consonant.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Ponomariv|2001|pp=16, 20}}</ref> The labial consonants {{IPA|/p, b, m, f/}} only have 'semi-palatalized' versions, and {{IPA|/w/}} has only the 'hard' variant.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Ponomariv|2001|pp=14–15}}</ref>  The palatalization of the consonants {{IPA|/ɦ, ɡ, ʒ, k, x, t͡ʃ, ʃ, d͡ʒ/}} is weak; they are usually treated rather as the allophones of the respective hard consonants, not as separate phonemes.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Buk|Mačutek|Rovenchak|2008|=4}}</ref>
* Unlike Russian and several other Slavic languages, Ukrainian does not have [[final-obstruent devoicing|final devoicing]] for most [[obstruent consonant|obstruent]]s, as can be seen, for example, in {{wikt-lang|uk|віз}} "cart", which is pronounced {{audio-IPA|Uk-віз.ogg|[ˈʋiz]}}, not {{IPA|*[ˈʋis]}}.<ref name="bmr3"/>
* The fricative articulations {{IPA|[{{IPAplink|v}}, {{IPAplink|ɣ}}]}} are voiced allophones of {{IPA|/f, x/}} respectively if they are voiced before other voiced consonants. (See [[#Consonant assimilation]].) {{IPA|/x, ɦ/}} do not form a perfect voiceless-voiced phoneme pair, but their allophones may overlap if {{IPA|/ɦ/}} is devoiced to {{IPA|[x]}} (rather than {{IPA|[h]}}).  In the standard language, {{IPA|/f, w/}} do not form a voiceless-voiced phoneme pair at all, as {{IPA|[v]}} does not phonemically overlap with {{IPA|/w/}}, and {{IPA|[ʍ]}} (voiceless allophone of {{IPA|/w/}}) does not phonemically overlap with {{IPA|/f/}}.<ref name="bmr3"/>

When two or more consonants occur word-finally, a vowel is [[Epenthesis|epenthesized]] under the following conditions:<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Carlton|1972|p=?}}</ref> Given a consonantal grouping {{underline|C}}<sub>1</sub>({{lang|uk|ь}})C<sub>2</sub>({{lang|uk|ь}}), ‘{{underline|C}}’ being any consonant, the vowel is inserted between the two consonants and after the {{lang|uk|ь}}. A vowel is not inserted unless {{underline|C}}{{sub|2}} is {{IPA|/k/}}, {{IPA|/w/}}, {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/m/}}, {{IPA|/r/}}, or {{IPA|/t͡s/}}. Then:

# If {{underline|C}}{{sub|1}} is {{IPA|/w/}}, {{IPA|/ɦ/}}, {{IPA|/k/}}, or {{IPA|/x/}}, the epenthesized vowel is always {{IPA|[o]}}.
#* No vowel is epenthesized if the {{IPA|/w/}} is derived from a Common Slavic vocalic *l, for example, {{IPA|/wɔwk/}} (see below).
# If {{underline|C}}{{sub|2}} is {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/m/}}, {{IPA|/r/}}, or {{IPA|/t͡s/}}, then the vowel is {{IPA|[e]}}.
# The combinations {{IPA|/-stw/}} and {{IPA|/-sk/}} are not broken up.
# If {{underline|C}}{{sub|1}} is {{IPA|/j/}} ({{lang|uk|й}}), both the form with the epenthetic vowel (according to the above rules) and the form without it can be found.

===Alternation of vowels and semivowels===
The semivowels {{IPA|/j/}} and {{IPA|/w/}} alternate with the vowels {{IPA|/i/}} and {{IPA|/u/}} respectively. The semivowels are used in syllable codas: after a vowel and before a consonant, either within a word or between words:{{citation needed|date=November 2009}}

: {{lang|uk|він '''і'''де́}} {{IPA|/ˈwin '''i'''ˈdɛ/}} ('he's coming')
: {{lang|uk|вона́ '''й'''де}} {{IPA|/wɔˈna ˈ'''j'''dɛ/}} ('she's coming')
: {{lang|uk|він '''і''' вона́}} {{IPA|/ˈwin '''i''' wɔˈna/}} ('he and she')
: {{lang|uk|вона́ '''й''' він}} {{IPA|/wɔˈna '''j''' ˈwin/}} ('she and he');

: {{lang|uk|'''У'''томи́вся '''в'''же}} {{IPA|/'''u'''tɔˈmɪwsʲa ˈ'''w'''ʒɛ/}} ('already gotten tired')
: {{lang|uk|'''У'''же́ '''в'''томи́вся}} {{IPA|/'''u'''ˈʒɛ '''w'''tɔˈmɪwsʲa/}} ('already gotten tired')
: {{lang|uk|Він '''у'''томи́вся.}} {{IPA|/ˈwin '''u'''tɔmɪwsʲa/}} ('He's gotten tired.')
: {{lang|uk|Він '''у''' ха́ті.}} {{IPA|/ˈwin '''u''' ˈxat⁽ʲ⁾i/}} ('He's inside the house.')
: {{lang|uk|Вона́ '''в''' ха́ті.}} {{IPA|/wɔˈna '''w''' ˈxat⁽ʲ⁾i/}} ('She's inside the house.')
: {{lang|uk|під'''у'''чи́ти}} {{IPA|/pid'''u'''ˈt͡ʃɪtɪ/}} ('to learn/teach (a little more)')
: {{lang|uk|ви́'''в'''чити}} {{IPA|/ˈwɪ'''w'''t͡ʃɪtɪ/}} ('to have learnt')

This feature distinguishes Ukrainian phonology from Russian and Polish, two related languages with many cognates.

=== Consonant assimilation ===
Ukrainian has assimilatory ''voicing'': voiceless obstruents are voiced when preceding voiced obstruents.<ref name=MW209>{{Harvcoltxt|Mascaró|Wetzels|2001|p=209}}</ref> (Voiced sonorants do not trigger voicing.)
* {{wikt-lang|uk|наш}} {{IPA|[naʃ]}} ('our')
* {{lang|uk|наш дід}} {{IPA|[nɐʒ ˈd{{sup|⁽ʲ⁾}}id]}} ('our grandfather')
There is no such assimilation in the reverse direction (voicing of voiceless obstruents ''following'' voiced obstruents).<ref name=MW209 />
* {{wikt-lang|uk|бере́за}} {{IPA|[beˈrɛzɐ]}} ('birch')
* {{wikt-lang|uk|бері́зка}} {{IPA|[beˈr⁽ʲ⁾izkɐ]}} ('small birch')
With a few exceptions, there is no word-final or assimilatory devoicing in Ukrainian. The exceptions are {{lang|uk|легко}}, {{lang|uk|вогко}}, {{lang|uk|нігті}}, {{lang|uk|кігті}}, {{lang|uk|дьогтю}}, {{lang|uk|дігтяр}}, and their derivatives: {{IPA|/ɦ/}} may then be devoiced to {{IPAblink|h}} or even merge with {{IPA|/x/}}.<ref name="bmr3"/>

Unpalatalized dental consonants {{IPA|/n, t, d, t͡s, d͡z, s, z, r, l/}} become palatalized if they are followed by other palatalized dental consonants {{IPA|/nʲ, tʲ, dʲ, t͡sʲ, d͡zʲ, sʲ, zʲ, rʲ, lʲ/}}. They are also typically palatalized before the vowel {{IPA|/i/}}.  Historically, contrasting unpalatalized and palatalized articulations of consonants before {{IPA|/i/}} were possible and more common, with the absence of palatalization usually reflecting that regular sound changes in the language made an {{IPA|/i/}} vowel actually evolve from an older, non-palatalizing {{IPA|/ɔ/}} vowel. [[Ukrainian grammar]] still allows for {{IPA|/i/}} to alternate with either {{IPA|/ɛ/}} or {{IPA|/ɔ/}} in the regular inflection of certain words. The absence of consonant palatalization before {{IPA|/i/}} has become rare, however, but is still allowed when the і succeeding a consonant originated from older о, evidenced by о preserved in some word forms such as стіл / стола ("table", N sg./G sg.).<ref name="bmr3"/>

While the labial consonants {{IPA|/m, p, b, f, w/}} cannot be phonemically palatalized, they can still precede one of the iotating vowels {{lang|uk|є і ьо ю я}}, when many speakers replace the would-be sequences {{IPA|*{{!}}mʲ, pʲ, bʲ, fʲ, wʲ{{!}}}} with the consonant clusters {{IPA|/mj, pj, bj, fj, wj/}}, a habit also common in nearby Polish.<ref name="bmr3"/>  The separation of labial consonants from {{IPA|/j/}} is already hard-coded in many Ukrainian words (and written as such with an apostrophe), such as in {{lang|uk|В'ячеслав}} {{IPA|/wjat͡ʃɛˈslaw/}} "[[Vyacheslav]]", {{wikt-lang|uk|ім'я}} {{IPA|/iˈmja/}} "name" and {{wikt-lang|uk|п'ять}} {{IPA|/pjatʲ/}} "five".{{citation needed|date=September 2017}} The combinations of labials with iotating vowels are written without the apostrophe after consonants in the same morpheme, e.g. {{lang|uk|свято}} {{IPA|/ˈsʲw(j)atɔ/}} "holiday", {{lang|uk|цвях}} "nail" (but {{lang|uk|зв'язок}} "union", where {{lang|uk|з-}} is a prefix), and in some loanwords, e. g. {{lang|uk|бюро}} "bureau".

Dental sibilant consonants {{IPA|/t͡s, d͡z, s, z/}} become palatalized before any of the labial consonants {{IPA|/m, p, b, f, w/}} followed by one of the iotating vowels {{lang|uk|є і ьо ю я}}, but the labial consonants themselves cannot retain phonemic palatalization.  Thus, words like {{lang|uk|свято}} {{IPA|/ˈsʲw(j)atɔ/}} "holiday" and {{lang|uk|сват}} {{IPA|/swat/}} "matchmaker" retain their separate pronunciations (whether or not an actual {{IPA|/j/}} is articulated).<ref name="bmr3"/>

Sibilant consonants (including affricates) in clusters assimilate with the place of articulation and palatalization state of the last segment in a cluster. The most common case of such assimilation is the verbal ending {{lang|uk|-шся}} in which {{IPA|{{!}}ʃsʲa{{!}}}} assimilates into {{IPA|/sʲːa/}}.<ref name="bmr3"/>

Dental plosives {{IPA|/t, tʲ, d, dʲ/}} assimilate to affricate articulations before coronal affricates or fricatives {{IPA|/t͡s, d͡z, s, z, t͡sʲ, d͡zʲ, sʲ, zʲ, t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ, ʃ, ʒ/}} and assume the latter consonant's place of articulation and palatalization. If the sequences {{IPA|{{!}}t.t͡s, d.d͡z, t.t͡sʲ, d.d͡zʲ, t.t͡ʃ, d.d͡ʒ{{!}}}} regressively assimilate to {{IPA|*/t͡s.t͡s, d͡z.d͡z, t͡sʲ.t͡sʲ, d͡zʲ.d͡zʲ, t͡ʃ.t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ.d͡ʒ/}}, they gain geminate articulations {{IPA|/t͡sː, d͡zː, t͡sʲː, d͡zʲː, t͡ʃː, d͡ʒː/}}.<ref name="bmr3"/>

== Deviations of spoken language ==
There are some typical deviations which may appear in spoken language (often under the influence of [[Russian language|Russian]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Фонетика й вимова - Олександр Пономарів |url=http://ponomariv-kultura-slova.wikidot.com/fonetyka |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=ponomariv-kultura-slova.wikidot.com}}</ref> They are usually considered phonetic errors by pedagogists.{{Why|date=September 2024}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Електронна бібліотека Інституту журналістики |url=http://journlib.univ.kiev.ua/index.php?act=article&article=1481 |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=journlib.univ.kiev.ua}}</ref>
* {{IPAblink|ɨ}} for {{IPAslink|ɪ}}
* {{IPAblink|t͡ɕ}} for {{IPAslink|t͡ʃ}} and {{IPA|[ɕt͡ɕ]}} or even {{IPAblink|ɕː}} for {{IPA|[ʃt͡ʃ]}}
* {{IPA|[rʲ]}} for {{IPA|/r/}}, {{IPA|[bʲ]}} for {{IPA|/b/}}, {{IPA|[vʲ]}} for {{IPA|/w/}} in certain words ({{lang|uk|Ха́'''р'''ків}}, {{lang|uk|О'''б'''}}, {{lang|uk|любо́'''в'''’ю}})
* {{IPA|[v]}} or {{IPA|[f]}} (the latter in syllable-final position) for {{IPA|[w ~ u̯ ~ β̞ ~ ʋ ~ ʍ]}} ({{lang|uk|любо́'''в'''}}, {{lang|uk|роби́'''в'''}}, {{lang|uk|'''в'''ари́ти}}, {{lang|uk|'''в'''ода́}}),<ref name="w1"/> in effect also turning {{IPA|/f, w/}} into a true voiceless-voiced phoneme pair, which isn't present in the standard language
* [[Final-obstruent devoicing]]

== Historical phonology ==
{{main|Proto-Slavic language}}
Modern standard Ukrainian descends from [[Proto-Slavic|Common Slavic]] and is characterized by a number of [[sound change]]s and morphological developments, many of which are shared with other [[East Slavic languages]]. These include:

# In a newly closed [[syllable]], that is, a syllable that ends in a [[consonant]], Common Slavic *o and *e mutated into {{IPA|/i/}} if the following [[vowel]] was one of the [[yer]]s (*ŭ or *ĭ); for example, CSl. *''p'''ê'''ktь'' → Ukr. {{lang|uk|п'''і'''ч}} (''p'''i'''č'' "oven") & CSl. *''n'''ô'''sъ'' → Ukr. {{lang|uk|н'''і'''с}} (''n'''i'''s'' "nose").<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Becker|1980|p=400}}</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Derksen|2008|pp=357, 393}}</ref>
# [[Pleophony]]: The Common Slavic combinations, *CoRC and *CeRC, where R is either *r or *l, become in Ukrainian:
## CorC gives ''CoroC'' (Common Slavic *borda gives Ukrainian ''boroda'', {{wikt-lang|uk|борода́}})
## ColC gives ''ColoC'' (Common Slavic *bolto gives Ukrainian ''boloto'', {{wikt-lang|uk|боло́то}})
## CerC gives ''CereC'' (Common Slavic *berza gives Ukrainian ''bereza'', {{wikt-lang|uk|бере́за}})
## CelC gives ''ColoC'' (Common Slavic *melko gives Ukrainian ''moloko'', {{wikt-lang|uk|молоко́}})
# The Common Slavic nasal vowel *ę is reflected as {{IPA|/ja/}}; a preceding [[labial consonant]] generally was not palatalized after this, and after a [[postalveolar consonant|postalveolar]] it became {{IPA|/a/}}. Examples: Common Slavic *pętĭ became Ukrainian {{IPA|/pjatʲ/}} ({{wikt-lang|uk|п'ять|п’ять}}); Common Slavic *telę became Ukrainian {{IPA|/tɛˈlʲa/}} ({{wikt-lang|uk|теля́}}); and Common Slavic *kurĭčę became Ukrainian {{IPA|/kurˈt͡ʃa/}} ({{lang|uk|курча́}}<!-- verification needed -->).{{citation needed|date=November 2009}}
# Common Slavic *ě (Cyrillic ѣ), generally became Ukrainian {{IPA|/i/}} except:{{citation needed|date=November 2009}}
## word-initially, where it became {{IPA|/ji/}}: Common Slavic *(j)ěsti became Ukrainian {{wikt-lang|uk|ї́сти}} {{IPA|/ˈjistɪ/}}
## after the postalveolar sibilants where it became {{IPA|/a/}}: Common Slavic *ležěti became Ukrainian {{IPA|/lɛˈʒatɪ/}} ({{lang|uk|лежа́ти}})
# Common Slavic *i and *y are both reflected in Ukrainian as {{IPA|/ɪ/}}{{citation needed|date=November 2009}}
# The Common Slavic combination -CĭjV, where V is any vowel, became {{IPA|-CʲːV}}, except:{{citation needed|date=November 2009}}
## if C is labial or {{IPA|/r/}} where it became -CjV
## if V is the Common Slavic *e, then the vowel in Ukrainian mutated to {{IPA|/a/}}, e.g., Common Slavic *žitĭje became Ukrainian {{IPA|/ʒɪˈtʲːa/}} ({{lang|uk|життя́}})
## if V is Common Slavic *ĭ, then the combination became {{IPA|/ɛj/}}, e.g., genitive plural in Common Slavic *myšĭjĭ became Ukrainian {{IPA|/mɪˈʃɛj/}} ({{lang|uk|мише́й}}<!-- verification needed -->)
## if one or more consonants precede C then there is no doubling of the consonants in Ukrainian
# Sometime around the early thirteenth century, the [[voiced velar stop]] lenited to {{IPA|[ɣ]}} (except in the cluster *zg).<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Shevelov|1977|p=145}}</ref> Within a century, {{IPA|/ɡ/}} was reintroduced from Western European loanwords and, around the sixteenth century, {{IPA|[ɣ]}} [[debuccalization|debuccalized]] to {{IPA|[ɦ]}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Shevelov|1977|p=148}}</ref>
# Common Slavic combinations *dl and *tl were simplified to {{IPA|/l/}}, for example, Common Slavic *mydlo became Ukrainian {{IPA|/ˈmɪlɔ/}} ({{wikt-lang|uk|ми́ло}}).{{citation needed|date=November 2009}}
# Common Slavic *ŭl and *ĭl became {{IPA|/ɔw/}}. For example, Common Slavic *vĭlkŭ became {{IPA|/wɔwk/}} ({{wikt-lang|uk|вовк}}) in Ukrainian.{{citation needed|date=November 2009}}

== References ==
{{reflist|22em}}

== Sources ==
{{refbegin|22em}}
* {{cite journal
|last=Becker
|first=Lee A.
|year=1980
|title=On the Phonetic Nature of the Origin of Ukrainian Ikavism
|journal=Canadian Slavonic Papers / Revue Canadienne des Slavistes
|volume=22
|issue=3
|pages=400–407
|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40867757
}}
* {{citation
|last1=Buk
|first1=Solomija
|last2=Mačutek
|first2=Ján
|last3=Rovenchak
|first3=Andrij
|year=2008
|title=Some properties of the Ukrainian writing system
|journal=Glottometrics
|volume=16
|pages=63–79
|arxiv=0802.4198
|bibcode=2008arXiv0802.4198B
}}
* {{citation
|last=Carlton
|first=T.R.
|year=1972
|title=A Guide to the Declension of Nouns in Ukrainian
|place=Edmonton, Alberta
|publisher=University of Alberta Press
}}
* {{citation
|last1=Danyenko
|first1=Andrii
|last2=Vakulenko
|first2=Serhii
|year=1995
|title=Ukrainian
|publisher=Lincom Europa
|isbn=978-3-929075-08-3
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WUsbAQAAIAAJ
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Derksen
|first=Rick
|year=2008
|title=Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4)
|publisher=Brill
|location=Leiden, Boston
}}

* {{Cite journal
|last1=Mascaró
|first1=Joan
|last2=Wetzels
|first2=W. Leo
|year=2001
|title=The Typology of Voicing and Devoicing
|journal=Language
|volume=77
|pages=207–244
|issue=2
|doi=10.1353/lan.2001.0123
|s2cid=28948663
}}
* {{citation
|editor-last=Pohribnyj
|editor-first=M.I.
|year=1986
|title=Орфоепічний словни
|publisher=Radjans’ka škola
|location=Kiev
}}
* {{citation
|last1=Pompino-Marschall
|first1=Bernd
|last2=Steriopolo
|first2=Elena
|last3=Żygis
|first3=Marzena
|year=2016
|title=Ukrainian
|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association
|volume=47
|issue=3
|pages=349–357
|doi=10.1017/S0025100316000372
|s2cid=232344731
}}
* {{citation
|editor-last=Ponomariv
|editor-first=O.D.
|year=2001
|title=Сучасна українська мова: Підручник
|location=Kyiv
|publisher=Lybid’
}}
* {{citation
|last1=Pugh
|first1=Stefan
|last2=Press
|first2=Ian
|year=2005
|orig-year=First published 1999
|title=Ukrainian: A Comprehensive Grammar
|publisher=Routledge
|location=London
}}
* {{cite book
|last1=Rusanivs’kyj
|first1=V. M.
|last2=Taranenko
|first2=O. O.
|last3=Zjabljuk
|first3=M. P.|display-authors=etal
|year=2004
|title=Українська мова: Енциклопедія
|isbn=978-966-7492-19-9
}}
* {{Cite journal
|last=Shevelov
|first=George Y.
|author-link=George Shevelov
|year=1977
|title=On the Chronology of ''h'' and the New ''g'' in Ukrainian
|journal=Harvard Ukrainian Studies
|volume=1
|issue=2
|pages=137–152
|place=Cambridge
|publisher=Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute
|url=http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/huri/files/vi_n2june1977.pdf
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105200955/https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/huri/files/vi_n2june1977.pdf
|archive-date=2019-01-05
}}
* {{citation
|last=Shevelov
|first=George Y.
|chapter=Ukrainian
|title=The Slavonic Languages
|editor1-last=Comrie
|editor1-first=Bernard
|editor1-link=Bernard Comrie
|editor2-last=Corbett
|editor2-first=Greville
|location=London and New York
|publisher=Routledge
|year=1993
|pages=947–998
}}
* {{citation
|editor-last=Žovtobrjux
|editor-first=M.A.
|year=1973
|title=Українська літературна вимова і наголос: Словник – довідник
|publisher=Nakova dumka
|location=Kiev
}}
* {{cite book
|last1=Žovtobrjux
|first1=M.A.
|last2=Kulyk
|first2=B.M.
|year=1965
|title=Курс сучасної української літературної мови. Частина I
|publisher=Radjans’ka škola
|place=Kiev
}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book
|last=Bahmut
|first=Alla Josypivna
|year=1980
|title=Інтонація як засіб мовної комунікації
|publisher=Naukova dumka
|place=Kiev
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Toc’ka
|first=N.I.
|year=1973
|title=Голосні фонеми української літературної мови
|publisher=Kyjivs’kyj universytet
|place=Kiev
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Toc’ka
|first=N.I.
|year=1995
|title=Сучасна українська літературна мова
|publisher=Vyšča škola
|place=Kiev
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Zilyns'kyj
|first=I.
|title=A Phonetic Description of the Ukrainian Language
|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]
|year=1979
|isbn=0-674-66612-7
}}
* {{citation
|last=Zygis
|first=Marzena
|year=2003
|title=Phonetic and Phonological Aspects of Slavic Sibilant Fricatives
|journal=ZAS Papers in Linguistics
|volume=3
|pages=175–213
|doi=10.21248/zaspil.32.2003.191
|doi-access=free
}}
{{refend}}

{{Ukrainian language}}

{{Language phonologies}}

[[Category:Ukrainian language|Phonology]]
[[Category:Slavic phonologies]]