What is "debuccalization"

n. (context phonetics English) A sound change in which a consonant loses its original place of articulation and becomes (IPAchar: [h]) or (IPAchar: [ʔ]).

Debuccalization is a sound change in which an oral consonant loses its original place of articulation and moves it to the glottis (usually , , or ). The pronunciation of a consonant as is sometimes called aspiration but in phonetics, aspiration is the burst of air accompanying a stop. The word comes from Latin bucca, meaning "cheek".

Debuccalization is usually seen as a sub-type of lenition, often defined as a consonant mutation involving the weakening of a consonant by progressive shifts in pronunciation.

Debuccalization processes occur in many different types of environments such as the following:

• word-initially, as in Kannada
• word-finally, as in Burmese
• intervocalically, as in a number of English varieties (e.g. litter )