kylläiseen

Kylläiseen is a Finnish term used to refer to a type of aspiration-related sound or consonant mutation that occurs in certain consonant combinations when a word begins with a vowel. In Finnish phonology, this term is often used to describe a process where the consonant preceding an initial vowel undergoes changes in its pronunciation, sometimes resulting in a labiovelar or palatalized version of the consonant.

The term kylläiseen is borrowed from the Finnish word "kyllä", which means "certainly" or "indeed". However, in phonological studies, the term is employed more technically to describe a specific pattern of sound transformation that typically occurs between vowel-consonant pairs within words. This alternation can result in changes such as /l/ becoming /ʎ/ or /k/ becoming /kkʲ/ before a vowel. Kylläiseen is not a standard technical term, but rather a colloquialism used among linguists who study Finnish phonetics to simplify their discussions.

When discussing the rules governing this mutation, one must take into account the distinction between sonorant and nonsonorant consonants and their susceptibility to kylläiseen in Finnish language varieties. This can lead to varying outcomes depending on the preceding and following contexts. This mutation type typically affects primarily consonant clusters following an initial vowel and usually corresponds with the onset of Sm…but Kh…uku suffixes for consonant collectives.