Editing Xhosa language (section)

====Consonant changes with prenasalisation====
{{Main|Fortition}}
When consonants are [[prenasalized stop|prenasalised]], their pronunciation and spelling may change. The murmur no longer shifts to the following vowel. Fricatives become affricated and, if voiceless, they become ejectives as well: ''mf'' is pronounced {{IPA|[ɱp̪fʼ]}}, ''ndl'' is pronounced {{IPA|[ndɮ]}}, ''n+hl'' becomes ''ntl'' {{IPA|[ntɬʼ]}}, ''n+z'' becomes ''ndz'' {{IPA|[ndz]}}, ''n''+''q'' becomes [n͡ŋǃʼ] ''etc.'' The orthographic ''b'' in ''mb'' is the voiced plosive {{IPA|[mb]}}. Prenasalisation occurs in several contexts, including on roots with the class 9 prefix /iN-/, for example on an adjective which is feature-matching its noun:

/iN- + ɬɛ/ ''→'' intle"beautiful" (of a class 9 word like ''inja'' "dog")

When aspirated clicks ({{vr|ch, xh, qh}}) are prenasalised, the silent letter {{vr|k}} is added ({{vr|nkc, nkx, nkq}}) to prevent confusion with the nasal clicks {{vr|nc, nx, nq}}, and are actually distinct sounds. The prenasalized versions have a very short voicing at the onset which then releases in an ejective, like the prenasalized affricates, while the phonemically nasal clicks have a very long voicing through the consonant. When plain voiceless clicks ({{vr|c, x, q}}) are prenasalized, they become slack voiced nasal ({{vr|ngc, ngx, ngq}}).

{| class="wikitable"
|+List of consonant changes with prenasalisation
! Phoneme
! Prenasalised
!Examples (roots with class 10 /iiN-/ prefix)
! Rule
|-
|{{IPA|/pʰ/}}, {{IPA|/tʰ/}}, {{IPA|/t̠ʲʰ/}}, {{IPA|/kʰ/}}, /ǀʰ/, /ǁʰ/, /ǃʰ/
|[mpʼ], [ntʼ], [n̠t̠ʲʼ], [ŋkʼ], [n̪͡ŋǀʼ], [n͡ŋǁʼ], [n̠͡ŋǃʼ]
|
* ''phumla'' "to rest" ''→ iimpumlo'' "noses"
* ''thetha'' "to speak" ''→ iintetho'' "speeches"
* ''tyhafa'' "to weaken" ''→ iintyafo'' "weaknesses"
* ''khathala'' "care about" ''→ iinkathalo'' "cares"
*''chazela'' "explain" ''→ inkcazelo'' "information"
*''xhasa'' "to support" ''→ inkxaso'' "support"
*''qhuba'' "to drive" ''→ inkqubo'' "process"
| Aspiration is lost on obstruents; ejection is added on voiceless consonant.
|-
|{{IPA|/t̠ʲ/}}
|{{IPA|/n̠d̠ʲ/}}
|
* ''tyeba'' "to be rich" ''→ iindyebo'' "wealths"
| Voiceless palatal plosive becomes voiced.
|-
|{{IPA|/ǀ/}}, {{IPA|/ǁ/}}, {{IPA|/ǃ/}}
|{{IPA|/ŋǀʱ/}}, {{IPA|/ŋǁʱ/}}, {{IPA|/ŋǃʱ/}}
|
* ''ucango'' "door" ''→ iingcango'' "doors"
* ''uxande'' "rectangle" ''→ iingxande'' "rectangles"
* ''uqeqesho'' "training" ''→ iingqeqesho'' "trainings"
| Voiced clicks become slack voiced nasal.
|-
|{{IPA|/kǀʰ/}}, {{IPA|/kǁʰ/}}, {{IPA|/kǃʰ/}}
|{{IPA|/ŋǀʼ/}}, {{IPA|/ŋǁ'/}}, {{IPA|/ŋǃ'/}}
|
* ''chaza'' "to explain" ''→ iinkcazo'' "descriptions"
* ''xhasa'' "to support" ''→ iinkxaso'' "supports"
* ''qhuba'' "to continue" ''→ iinkqubo'' "processes"
| Aspirated clicks become prenasalized ejective clicks.
|-
|{{IPA|/ɓ/}}
|{{IPA|/mb̥ʱ/}}
|
* ''ibali'' "story" ''→ iimbali'' "histories"
| Implosive becomes slack voiced.
|-
|{{IPA|/f/}}, {{IPA|/s/}}, {{IPA|/ʃ/}}, {{IPA|/ɬ/}}, {{IPA|/x/}}<br />{{IPA|/v/}}, {{IPA|/z/}}, {{IPA|/ɮ/}}, {{IPA|/ɣ/}}
|{{IPA|[ɱp̪f]}}, {{IPA|/nts/}}, {{IPA|/ntʃ/}}, {{IPA|/ntɬ/}}, {{IPA|/ŋkx/}}<br />{{IPA|[ɱb̪̊vʱ]}}, {{IPA|[nd̥zʱ]}}, {{IPA|[nd̥ɮʱ]}}, {{IPA|[ŋɡ̊ɣʱ]}}?<!-- no examples yet -->
|
* ''fuya'' "to breed" ''→ iimfuyo'' "breeds"
* ''usana'' "child" ''→ iintsana'' "children"
* ''shumayela'' "to preach" ''→ iintshumayelo'' "sermons"
* ''isihloko'' "title" ''→ iintloko'' "heads"
* ''vuma'' "approve" ''→ iimvume'' "approvals"
* ''zama'' "try" ''→ iinzame'' "attempts"
* ''ukudleka'' "wear and tear" ''→ iindleko'' "costs"
| Fricatives become affricates. Only phonemic, and thus reflected orthographically, for {{IPA|/nts/}}, {{IPA|/ntʃ/}}, {{IPA|/ntɬ/}} and {{IPA|/ŋkx/}}.
|-
|{{IPA|/m/}}, {{IPA|/n/}}, {{IPA|/n̠ʲ/}}, {{IPA|/ŋ/}}
{{IPA|/ǀ̃/}}, {{IPA|/ǁ̃/}}, {{IPA|/ǃ̃/}}
|{{IPA|/m/}}, {{IPA|/n/}}, {{IPA|/n̠ʲ/}}, {{IPA|/ŋ/}}
{{IPA|/ǀ̃/}}, {{IPA|/ǁ̃/}}, {{IPA|/ǃ̃/}}
|
* ''umeyile'' "Mr. Mule (as a storybook character) ''→ iimeyile'' "mules"
* ''inoveli'' "novel" ''→ iinoveli'' "novels"
* ''ngena'' "bring in" ''→ ingeniso'' "profit"
* ''unyawo'' "foot" ''→ iinyawo'' "feet"
* ''ncokola'' "to chat" ''→ incoko'' "conversation"
* ''unxweme'' "sea shore" ''→ iinxweme'' "sea shores"
* ''nqula'' "worship" ''→ iinqula'' "adam's apple"
| No change when the following consonant is itself a nasal.
|}