#consonant shift

• Assibilate — To transform or become transformed (said of a consonant, usually a plosive like 't' or 'd') into a sibilant fricative or affricate consonant (such as 'ț' or 'z'), under the influence of a neighboring palatal vowel; to undergo the process of assibilating. This phonetic structural phenomenon is essential in the evolution of Romance languages, explaining the delicate transition from classical Latin forms to modern Romanian.
• Assibilation — A structural phonetic process through which a plosive consonant (usually a dental like 't' or 'd') transforms into a sibilant consonant (affricate or fricative, such as 'ț' or 'z') under the influence of a preceding palatal vowel or a semivocalic 'i'. This linguistic evolution phenomenon played a key role in the transition from Latin to Romanian, explaining the morphonological modifications of many verbal and nominal roots.