noun
palatalization
Linguistic term for a sound change where a consonant becomes palatal or acquires a palatal secondary articulation, often before front vowels or /j/.
日本語の「し」は、/s/ が口蓋化して生じた音です。
The Japanese 'shi' is a sound that arose from the palatalization of /s/.
口蓋化は、多くの言語
Palatalization is one of the phonological phenomena observed in many languages.
From 口蓋 (こうがい, 'palate') + 化 (か, '-ization').