Nganasan
Nganasan, alone of the Samoyedic languages (or indeed any Uralic languages east of Finnic), shows systematic qualitative gradation of stops and fricatives. Gradation occurs in intervocalic position as well as in consonant clusters consisisting of a nasal and a stop. Examples of Nganasan consonant gradation can be seen in the following table (the first form given is always the nominative singular, the latter the genitive singular):
| Gradation | Example | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| h : b | bahi : babi | 'wild reindeer' |
| t : ð | ŋuta : ŋuða | 'berry' |
| k : ɡ | məku : məɡu | 'back' |
| s : dʲ | basa : badʲa | 'iron' |
| ŋh : mb | koŋhu : kombu | 'wave' |
| nt : nd | dʲintə : dʲində | 'bow' |
| ŋk : ŋɡ | bəŋkə : bəŋɡə | 'sod hut' |
| ns : nʲdʲ | bənsə : bənʲdʲə | 'all' |
The original conditions of the Nganasan gradation can be shown to be identical to gradation in Finnic and Samic; that is, radical/syllabic gradation according to syllable closure, and suffixal/rhythmic gradation according to a syllable being of odd or even number, with rhythmic gradation particularly well-preserved.
Read more about this topic: Consonant Gradation