Palatalization (phonetics)

In phonetics, palatalization or palatization refers to a way of pronouncing a consonant in which part of the tongue is moved close to the hard palate. A consonant pronounced this way is called a palatalized consonant. Palatalized consonants have secondary articulation in the hard palate, or two places of articulation, one of which is palatal. They contrast with palatal consonants, which have palatal primary articulation.