The disappearing d

From UniLang Wiki

D is often avoided in spoken Finnish. It may be dropped completely from some or all words, or it may be replaced by another sound. In Helsinki area spoken Finnish, it is regularly dropped from some words, especially if it comes after an 'h' but not consistently from all words. The more formal or "kirjakieli" a word is, the less likely it is to have a d dropped from it. For example, the d wouldn't normally be dropped from 'todellisuus' (reality).

Simply dropping the d is common in Helsinki spoken Finnish as well in the Savo dialect group and southeastern dialects as well as in Central, northern and far northern dialect groups. (keski-, pohjois- ja peräpohjalaismurteet):

Examples of words it is regularly dropped from:

mahdollinen -> mahollinen (possible)

yhden -> yhen (one [genitive])

kahdeksan -> kaheksan (eight)

tehdä -> tehä (to do)

odottaa -> oottaa (to wait)

meidän -> meiän (one could also say it becomes 'meijjän') (ours)

edes -> ees (even)

In some dialects, d becomes r:

veden -> veren (water [genitive])

tehdä -> tehrä (to do)

lehden -> lehren (leaf, newspaper [genitive])

This occurs in most western dialects, especially häme dialects (hämäläismurteet) and eteläpohjanmaa.

As mentioned, in the Savo dialect group, d may be dropped completely;

lehden -> lehen (leaf, newspaper [genitive])

but there are a couple of sounds that speakers insert in place of d, called a 'siirtymä-äänne' (transition-sound). This is usually either j;

hidas -> hijas (slow)

or v

sydän -> syvän (heart)

This particular form is common in Savo dialects and is well preserved in areas such as Jyväskylä, Kuopio, and Varkaus. These are the most common forms heard in the countryside, but they are also common in the towns too.

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