Rhotacism

Rhotacism (/ˈroʊtəsɪzəm/ ROH-tə-siz-əm) or rhotacization is a sound change that converts one consonant (usually a voiced alveolar consonant: /z/, /d/, /l/, or /n/) to a rhotic consonant in a certain environment. The most common may be of /z/ to /r/. When a dialect or member of a language family resists the change and keeps a /z/ sound, this is sometimes known as zetacism.

This article is about the sound change. For the speech errors, see Speech sound disorder § Rhotacism. For other uses, see Rhotic.
Sound change and alternation
Metathesis
Lenition
Fortition
Epenthesis
Elision
Transphonologization
Assimilation
Dissimilation
Sandhi
Synalepha
Other types

The term comes from the Greek letter rho, denoting /r/.

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