Palatalization

Palatalization is when the flat of the tongue gets close to the roof of the mouth (palate). Since the い sound is pronounced more clearly in Kansai-ben than it is in standard Japanese, it affects the consonant right before い (causing palatalization). Below are some examples of palatalization in Kansai-ben, with their standard counterparts for comparison.

Sound Word Standard Kansai-ben

()

[↓]

しぃ

[↓]


()

[↓]

ちぃ

[↓]


(な)
なに

[↓]

なにぃ

[↓]


(か)
かみ

[↓]

かみぃ

[↓]