This demonstrates beyond a doubt the possibility of a strongly palatalized n becoming a palatal sibilant or vice versa, between which utterances there is but a very slight tongue movement.
In the second period the gutturals have been palatalized, but there yet is no change of final s to r.
In other dialects, however, it had been palatalized to a sibilant before i-sounds some time before the Christian era; e.g.
Thus Norman-French spelt its palatalized c-sound (= tsh) with ch as in cher and the English palatalized cild, &c. became child, &c. In Provençal from the 10th century, and in the northern dialects of France from the 13th century, this palatalized c (in different districts is and tsh) became a simple s.
In this connexion Hommel's theory 2 should be mentioned, that the word Shumer was a later palatalization of Ki-imgir, " land of Imgir "=Shiimgir, subsequently Shingi with palatalized k = sh and elision of the final r.
