In linguistics, provection is a type of hardening consonant mutation observed especially in the brittonic languages. It manifests itself in the deviation of occlusive or fricative consonants in certain grammatical contexts.
In Welsh, provection is only observed within words, where it accompanies the addition of certain suffixes, especially those forming:
It also takes place in the formation of certain compound words: ex. pobi "cook" + tŷ "house" → popty "oven"
In Breton and Cornish, provection is also observed internally, similar to Welsh. Examples in Breton:
But it is also observed at the beginning of words, where it is integrated into the larger system of initial consonantal mutations of these languages. In the grammatical terminology of Breton, we speak in this case of hardening mutation. It is triggered by certain possessive ones. Breton examples with ho "your": code
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