1. An accented e or i immediately followed by the vowel of the penult transfers the stress to this latter vowel, and is itself changed to y: filíŏlus ＞ filyólus, mulíĕrem ＞ mulyére. This shift is perhaps due to a tendency to stress the more sonorous of two contiguous vowels.
2. An accented u immediately followed by the vowel of the penult transfers the stress to the preceding syllable, and is itself changed to w: habúĕrunt ＞ ábwerunt, tenúĕram ＞ ténwera. This shift cannot be explained on the same principle as the foregoing one; it is perhaps due in every case to analogy—hábuit, ténui, for instance, being responsible for the change in habúerunt, tenúeram.
3. Verbs compounded with a prefix, if their constituent parts were fully recognized, were usually replaced in Vulgar Latin by a formation in which the vowel and the accent of the simple verb were preserved: défĭcit ＞ disfácit, réddĭdi ＞ reddédi, rénĕgo ＞ renégo, réquĭrit ＞ requærit. In récĭpit ＞ recípit the accent but not the vowel was restored, speakers having ceased to associate this verb with capio. In cóllĭgo, érĭgo, éxĕo, ínflo the composite nature of the word was apparently not recognized.
4. The adverbs ĭllāc, ĭllīc accented their last syllable, by the analogy of hāc, hīc.
17. In Provençal the primary accent falls on the same syllable as in Vulgar Latin: bonitātem ＞ V. L. bonitáte ＞ Pr. bontát, compŭtum ＞ V. L. cómputu ＞ Pr. cónte; cathĕdra ＞ V. L. catédra ＞ Pr. cadéira; filiŏlus ＞ V. L. filyólus ＞ Pr. filhóls, tenuĕram ＞ V. L. ténwera ＞ Pr. téngra, requĭrit ＞ V. L. requærit ＞ Pr. requér, illac ＞ V. L. illác ＞ Pr. lai.
1. Some learned words have an irregular accentuation, apparently due to a mispronunciation of the Latin: cándĭdum ＞ quandí, grammátĭca ＞ gramatíca, láchry̆mo ＞ lagrím, spírĭtum ＞ esprít (perhaps from the formula spirítui sancto). Others were adopted with the correct stress, but shifted it later: fábrĭca ＞ fábrega ＞ fabréga (and fárga), fémĭna ＞ fémena ＞ feména (and fémna), láchry̆ma ＞ lágrema ＞ lagréma, sémĭnat ＞ sémena ＞ seména (and sémna), vírgĭnem ＞ vérgena ＞ vergína (and vérge).
2. Dimércres ＜ dīe Mercūrī (perhaps through ✱dīe Mércŏris) has evidently been influenced by divénres ＜ dīe Vĕnĕris.
3. Some irregularities due to inflection will be discussed under Morphology.
18. The secondary accent, in Vulgar Latin, seems not to have followed the Classic Latin quantitative rule, but to have fallen regularly on the second syllable from the primary stress: cṓgĭtó, cupĭ́dĭtā́tem. If this secondary accent followed the tonic, its vowel probably developed as an unstressed post-tonic vowel; if it preceded, its vowel was apparently treated as a stressed vowel. This treatment was doubtless continued in Provençal until the intertonic vowel dropped out: cógĭtó cógĭtánt ＞ cug cúian (cf. cánto cántant ＞ can cántan), ✱comĭnĭtĭāre ＞ comén’tiáre ＞ coménzár ＞ comensár. As may be seen from this last example, after the fall of the intertonic vowel, the secondary stress, being brought next to the primary, disappeared, and its vowel was henceforth unaccented. Cf. § 45, 1.
19. Short, unemphatic words had no accent in Vulgar Latin, and were attached as particles to the beginning or the end of another word: te vídet, áma me. Such words, if they were not monosyllabic, tended to become so; a disyllabic proclitic beginning with a vowel regularly, in Vulgar Latin, lost its first syllable: illum vídeo ＞ V. L. lu véyo ＞ Pr. lo vei. A word which was used sometimes independently, sometimes as a particle, naturally developed double forms.
2. VOWELS.
QUANTITY.
20. Latin had the following vowels, which might be long or short: a, e, i, o, u. The diphthongs, æ, œ, au, eu, ui, were always long: æ and œ, however, were simplified into monophthongs, mainly in the Republican epoch, æ being sounded ę̄, œ probably ẹ̄; au retained (save in some popular dialects) its old pronunciation; eu did not occur in any word that survived; ui, in cui, illui, in Vulgar Latin, was accented úi (as in fui). The simple vowels, except a, were, doubtless from early times, slightly different in quality according to their quantity, the long vowels being sounded close, the short open: ẹ̄, ị̄, ọ̄, ụ̄; ę̆, į̆, ǫ̆, ų̆.
21. Between the 1st and the 7th century of our era, the Classic Latin quantity died out: it had apparently disappeared from unstressed vowels as early as the 4th century, from stressed by the 6th. It left its traces, however, as we have seen, upon accentuation (§ 16), and also upon vowel quality, the originally long and short remaining differentiated in sound, if they were accented. Of the unaccented vowels, only i shows sure signs of such a differentiation, and even for i the distinction is evident only in a final syllable: vēnī vēnĭt ＞ vẹnị vẹnįt.
ACCENTED VOWELS.
22. The vowels of Vulgar Latin are a, ẹ, ę, ị, į, ọ, ǫ, ụ, ų, with the diphthongs áu and úi; the old æ and œ had become identical in sound with ę and ẹ. As early as the 3d century of our era, į was changed, in nearly all the Empire, to ẹ, and thus became identical with the vowel coming from original ē. A little later, perhaps, ų, in the greater part of the Empire, became ọ, thus coinciding with the vowel that was originally ō. Ypsilon, in words taken from the Greek, was identified, in early borrowings, with Latin u; in later ones, with Latin i: βύρσα ＞ Pr. borsa, γῠρος ＞ Pr. girs. Omicron, which apparently had the close sound in Greek, generally (but not always) retained it in recently borrowed words in Vulgar Latin: τόρνος ＞ tọrnus (cf. Pr. tọrn), but κόλαφος ＞ cŏlăphus = cọlapus or cǫlapus (cf. Pr. cǫlp).
The development of the Vulgar Latin vowels in Provençal will now be examined in detail:—
a
23. Cl. L. ā, ă ＞ V. L. a ＞ Pr. ą: ărbŏrem ＞ ąrbre, grātum ＞ grąt, măre > mąr.
1. The ending -arius shows an irregular development in French and Provençal, the Provençal forms being mainly such as would come from -ĕrius; as in parlier, parleira. In the earliest stage we find apparently -ęr´ and -ęr´a; then -ęr´ and -ęir´a; next -ęr, -ięr and -ęira, -ięira; finally, with a reciprocal influence of the two genders, -ęr, -ięr, -ęir, and -ęra, -ięra, -ęira, -ięira: caballarium ＞ c(h)avaler -ier, -eir, ✱man(u)aria ＞ manera -iera -eira -ieira. The peculiar treatment of this suffix has not been satisfactorily explained. See E. R. Zimmermann, Die Geschichte des lateinischen Suffixes -arius in den romanischen Sprachen, 1895; E. Staaff, Le suffixe -arius dans les langues romanes, Upsala, 1896, reviewed by Marchot in Zs., XXI, 296, by Körting in Zeitschrift für französische Sprache, XXII, 55; Meyer-Lübke, Gram., I, 222, § 237; Zimmermann in Zs., XXVI, 591; Thomas in Rom., XXXI, 481 and in Bausteine zur romanischen Philologie, 641. The likeliest theory is that of Thomas: that -arius was associated with the Germanic ending -ari and participated in the umlaut which affected the latter; cf. Phon., pp. 34-36.
2. In Gascony and Languedoc ei is used for ai ＜ habeo. The ei perhaps developed first as a future ending (amar -ei) by analogy of the preterit ending -ei (amei): see Morphology, §§ 152, 1, 162, (4), 175, (4), where this latter ending is discussed also. For a different explanation, see Meyer-Lübke, Gram., I, 222, § 237.
3. A few apparent irregularities are to be traced to the vocabulary of Vulgar Latin. For instance, Pr. sereisa represents, not Cl. L. cĕrăsus, but V. L. cĕrĕsĕa: see Meyer-Lübke, Einf., § 103. Uebre is from ✱ŏpĕrit, or apĕrit modified by ✱cŏpĕrit = cōperit. Voig is from ✱vŏcĭtum = vacuum: Einf., § 114.
4. Such forms as fontaina = fontana ＜ fontāna, etc., and tres = tras ＜ trans, etc., are French or belong to the borderland between French and Provençal.
24. In some dialects, particularly in Rouergue, Limousin, Auvergne, and Dauphiné, a became ạ before a nasal, and at the end of a monosyllable or an oxytone: canem ＞ cạn, grandem ＞ grạnt, cadit ＞ cạ, stat ＞ estạ.
1. The conditions differ somewhat in the various dialects, according as the nasal consonant falls or remains, and is followed by another consonant or not. In Limousin the sound is ą before an n that cannot fall: see § 11, (5). In Rouergue and in Dauphiné, ạ appears before all nasals. The poets generally follow the Limousin usage. See F. Pfützner, Ueber die Aussprache des provenzalischen A, Halle, 1884.
ẹ
25. Cl. L. ē, ĭ, œ ＞ V. L. ẹ ＞ Pr. ẹ: habēre ＞ avẹr, mē ＞ mẹ, mensem ＞ mẹs, plēnum ＞ plẹn, rēgem ＞ rẹi, vēndĕre ＞ vẹndre; ĭnter ＞ ẹntre, fĭdem ＞ fẹ, malĭtia ＞ malẹza, mĭnus ＞ mẹns, mĭttĕre ＞ mẹtre, sĭccum ＞ sẹc, vĭrĭdem ＞ vẹrt, pœna ＞ pẹna.
1. Some words have ę instead of ẹ:—
(a) The ending -ētis in the present indicative becomes -ętz through the analogy of ętz ＜ ĕstis.
(b) Camęl (also ẹ), candęla (also ẹ), cruzęl, fizęl (also ẹ), maissęla have ę through the analogy of the suffix -ęl ＜ -ĕllus. In camel the substitution probably goes back to Vulgar Latin.
(c) Many learned words, including proper names, have ę for ẹ: decręt, Elizabęt, Moysęs, pantęra, requięs, secręt (ẹ), sencęr.
(d) Espęr for espẹr ＜ spēro, quęt for quẹt ＜ qu(i)ētum are perhaps bad rhymes. Bartolomeo Zorzi, a Venetian, rhymes -ẹs with -ęs; in Catalan these two endings were not distinguished.
(e) Individual cases: adęs, ‘at once,’ probably from ad id ĭpsum, seems to have been affected by pręs and apręs ＜ ad prĕssum; mostięr ＜ monastērium shows the influence of ministĕrium; nęr nięr (also nẹr nẹgre) ＜ nĭgrum perhaps shows the influence of entęr entięr and the numerous adjectives in -ęr -ięr; nęu nięu nęy ＜ nĭvem has been attracted by bręu gręu, lęu; senęstre (cf. late Lat. sinexter) is evidently influenced by dęstre.
2. Many words have i instead of ẹ:—
(a) Berbitz = vervēcem, camis = camĭsia, come from alternative V. L. forms, berbīcem, ✱camīsia. Planissa (also -eza), sebissa, etc., probably show -īcia for -ĭtia. For dit = dĭgĭtum see § 65, Y, 1.
(b) In many learned words Latin ĭ is represented by i in Provençal: albir, martire, edifici, iuzizi, servizi, vici, etc.; iusticia, leticia, tristicia, etc. Aurilha (also ẹ) ＜ aurĭcula, cilh, (also cieilh, sobreselhs) ＜ cĭlium, issilh ＜ exĭlium, familha ＜ famĭlia, maístre (also maẹstre maiẹstre) ＜ magĭstrum, meravilha (also ẹ) ＜ mirabĭlia, perilh ＜ perĭculum, etc., are probably learned forms. Máistre and mestre are French.
(c) Ciri (cere) = cēreum, iure (cf. ebriac) = ēbrium (or ✱ĕbrium), marquis (ẹ), merci (ẹ), país (ẹ) = ✱pagēnsem, plazir (ẹ), pris (ẹ), etc., are French.[15] For a discussion of iure and a different explanation of ciri, see P. Savj-Lopez, Dell’ “Umlaut” provenzale, 1902, p. 4.
(d) Ins (also entz) ＜ ĭntus, dins (also dens) ＜ de ĭntus, dintre (cf. en, entre) ＜ de ĭnter have not been satisfactorily explained. Regular forms with ẹ are found in Béarn, Gascony, Dauphiné, and the Alps.
(e) Individual cases: tapit ＜ ταπήτιον shows the modern pronunciation of Greek η; verin = venēnum is an example of substitution of suffix.
3. Arnei, fei, mei = me, palafrei, perquei, sei = se are French or Poitevin forms; they are common in William of Poitiers. Mercey, rey = re, used by Marcabru, seem to be due either to an imitation of such forms as the preceding or to the analogy of crei cre ＜ crēdo. Cf. § 65, N, 3.
4. Contránher seems to be a fusion of constrĭngere and contrahere; vendanha ＜ vindēmia shows French influence.
26. An ẹ in hiatus became i: lĭgat ＞ lia, vĭa ＞ via.
27. When there was in the next syllable a final ī, V. L. ẹ was changed in Provençal to i: ecc’ĭllī ＞ cilh, ecc’ĭstī ＞ cist, fēcī ＞ fis, ✱prēsī ＞ pris, ✱vēnuī ＞ vinc, vigĭntī ✱vĭntī ＞ vint.
1. In the nominative plural of masculine nouns and adjectives this change was regularly prevented by the analogy of the singular and the accusative plural: mĭssī ＞ mes, plēnī ＞ plen. We find, however, cabil ＜ capĭllī.
2. Dec for ✱dic ＜ dēbuī seems to have been attracted by the dec ＜ dēbuit of the third person. Venguest for venguist ＜ ✱venuĭstī is due both to the influence of the plural forms venguem, venguetz and to the analogy of the weak preterits, such as cantest, vendest.
ę
28. Cl. L. ĕ, æ ＞ V. L. ę ＞ Pr. ę: infĕrnum ＞ enfęrn, fĕrrum ＞ fęr, pĕdem ＞ pę; cælum ＞ cęl, quærit ＞ quęr.
1. Such forms as glisia, lire, pire, pis, profit are French. Profich may be a cross between profieg and profit, or it may be due to the analogy of dich.
2. Cossint, mint, sint, used by Arnaut Daniel, are perhaps faulty rhymes.
3. Auzil ＜ avicĕllī, in the Boeci, may be due to the analogy of such plural forms as cabil ＜ capĭllī, il ＜ ĭllī, etc. Briu, sometimes used for breu ＜ brĕvem, is evidently connected with abrivar, ‘hasten,’ the origin of which is uncertain. Elig shows the influence either of eligir (beside elegir) or of dig. Ginh = genh ＜ ingĕnium evidently follows ginhos ＜ ingeniōsus and its derivatives. Isme (esme) is a post-verbal noun from ✱ismar (cf. azismamen), a dialect form of esmar ＜ æstimare. Quis ＜ ✱quæsi, tinc ＜ tĕnui are due to the analogy of pris ＜ ✱prēsī, vinc ＜ ✱vēnuī.
4. Beside nęula ＜ nĕbula, we find nebla, neble, presumably from the same source, and also nible, niól, nióla, niúl, niúla, nivól. According to Nigra, Archivio glottologico italiano, XV, 494, nūbes ＞ nūbĭlus ＞ ✱nĭbŭlus (and ✱nĭbūlus?), whence might be derived ✱níŭlus ✱niúlus, which would account for niól-a, niúl-a, and perhaps for a ✱nívol ＞ nivól. Nible might be regarded as a cross between neble and niul. Cf. § 38, 3.
5. In ẹs ＜ ĕst the ẹ probably comes from such combinations as mẹ’s, quẹ’s, understood as m’ẹs, qu’ẹs. Espẹlh ＜ spĕculum shows the influence of cossẹlh, solẹlh. Estẹla presupposes a Latin ✱stēla or ✱stēlla for stĕlla: cf. the Fr. and It.
6. Plais, ‘hedge’ seems to be a cross between plĕxus and paxillus, ‘fence.’ Vianda (＜ vivenda?) is probably French.
7. Volon ＜ volentem shows the influence of the ending -ŭndus.
8. Greuga ＜ con-gregar has been influenced by greu ＜ ✱grĕvem = gravem influenced by lĕvem. Cf. grey ＜ grĕgem.
29. Before a nasal, in most of the dialects of Limousin, Languedoc, and Gascony, ę became ẹ: bĕne ＞ bẹn, dicĕntem ＞ dizẹn, tĕmpus ＞ tẹms, tĕnet ＞ tẹn, vĕniam ＞ vẹnha, vĕntum ＞ vẹnt.
30. Early in the history of Provençal, before u, i, or one of the palatal consonants l´, r´, s´, z´, y, tš, dž, an ę broke into ię, except in a few dialects of the west and north: dĕus ＞ dięus, mĕum ＞ mięu; amāvi ＞ ✱amai ＞ amęi amięi,[16] ✱fĕria ＞ fięira, ✱ec(c)lĕsia? (Cf. Zs., XXV, 344) ＞ glięiza, lĕctum ＞ lięit, pĕjus ＞ pięis; vĕtŭlum vĕclum ＞ vięlh, ministĕrium ＞ mestięr, ✱ec(c)lĕsia? ＞ glięza, mĕdia ＞ mięia, lĕctum ＞ lięg. There seems to be also, at least in some dialects, a tendency to break the ę before a g or a k: lĕgunt ＞ lięgon; ✱sĕquit ＞ sęc sięc, subjunctive sięgas (sęga), but infinitive sęgre ＜ ✱sĕquere.[17]
The breaking was probably due to a premature lifting of the tongue under the influence of a following high vowel or a palatal (or velar) consonant.[18] Before u it occurred everywhere except in the extreme west; before palatals the ę apparently remained intact both in the extreme west and in Quercy, Rouergue, Auvergne, and Dauphiné. At first, no doubt, the diphthong was less marked than it became in the 12th and 13th centuries. It is not indicated in our oldest text, the Boeci (breu, deu, eu, mei, meler, vel)[19], and it frequently remains unexpressed even in the writings of the literary period.
It is to be noted that ę does not break before u ＜ l nor before i ＜ ð: bĕllus ＞ bęls ＞ bęus, pĕtra ＞ ✱pęðra ＞ pęira, Pĕtrum ＞ ✱Pęðre ＞ Pęire, rĕtro ＞ ✱ręðre ＞ ręire[20]. The breaking must, therefore, have occurred before these developments of l and ð, both of which apparently antedate the Boeci: cf. euz = els, v. 139; eu = el, v. 155; Teiric ＜ ✱Teðric ＜ Theodorīcum, v. 44, etc. On the other hand, there is no diphthong before ts, dz, s, z coming from Latin c´, cy, pty, tty, ty: dĕcem ＞ dętz, pĕttia (or pĕcia) ＞ pęssa, nĕptia ＞ nęssa, ✱prĕtiat ＞ pręza, prĕtium ＞ prętz[21]. The breaking, therefore, took place after these consonants had ceased to be palatal. We may ascribe it with some confidence to the period between the seventh and tenth centuries.
1. A number of cases of ię before r are doubtless to be explained by analogy. Hĕri ＞ ęr; autre + er ＞ autręr, which, through the influence of adjectives in -ęr -ięr, became autrięr: hence the form ięr. Fĕrio, mĕreo ＞ fięr, mięr; hence, by analogy, the first person forms profięr, quięr, then the third person forms fięr, mięr, profięr, quięr, sięrf (but sęrvon, sęrva), and the subjunctives ofięira, sofię(i)ra.
2. Ięsc (= ĕxeo), ięscon, ięsca receive their diphthong either from earlier forms with s´ or from ięis ＜ ĕxit.
ị
31. Cl. L. ī ＞ V. L. ị: amīcum ＞ amịc, fīnem ＞ fịn, trīstem ＞ trịst.
1. Frẹg, frẹit are from V. L. ✱frĭgdum = frīgĭdum, the ĭ being perhaps due to the analogy of rĭgĭdum.
32. In the 13th century or earlier the group iu, in most dialects, became ieu: captīvum ＞ caitiu caitieu, æstīvum ＞ estiu estieu, revīvĕre ＞ reviure revieure, sī vās ＞ sius sieus.
ọ
33. Cl. L. ō, ŭ ＞ V. L. ọ ＞ Pr. ọ, which developed into ụ probably during the literary period: dolōrem ＞ dolọr, spōnsa ＞ espọsa, flōrem ＞ flọr; bŭcca ＞ bọca, gŭla ＞ gọla.
1. An irregular ǫ, which is found in some words, goes back to Vulgar Latin: cǫbra = re-cŭperat, cǫsta (also ọ) = cōnstat, nǫra = nŭra, ǫu = ōvum, plǫia = plŭvia, redǫbla = ✱redŭplat, sǫbra = sŭperat, suefre = sŭffero. V. L. ✱cŏperat may be regarded as a fusion of cŭperat and ✱cŏperit (§ 40, 1; cf. Rom. XXXI, 9); ✱cŏstat is unexplained; ✱nŏra shows the influence of sŏror and sŏcĕra; the ŏ of ✱ŏvum has been explained as due to differentiation from the following v; ✱plŏia is to be connected with the popular plŏvĕre (cf. Meyer-Lübke, Einf., § 142); ✱sŏperat follows the analogy of ✱cŏperat; ✱sŏffero evidently follows ŏffero. Redǫbla (also ọ) is not accounted for. If trǫba has anything to do with tŭrbat, it was perhaps influenced by prŏbat (cf. Zs., XXVIII, 50). Engǫissa ＜ V. L. ✱angŏstia = angŭstia. See A. Thomas, Nouveaux essais de philologie française, 1904, 339.
2. Some words have ü: iüs (also iọs) ＜ deōrsum shows the influence of süs ＜ sūrsum; lür (usually lọr) ＜ illōrum (cf. lur in the dialects of Navarre and Aragon) comes through an ✱illūrum due to the analogy of illūi = illi; melhüra (ọ), peiüra (ọ) perhaps follow aüra ＜ ✱a(u)gūrat; rancüra is a mixture of rancōrem and cūra; üis is from V. L. ūstium = ōstium (cf. Zs., XXV, 355); üpa ＜ ŭpŭpa is due to onomatopœia.
3. The adverbs ar, ara, er, era, eras, meaning ‘now,’ are hardly to be connected with hōra. Meyer-Lübke takes era, etc., from a Latin ✱era corresponding to Greek άρα; ara, ar may come directly from άρα, άρ: cf. Gr., III, 552, note.
4. Tonleu, ‘tariff,’ from τελώνιον, shows double metathesis. For adoutz, ‘fount,’ see A. Thomas, Essais de philologie française, 1897, 205.
34. Before tš, dž (and it, id), before n´, and before final i, an ọ becomes ü in various dialects: cōgĭtat ＞ cüia cüida, ✱stŭdiat ＞ estüia, fŭgit ＞ füg, refŭgium ＞ refüg; jŭngĕre ＞ iünher, ŭngĕre ＞ ünher, pŭgnum ＞ pünh; dŭī ＞ düi, sŭm ＞ sọ + i ＞ süi. The ü before tš, dž apparently occurs everywhere except in Dauphiné; before n´ it is to be found in nearly all the dialects of the north and west; before final i it seems to be limited to Bordeaux, Auvergne, and a part of Languedoc.
ǫ
35. Cl. L. ŏ ＞ V. L. ǫ ＞ Pr. ǫ: cŏr ＞ cǫr, cŏrpus ＞ cǫrs, mŏrtem ＞ mǫrt, ŏpĕra ＞ ǫbra, rŏta ＞ rǫda.
1. For demọra (also ǫ) ＜ ✱demŏrat, see Meyer-Lübke, Gram., I, 204, § 220. For prọa (also prǫa, prueva) ＜ prŏbat, see Rom., XXXI, 10, footnote 3.
36. Before a nasal, in most of the dialects of Limousin, Languedoc, and Gascony, ǫ became ọ: bŏnum ＞ bọn, fŏntem ＞ fọnt, pŏntem ＞ pọnt. Cf. E. Levy in Mélanges de philologie romane dédiés à Carl Wahlund, 1896, p. 207.
1. If the nasal was n´, the vowel remained open in most or all of these dialects: cŏgnĭta ＞ coinda cuenda cuenhda, lŏnge ＞ lonh luenh, sŏmnium ＞ sonh suenh.
37. Early in the history of Provençal, before u, a labial consonant, a g or a k, an i, or one of the palatal consonants l´, n´, r´, s´, z´, y, tš, dž, an ǫ broke, in most dialects, into a diphthong which developed into ue, üo, üe, or ü[22]: bŏvem ＞ bǫu büọu büeu, ✱ŏvum ＞ ǫu üou üeu, nŏvus ＞ nǫus nüous nüeus; ✱cŏpero ＞ cǫbri cüebre[23], nŏva ＞ nǫva nüeva, ŏpus ＞ ǫps üops, prŏbat ＞ prǫa prüeva, ✱trŏpo? ＞ trǫp trüeb; cŏquus ＞ cǫcs cüocs cüex, fŏcum ＞ fǫc füoc füec füc, crŏcus ＞ grǫcs grüocs grüecs, jŏcum ＞ iǫc iüoc iüec iüc, lŏcus ＞ lǫcs lüocs lüecs, lŏcat ＞ lüoga, pŏtui ＞ püec, sŏc(ĕ)rum ＞ (sǫzer) sǫgre süegre (fem. süegra); ✱ingrŏssiat ＞ engrǫissa engrüeissa, ✱angŏstia ＞ engǫissa engüeissa, nŏctem ＞ nǫit nüoit nüeit, ŏcto ＞ ǫit üeit, pŏstea ＞ pǫissas püeissas, prŏximus ＞ prǫymes prüeymes; fŏlia ＞ fǫlha füolha füelha fülha, ŏcŭlus ŏclus ＞ ǫlhs üolhs üelhs ülhs, lŏnge ＞ lǫnh lüenh, sŏmnium ＞ sǫnh süenh, cŏrium ＞ cǫr cüer, pŏstea ＞ pües, prŏximum ＞ prǫsme prüesme, ✱plŏia ＞ plǫia plüeia plüia, ✱inŏdiat ＞ enǫia enüeia enüia, ✱pŏdiat ＞ pǫia püeia püia, nŏctem ＞ nüoch nüech nüh, ŏcto ＞ üeg.
The breaking was probably due to a premature lifting of the tongue under the influence of a following high vowel or a palatal or velar consonant, or to a premature partial closure of the lips in anticipation of a following labial. Before i or a palatal the diphthong was at the start presumably üo; before u or a labial or velar consonant, uo: from these two types, the first of which influenced the second, came the later developments. Ü is a reduction of üo or üe; it apparently does not occur before u.
The dialect conditions are mixed, the development in each region depending somewhat on the following sound. In the southwest, ǫ and ue seem to prevail; in the northwest, ü; in the west, in Limousin, and in Auvergne, üe; in Languedoc, üo; in the east and south, üe, üo, ǫ.
The date of breaking is discussed in § 30.
1. In some words where a diphthong would be expected, none is found, although it may have existed: mǫu ＜ mŏvet, nǫu ＜ nŏvem, plǫu ＜ ✱plŏvit; trǫp ＜ þrop; brǫcs ＜ ✱brŏccus, iǫgon ＜ jŏcunt, lǫgui ＜ lŏco. The form püoc or püec ＜ pŏtui is regularly reserved for the first person, pŏtuit being represented by pǫc.
2. A few cases of irregular breaking are easily explained: püosc püesc (= pŏssum) and püosca püesca (= pŏssim) owe their diphthong either to earlier forms with s´ or to the analogy of püec; sǫfre süefre süfre (= sŭffert) are from ✱sŏfferit, formed upon ✱ŏfferit = ŏffert (cf. § 33, 1); vüelc (= vŏlui) follows the analogy of vüelh (＜ ✱vŏleo = vŏlo) and of püec.
ụ
38. Cl. L. ū ＞ V. L. ụ ＞ Pr. ü: ✱habūtus ＞ avütz, jūstum ＞ iüst, mūrum ＞ mür, mūtus ＞ mütz, nūdus ＞ nütz, plūs ＞ plüs.
The date of the change of ụ into ü is not known; there is no ü in Catalan, and there may have been none in early Gascon. It seems likely that the Celts, when they adopted Latin, pronounced ū a little further forward in the mouth than did the Romans; that their ụ continued to advance gradually toward the front of the mouth until it became ü; and that this ü spread to the parts of France that were not originally Celtic.[24] In the literary period the sound was probably ü in most or all of the Provençal dialects.
1. Pr. ọnze represents a V. L. ✱ŭndĕcim, which in Gaul and Spain replaced ūndĕcim. Lọita lücha, trọcha trücha probably go back to Latin double forms, ✱lŭcta lūcta, ✱trŭcta trūcta.
2. Nǫssas ＜ ✱nŏptias = nūptias, by analogy of ✱nŏvius, ‘bridegroom,’ from nŏvus.
3. Before u, Pr. ü apparently became i: nūbem ＞ ✱nüu ＞ niu, pūlĭcem ＞ ✱püuze ＞ piuze. See §§ 63, (4); 74, (2).
au
39. Cl. L. au ＞ V. L. au ＞ Pr. au: aurum ＞ aur, gaudium ＞ gaug, paucum ＞ pauc, thesaurus ＞ tesaurs.
1. Bloi ＜ blauþr, ioi, ioia, ioios, lotia ＜ ✱laubja, noiza, onta ＜ hauniþa, or, sor, tesor, etc., are French or Poitevin; ioi is a good Poitevin form. Iai, ‘joy,’ seems to be a fusion of ioi and Pr. iai = gai.
2. Anta ＜ hauniþa is unexplained.
UNACCENTED VOWELS.
40. (1) The fate of an unaccented vowel depended largely upon the syllable in which it stood: in general, unstressed vowels in the initial syllable remained intact, while all vowels, except a, fell (at different dates) in the other syllables. The fall of unaccented vowels resulted in many new consonant groups: collocáre ＞ colcár, hóminem ＞ ómne, sábbatum ＞ sápte.
(2) The vowels e̯ and i̯, instead of falling or remaining unchanged, became y in Vulgar Latin, early in our era: alea ＞ alya, diŭrnus ＞ dyųrnus, mĕdium ＞ mędyu. Similarly u̯ became w: placui ＞ placwi, tĕnuis ＞ tęnwis.
1. Apparently, however, e̯é, i̯é ＞ e; o̯ó, u̯ó ＞ o: prĕhĕndĕre ＞ prĕndĕre; abĭĕtem ＞ ✱abētem, facĭēbat ＞ ✱facēbat, parĭĕtem ＞ parētem, quĭētus ＞ quētus; cŏhŏrtem ＞ cōrtem, cŏŏpĕrit ＞ cōpĕrit ✱cŏpĕrit; dŭŏdĕcim ＞ ✱dōdĕcim. The short e and o in prĕndĕre and ✱cŏpĕrit are not accounted for. In mulĭĕrem[25] ＞ Pr. molhęr the i̯ remained long enough (perhaps under the influence of the nominative mŭlier) to palatalize the l.
Initial Syllable.
41. Usually, in the literary language, Latin a ＞ Pr. a; Latin æ, œ, and e, i (without regard to quantity) ＞ Pr. e; Latin o, u (long or short) ＞ Pr. o; Lat. au ＞ Pr. au, unless the next syllable contained an ú, in which case the au was reduced (in the Vulgar Latin time) to a. Ex.: amīcum ＞ amic, caballus ＞ cavals; æquālem ＞ egal, ✱pœnĭtĕre ＞ penẹdre, dēbēre ＞ devẹr, mĕliōrem ＞ melhọr, dīlĕctum ＞ delęit, dīvīnum ＞ devin, dīvīdĕre ＞ devire, fīnīre ＞ fenir, mĭnōrem ＞ menọr; plōrāre ＞ plorar, sōlātium ＞ solatz, cŏlōrem ＞ colọr, ✱vŏlēre ＞ volẹr, mūstēla ＞ mostẹla, sŭbĭnde ＞ sovẹn; aucĕllum ＞ auzęl, audīre ＞ auzir, augŭstum ＞ aọst, ✱augūrium ＞ aür.
1. An initial vowel is occasionally lost, either through elision with the article (✱eclĕsia ＞ ✱eglęisa, la eglęisa ＞ la glęisa) or through the dropping of a prefix (ingĕnium ＞ engẹnh gẹnh): epĭscŏpus ＞ bisbes, alauda ＞ lauzeta, occasiōnem ＞ ocaiso caiso.
2. In a few words the vowel of the initial syllable disappeared, for some unknown reason, before r in Vulgar Latin: ✱cŏrrŏtŭlāre ＞ ✱crŏtŭlāre ＞ crollar, dīrēctus ＞ drēctus[26] ＞ dreitz, quĭrītāre ＞ ✱crītāre ＞ cridar.
3. Domne, used familiarly as a proclitic (§ 19), lost its first syllable, and, before a vowel, was reduced to n. The combinations de n, que n (followed by a proper name) were understood as d’en, qu’en; hence the title en, ‘Sir.’ See Schultz-Gora in Zs., XXVI, 588; Elise Richter in Zs., XXVII, 193; V. Cescini, Manualetto provenzale, 2d ed., 1905, 168 ff.
4. The proclitic ọ probably comes from a V. L. ot, not from aut.
42. The vowel of the initial syllable, especially in verbs, was extremely subject to the influence of analogy: cülhir (ǫ) through cülh (ǫ) ＜ cŏllĭgit, dizẹn ＜ dīcĕntem through dire ＜ dīcĕre, dürar through dür ＜ dūrum and düra ＜ dūrat, finir through fin ＜ fīnem, fivęla through fibla ＜ fībula, puęiar (ǫ) through puęia (ǫ) ＜ ✱pŏdiat.
1. Avangęli (e) is perhaps influenced by avan; blisọ (e) ＜ blas may possibly have been influenced by tiso; gazardọ ＜ wiðarlôn shows the influence of gazanhar; in piucęla (pülcęla) ＜ ✱pūellicĕlla (Zs., XXV, 343) the püu of the first syllable was changed to piu just as pūlĭcem became piuze (see § 38, 3); in vas = ves ＜ ve(r)sus the a is due to the analogy of az ＜ ad; vais is unexplained, vaus follows daus (§ 44, 6). If dessẹ is from de exín, the first syllable is irregular. Beside maniar ＜ manducare are unexplained forms meniar miniar. In duptar (o), suritz (o) the u doubtless represents ụ or ọ, not ü. Girofle ＜ Καρυόφυλλον and olifan orifan ＜ elephantem are French.
43. Sometimes the initial syllable was altered by a change of prefix or a false idea of etymology: aucire ＜ occīdĕre (cf. the Italian and Rumanian forms), diman (e) ＜ de máne (cf. di ＜ dīem), dementre ＜ dum ĭntĕrim (cf. de ＜ de), engǫissa ＜ ✱angŭstia (cf. en ＜ in), envanezir ＜ evanēscĕre, escür ＜ obscūrum (cf. es- ＜ ex-), preọn prefọn (o) ＜ profŭndum, redọn ＜ rotŭndum (re- in V. L.: Schuchardt, Vokalismus des Vulgärlateins, II, 213), trabalh ＜ trepalium (cf. tra- ＜ tra- = trans-). Dimenge (also ditmenge) is from dīe domĭnĭco.
1. On the same principle are doubtless to be explained such double forms as evori (a), saboros (e), socors (e), somondre (e), soror (e). Serori occurs in a Latin inscription.
2. The prefix eccu-, under the influence of ac and atque, became ✱accu- in southern Gaul and elsewhere: aco ＜ ✱accu’hoc, aquel ＜ ✱accu’ĭllum, aquest ＜ ✱accu’ĭstum, aqui ＜ ✱accu’hīc. Eissi ＜ ecce hīc sometimes becomes aissi through the analogy of aissi ＜ ac sīc.
3. In such forms as tresanar, the prefix tres- is French.
44. Local or partial phonetic changes affected the initial syllable of many words: demandar (do-) ＜ demandāre, emplir (üm-) ＜ implēre; ciutat cieutat ＜ cīvĭtātem; eissir issir ＜ exīre, getar gitar ＜ ✱jĕctāre; crear criar ＜ creāre; mercẹ (mar-) ＜ mercēdem; delgat (dal-) ＜ delicātum.
1. Nearly everywhere there is a tendency to change e to o, u, or ü before a labial, especially before m: premier promier prumier, remas romas, semblar somblar, trebalh trubalh. So de ves ＞ ✱do ves ＞ dous.
2. In the 13th century, nearly everywhere, iu ＞ ieu: piucela pieucela.
3. Many dialects of the north and west change ei and e to i: deissendre dissendre, eissam issam, eissi issi, eissilh issilh, leisso lisso, meitat mitat; degerir (i), denhar (i), disnar, en in, enfern (i), entrar (i), envers (i), escien icient, proclitic est ist, estar (i), estiers (i), Felip (i), gelos (i), genhos (i), genolh (i), gequir (i), guereiar (i), guerensa (i), i(n)vern, isnel irnel, peior pigor, proclitic per pir, premier (i), semblar (i), serven (i), serventes (i), sevals (i), trebalhar (i), tremblar (i). In disnar, ivern, isnel only i is found. In some dialects there is an alternation of e and i, e being used when there is an í in the next syllable, i when there is none, fenít, sirvén. In vezí ＜ vīcīnum the e probably goes back to V. L.: cf. Fr.
4. In a few dialects e in hiatus with a following vowel becomes i: crear criar, leal lial, prear priar, preon prion, real rial.
5. In many dialects of the north and west e has a tendency to become a before r: guerentia garensa, merce marce, pergamen pargamen.
6. In some dialects there is a tendency to assimilate e to an á in the next syllable: delgat dalgat, gigant iaian, deman (a), semblar (a), serrar (a), tremblar (a). So de vás (§ 42, 1) ＞ da vás ＞ dávas; hence daus, under the influence of deus ＞ de ves.
Intertonic Syllable.
45. The term intertonic is applied to the syllable that follows the secondary (§ 18) and precedes the primary accent. In this position all vowels, except a, regularly disappeared in popular words, probably between the 5th and the 8th century[27]; a apparently remained: ✱bŭllĭcāre ＞ boiar (bollegar), bŏnĭtātem ＞ bontat, ✱carrĭcāre ＞ carcar cargar, caballĭcāre ＞ cavalcar cavalgar, cĕrĕbĕllum ＞ cervęl, cīvĭtātem ＞ ciutat, cŏllŏcāre ＞ colcar colgar, dēlĭcātum ＞ delcat delgat, excommūnĭcāre ✱excommĭnĭcāre ＞ escomeniar, vĕrēcŭndia ＞ vergọnha; calamĕllum ＞ calamęl, invadĕre ✱invadīre ＞ envazir, margarīta ＞ margarida, mīrabĭlia ＞ miravilha, parav(e)rēdus ＞ palafrẹs.