46. Very often the intertonic vowel was preserved by the analogy of some cognate word or form in which that vowel was stressed: devinár through devín, finimén through finír, guerreiár through guerréia, noiridúra through noirír, oblidár through oblít, pertusár through pertúsa, reusar through reúsa, servidór through servíre.

Penult.[28]

47. (1) The vowel of the penult of proparoxytones fell in many words in Vulgar Latin, especially between a labial and another consonant, and between two consonants one of which was a liquid: ✱avĭca ＞ ✱auca, cŏm(i)tem, cŏmp(u)tum, dēb(i)tum, dŏm(i)nus[29]; alt(e)ra, vĭg(i)lat, cal(i)dus, vĭr(i)dem; frig(i)dus, nĭtĭdus ＞ ✱nĭttus, pŏs(i)tus, pūtĭdus ＞ ✱pūttus.

(2) The classic Latin -culus comprises an original -clus (sæclum) and an original -culus (aurĭcŭla). In popular Latin both were -clus (✱macla, ŏclus, etc.), to which was assimilated -tŭlus in current words (vĕtŭlus ＞ vĕclus, etc.).

(3) Many popular words which in Vulgar Latin had very generally lost the vowel were for some reason introduced into southern Gaul in their classical forms, and not a few were adopted both in the uncontracted and in the syncopated state: fragĭlem ＞ frágel (cf. Fr. fraile, It. frale), jŭvĕnem ＞ iọve (cf. Fr. iuevne); clĕrĭcum ＞ clęrgue clĕr’cum ＞ clęrc, dēbĭtum ＞ dẹute dēb’tum ＞ dẹpte, flēbĭlem ＞ frẹvol flēb’lem ＞ frẹble, mal’habĭtum ＞ malaute mal’hab’tum ＞ malapte, nĭtĭdum ＞ nẹde ✱nĭttum ＞ nẹt, hŏmĭnem ＞ ome hŏm’nem ＞ omne, pŏpŭlum ＞ pǫbol pŏp’lum ＞ pǫble.

48. The unaccented penult vowels that had not already fallen disappeared, in most cases, in the transition from Latin to Provençal: ✱carrĭcat ＞ carca, cŏllŏcat ＞ cǫlca, cŭrrĕre ＞ cọrre, spathŭla ＞ espatla, ✱ĕssĕre (= ĕsse) ＞ ęstre, ī(n)sŭla isla, pĕssĭmum ＞ pęsme, pōnĕre ＞ pọnre, ✱rīdĕre ＞ rire, tabŭla ＞ taula, tŏllĕre ＞ tǫlre.

49. Under certain conditions, however, a vowel which had not fallen in the Latin of southern Gaul was often kept in Provençal. It was then probably indistinct in sound, and was written usually e, but occasionally o.

(1) After c´, g´, or y the vowel was apparently retained in some dialects and lost in others. When the c´, g´, or y was intervocalic, forms with and without the vowel are about equally common; when the c´, g´, or y was preceded by a consonant, forms with the vowel predominate, and after cons. + c´ the vowel was apparently never lost. After intervocalic c´: cŏcĕre (= cŏquĕre) ＞ cǫire cǫzer, dīcĕre ＞ dire dízer, dūcĕre ＞ düire ✱düzer (condücir dedüzir), facĕre ＞ faire ✱fázer (fazedọr, etc.), gracĭlem ＞ graile, ✱nŏcĕre (= nŏcēre) ＞ nǫire nǫzer, placĭtum ＞ plach, sŏcĕrum ＞ sǫzer (sǫgre is from sŏcrum), ✱vŏcĭtum (= vacuum) ＞ vuech. After intervocalic g´ or y: bajŭlus ＞ bailes, fragĭlem ＞ frágel, imagĭnem ＞ imáge, lĕgĕre ＞ lęire legír (through ✱lęger?), rĭgĭdum ＞ rẹide rẹge, rĭgĭda ＞ rẹgeza, ✱tragĕre (= trahĕre) ＞ traire tragír (through ✱tráger?). After cons. + c´: carcer ＞ cárcer, crēscĕre ＞ crẹisser, nascĕre ＞ náisser, pascĕre ＞ páisser, parcĕre ＞ párcer, ✱tŏrcĕre (= tŏrquēre) ＞ tǫrzer. After cons. + g´ or y: angĕlum ＞ ángel (learned?), ✱cŏll’gĕre (= cŏllĭgĕre, through cŏllĭgo etc.) ＞ cǫlre cuelher colhír, ✱dē-ēr’gĕre (= ērĭgĕre) ＞ dẹrdre dẹrzer, ✱fŭlgĕrem (from fŭlger = fŭlgur) ＞ fọuzer, jŭngĕre ＞ iọnher, margĭnem ＞ marge, plangĕre> planher, vĭrgĭnem ＞ vẹrgena vẹrge.

(2) After ks, s, ss, and sy the vowel was apparently retained in some dialects and lost in others: dīxĕrunt ＞ diron dissęron (through ✱dísseron)[30], dūxĕrunt ＞ düystrent düissęron (✱dúisseron), fraxĭnum ＞ fraisne fraisse, traxĕrunt ＞ traissęron (✱tráisseron), tŏxĭcum ＞ tuęissec; asĭnum ＞ asne ase, mĭsĕrum ＞ miser (learned), ✱prē(n)sĕrunt ＞ prẹson prezęron (✱prẹzeron), rema(n)sĕrunt ＞ remastrent remasęron (✱remáseron); ✱ĕssĕre (= ĕsse) ＞ ęstre ęsser (used in Rouergue, Limousin, Marche, and Dauphiné), ✱mĭssĕrunt (= mīsĕrunt) ＞ mestrunt (mẹsdren) mesęron (✱mẹsseron), passĕrem ＞ pásser; ✱cō(n)sĕre (= consuĕre) ＞ coser (cozír is from V. L. ✱cosīre).

(3) Between a labial and a dental the vowel was apparently kept: cŭpĭdum ＞ cọbe,[31] fēmĭna ＞ fẹmena fẹme (but fēm’na ＞ fẹmna), jŭvĕnem ＞ iọve, ✱lūmĭnem ＞ lüme (lūmen ＞ lüm), hŏmĭnem ＞ ómen óme (but hŏm’nĕm ＞ omne), tĕpĭdum ＞ tębe,[31] tĕrmĭnum ＞ tęrme. Cf. § 48, 1.

(4) Between a dental and a guttural the vowel remained long enough for the guttural to become y (§ 52; § 65, G): mĕdĭcum ＞ ✱mędegu ＞ ✱mędeye ＞ mędže (= mege). If the first consonant was a liquid or a nasal, the vowel apparently allowed the guttural to become y in some dialects, but not in others: ✱carrĭcat ＞ caria carga, clĕrĭcum ＞ clęrie clęrgue, mŏnăchum ＞ monie mongue. Caballĭcat ＞ cavalga, cŏllŏcat ＞ cǫlca cǫlga show an earlier fall. In clĕr´cum ＞ clęrc the fall goes back to Latin times.

(5) Between lv and r the vowel was kept in some dialects and lost in others: sŏlvĕre ＞ sǫlver sǫlvre, vŏlvĕre ＞ vǫlver vǫlvre, pŭlvĕrem ＞ polvęra.

50. Some learned proparoxytones kept for a while both post-tonic vowels (usually written e), but most of them ultimately either shifted their accent to the penult (§ 17, 1) or dropped their final syllable: domĕstĭcum ＞ domęstegue, lacrĭma ＞ lágrema, mĕrĭtum ＞ męrite, hŏrrĭda ＞ ǫreza, rēgĭmen ＞ régeme; fĭstŭla ＞ festóla, fragĭlem ＞ fragíl, mĕrĭtum ＞ merít, tĕrmĭnum ＞ termíni; diacŏnum ＞ diágue, flēbĭlem ＞ frẹvol (cf. flēb´lem ＞ frẹble), nĭtĭdum ＞ nẹde (cf. ✱nĭttum ＞ nẹt), ōrdĭnem ＞ órde, pŏpŭlum ＞ pǫbol (cf. pŏp´lum ＞ pǫble), prīncĭpem ＞ príncep prínce. Cf. § 47, (3).

Final Syllable.

51. As early as the 8th century, in popular words, the vowels of final syllables fell, the fall occurring first, perhaps, after liquids: hĕrĭ ＞ ęr, malĕ ＞ mal; bŏnŭs ＞ bos, cŏlăphŭm ＞ cǫlp, cōgĭto ＞ cüg, panĕm ＞ pan, prĕtiŭm ＞ prętz.

(1) Latin a, however, remained, being generally pronounced ạ: audiăm ＞ auiạ, bŏnă ＞ bonạ, fīliās ＞ filhạs.[32]

(2) Latin final ī probably remained in all dialects later than the 8th century, and in some until the beginning of the literary period: hábuī ＞ águi ＞ aguí. Before it fell, it changed an accented ẹ in the preceding syllable to ị: see § 27.

(3) Latin i and u remained if they were immediately preceded by an accented vowel: fuī ＞ füi, mĕī ＞ męi, sŭī ＞ sọi; cavum ✱caum ＞ chau, dĕus ＞ dęus, ĕgo ✱ĕo ✱ĕu ＞ ęu, rīvum rīum ＞ riu. In such cases the two vowels formed a diphthong.

(4) Before final nt Latin e, u remained as e, o: cantent ＞ canten, vēndunt ＞ vẹndon.

52. When the fall of the vowel would have resulted in an undesirable consonant group at the end of a word, the vowel was retained as an indistinct e: dŭbĭto ＞ dọpte, lŭcrum ＞ lọgre.

The principal groups that call for a supporting vowel are: (1) a consonant and a liquid; (2) a labial and a dental; (3) in proparoxytones, a consonant and a c´ or c originally separated by the vowel of the penult; (4) in proparoxytones, a consonant and an m or n originally separated by the vowel of the penult. Ex.: ĭnter ＞ ẹntre; aptum ＞ apte; ✱dōdĕcim ＞ dọtze, jūdĭco ＞ iütge; ✱Jacŏmus ＞ Iacmes, asĭnum ＞ asne.

If the word was a paroxytone, and the first consonant was a palatal and the second an r, the supporting vowel stood between the two: major ＞ maier, mĕlior ＞ męlher, mŭlier ＞ mọlher, pĕjor ＞ pęier, sĕnior ＞ sęnher. Otherwise the supporting vowel followed the consonant group.

The four classes of groups (aside from the palatal + r just mentioned) will now be examined in detail:—

(1) Examples: alter ＞ autre, Carŏlus ＞ Carles, dŭplus ＞ dọbles, ✱ĕssĕre ＞ ęstre, fabrum ＞ fabre, ✱mĕr(ŭ)lum ＞ męrle, nŏster ＞ nǫstre, pauper ＞ paubre, pŏp(ŭ)lum ＞ pǫble, pōnĕre ＞ pọnre, recĭpĕre ＞ recẹbre, rŭmpĕre ＞ rọmpre, tŏllĕre ＞ tǫlre, vŏlvĕre ＞ vǫlvre; mascŭlum ＞ mascle, etc.; flēb(ĭ)lem ＞ frẹble, etc. Under this head is included r-r (cŭrrere ＞ cọrre, quærĕre ＞ quęrre), but not ll and rr (bĕllum ＞ bęl, fĕrrum ＞ fęr). In Provençal the first element was often changed, later than the 8th century, into a vowel, original b and v becoming u, and d, t, c, g, and y being turned to i: bĭbĕre ＞ bẹure, scrībĕre ＞ escriure, ✱mŏvĕre ＞ mǫure, plŏvĕre ＞ plǫure, vīvĕre ＞ viure; latro ＞ laire, matrem ＞ maire, radĕre ＞ raire, ✱rīdĕre ＞ rire, vĭtrum ＞ vẹire; desīdĕro ＞ desire, etc.; amātor ＞ amaire, servītor ＞ servire, etc.; dīcĕre ＞ dire, dūcĕre ＞ düire, facĕre ＞ faire, gracĭlem ＞ graile, ✱tacĕre ＞ taire; frīgĕre ＞ frire, weigăro gaire, lĕgĕre ＞ lęire; bajŭlum ＞ baile. Apparent exceptions to the rule are intervocalic cl, gl, which were probably reduced to single consonants before the 8th century: ŏc(ŭ)lum ＞ ǫlh, vĭg(ĭ)lo ＞ vẹlh.

(2) Examples: cŭbĭtum ＞ cọde; cŏmĭtem ＞ comte; dēbĭtum ＞ dẹpte dẹute, § 47, (3); dŏmnum ＞ domne; dŭbĭto ＞ dọpte; hŏspĭtem ＞ ǫste; sabbătum ＞ sapte.

(3) Examples: jūdicem ＞ iütge[33]; pŏllĭcem ＞ pǫuze; quīndĕcim ＞ quinze; salĭcem ＞ sauze; sēdĕcim ＞ sẹdze;—canŏnĭcum ＞ canonge canọrgue,[34] § 49, (4); clĕrĭcum ＞ clęrge clęrgue (§ 48, 2); mĕdĭcum ＞ mętge; mŏnăchum ＞ monge mongue mǫrgue,[34] § 49, (4); vĭndĭco ＞ vẹnie; viatĭcum ＞ viatge, etc.

(4) Examples: æstĭmo ＞ esme; dĕcĭmum ＞ dęsme; fraxĭnum ＞ fraisne; incūdĭnem ＞ enclütge (cf. § 80, Dn); ✱metĭpsĭmum ＞ medẹsme; pĕssĭmum ＞ pęsme; prŏxĭmus ＞ prǫsmes.

(5) In some dialects, at least, by, mby, mny, py, rny required a supporting vowel: rŭbeum ＞ rọtge, cambio ＞ camie, sŏmnium ＞ songe suenh, apium ＞ ache api, ✱Arvĕrnium[35] ＞ Alvęrnhe; ratge (= rabiem) is probably French. Original lm, rm, sm required a supporting vowel in some dialects but not in others: hëlm ＞ ęlme ęlm, ŭlmum ＞ ọlme ọlm, palmum ＞ palm; ✱ĕrmum ἔρημον ＞ erm, fĭrmum ＞ fẹrm, gĕrmen ＞ gęrme; spasmum ＞ espasme.

(6) Many verbs regularly have an -e in the first person singular of the present indicative: desire, dọpte, iütge, etc. By the analogy of these, -e often appears in the first person singular of verbs which need no supporting vowel: remīro ＞ remir remire. By the analogy of the preterit (águi, füi, etc.), -i is very often substituted for this -e: azọr azọri, cant canti, prętz pręzi, etc.

53. Many late words preserve the final vowel as -e: benigne, bisbe ＜ epĭscŏpum, digne (cf. denhar), mixte (cf. mẹst), regne (cf. reing), signe (cf. sẹnh). Cf. § 50; (for cǫlbe) § 48, 1; and (for cǫinde, etc.) § 47, 1. Learned formations from nouns in -ium usually end in -i, simply dropping the -um: capitǫli, edifici, empęri, iüzízi, martíri (martíre), negǫci, ofíci, periüri, remęzi, servízi, vici. Similar forms in -i were sometimes taken from the accusative of nouns and adjectives in -ius: Boęci ＜ Boëthium, prǫpri (prǫpre) ＜ prŏprium, savi ＜ sabium.

3. CONSONANTS.

54. The Latin consonants which we have to consider are: b, c (= k), d, f, g, h, j (= y), l, m, n, p, qu (= kw), r, s, t, v (= w), x (= ks). To these we must add the Vulgar Latin w coming from u̯, and y coming from e̯, i̯: see § 40, (2). Furthermore, in words borrowed from Germanic dialects we find b, ð, h, k, þ, w, which call for special notice; and, in words borrowed from Greek, ch, k, ph, th, z.

The Latin d, f, j, l, p, t call for no remark at present. Latin h, in popular speech, became silent very early (hŏc ＞ ŏc, hŏmo ＞ ŏmo), and, although an attempt was made to restore it in polite speech, it left no trace in the Romance languages: cf. Rom., XI, 399. Double consonants were pronounced distinctly longer than single ones: annus, ĭlle, ŏssum, tĕrra.

55. Latin b, c, g, m, n, qu, r, s, v, w, x, y show the following developments in popular Latin speech:—

C before a front vowel (e, i), as early as the 3d century, doubtless had, in nearly all the Empire, a front or palatal articulation; that is, it was formed as close as possible to the following vowel[36]: cĕntum ＞ c´ĕntu, dūcĕre ＞ dūc´ĕre. The next step was the introduction of an audible glide, a brief y, between the c´ and the vowel[37]: c´yęntu, dục´yere. By the 5th century this c´y had developed into a kind of ty, the c´ having been drawn still further forward: t´yęntu dụt´yere. Through a modification of the y-glide, the group then became, in the 6th or 7th century, tš or ts: tšęntu tsęntu. See H. Schuchardt, Voc., I, 151, and Ltblt., XIV, 360; P. E. Guarnerio, in Supplementi all’ Archivio glottologico italiano, IV (1897), pp. 21-51 (cf. Rom., XXX, 617); G. Paris, in the Journal des savants, 1900, 359, in the Annuaire de l’École pratique des Hautes-Études, 1893, 7, in the Comptes rendus des séances de l’Académie des Inscriptions, 1893, 81, and in Rom., XXXIII, 322; W. Meyer-Lübke, Einf., pp. 123-126; F. G. Mohl, Zs., XXVI, 595; P. Marchot, Phon., pp. 51-53; W. Meyer-Lübke, in Bausteine zur romanischen Philologie, 313. Cf. G and X.[38]

G between vowels, before the accent, disappeared in some words in at least a part of the Empire: le(g)ālis, li(g)āmen, re(g)ālis, (realis is attested for the 8th century); ĕgo, generally used as a proclitic, everywhere lost its g; on the other hand, g was kept in castigāre, fatigāre, ligāre, negāre, pagānus. G before a front vowel (e, i), by the 1st or 2d century, was pronounced g´ (cf. C): gĕntem ＞ g´ĕnte, fragĭlis ＞ frag´ĭlis. As early as the 4th century this g´, through failure to form a close articulation, opened into y[39]: yęnte, fráyilis. Before an accented e or i an intervocalic y disappeared, in the greater part of the Empire, being fused with the vowel: magĭster ＞ mayįster ＞ maẹster, ✱pagēnsis ＞ payẹsis ＞ paẹsis, regīna ＞ reyịna ＞ reịna.[38]

M and n, when final, were weak and indistinct from the earliest times, except in monosyllables; by the 3d or 4th century they had probably disappeared altogether from the end of polysyllables: damnu, nọme; but jam, non.

N before spirants (f, j, s, v), except in the prefixes con- and in-, became silent during the Republican period, the preceding vowel, if it was short, being lengthened by compensation[40]: mē(n)sis, pē(n)sare. If the syllable con- or in- was not recognized as a prefix, the n fell: co(n)sul, co(n)ventum, i(n)fas. In learned and newly constructed words the n was pronounced. Cf. M.

Qu, gu before o or u were reduced to c, g in the 1st or 2d century: see W.

R before s, in a number of words, became s in the Republican period: deōrsum ＞ deōssum, dŏrsum ＞ dŏssum, sūrsum ＞ sūssum; so, in a part of the Empire, pĕrsĭca ＞ pĕssĭca, vĕrsus (preposition) ＞ vĕssus. Early in our era ss after a long vowel was reduced to s: deōsu, sūsu.

S was probably always voiceless, or surd, in classic Latin, but became voiced between vowels, in Gaul, at the end of the Vulgar Latin period: casa. To initial s + consonant an i or e was prefixed, at first, no doubt, after a word ending in a consonant: in schŏla ＞ in iscŏla; this process began in the 2d century and had become general by the 4th.

V, originally pronounced w, became β probably in the 1st century: vīvĕre ＞ βīβĕre. Before u, v regularly disappeared, but it was restored by analogy in many words: flavus ＞ flaus, ōvum ＞ ŏum, rīvus ＞ rīus; but also ŏvum, rīvus, by the analogy of ova, rivi. In the greater part of the Empire v apparently fell also before an accented o: pavōnem ＞ paōne, pavōrem ＞ paōre. Cf. W. When a β, representing either b or v, became contiguous to a following consonant, it changed to u: ✱avĭca ＞ aβĭca ＞ auca, gabăta ＞ gaβata ＞ gauta, ✱flavĭtat ＞ flaβĭtat ＞ flautat. In several words rv became rb in Latin: vervēcem ＞ berbēce berbīce, cŏrvus ＞ cŏrbus, cŭrvus ＞ cŭrbus.

W coming, in the 2d or 3d century, from u̯ (§ 40) differed from Latin v, then pronounced β, but was probably identical with Germanic w: dēbuī ＞ dẹbwị, placuī ＞ placwị, sapuit ＞ sapwit, tĕnuis ＞ tęnwis. W fell between a consonant and o or u: antīquus ＞ antịcus, battuo ＞ batto, carduus ＞ cardus, cŏquus ＞ cǫcus, distĭnguo ＞ distįngo, mŏrtuus ＞ mǫrtus; so eccu’hŏc ＞ Pr. acǫ. Cf. Qu.

X (= ks) was reduced to s, in the 2d or 3d century, before a consonant or at the end of a word of more than one syllable: sĕstus, sĕnes; but sĕx. So the prefix ex- ＞ es- before any consonant but s: ✱exgaudēre ＞ Pr. esiauzir, ✱exlucēre ＜ Pr. esluzir, ✱exmĭttĕre ＞ Pr. esmẹtre; excernĕre ＞ ✱escernīre ＞ Pr. eissernir. Ex- + s apparently became either ex- or ess-: ✱exsanguinātum ＞ Pr. eissancnat, ✱exsaritāre ＞ Pr. eissartar, ✱exsĕquĕre ＞ Pr. essęgre, ✱exsŭrgĕre ＞ Pr. essọrger, ✱exsūcāre ＞ Pr. eissügar essügar.

Y coming, in the 2d or 3d century, from e̯ or i̯, (§ 40) coincided with Latin j: habeam ＞ abya, eāmus ＞ yamus, tĕneat ＞ tęnyat; audio ＞ audyo, fīlia ＞ fịlya, vĕniat ＞ vęnyat. As early as the 4th century the groups dy, gy were reduced to y; and ly, ny probably became l´, n´: mĕdius ＞ mędyus ＞ męyus, corrĭgia ＞ corrįgya ＞ corrẹya; mĕlior ＞ męlyor ＞ męl´or, tĕneo ＞ tęnyo ＞ tęn´o.

56. Germanic b, ð, h, k, þ, w call for special mention:—

B did not participate in the change of Latin intervocalic b to β: roubôn ＞ Pr. raubar. The words containing it were evidently adopted after this phonetic law had ceased to operate.

ð, þ were pronounced by the Latins as d, t: ✱waiðanjan ＞ ✱wadanyāre ＞ Pr. gazanhar (It. guadagnare), þrëscan ＞ ✱trescāre ＞ Pr. trescar.

H, at the beginning of a word, was lost in the greater part of the Empire, including southern Gaul: hapja ＞ ✱apya ＞ Pr. apcha. H between vowels was lost in some words and replaced by kk in others: spëhôn ＞ Pr. espiar, fëhu ＞ Pr. fęu, jëhan ＞ ✱yekkīre ＞ Pr. gequir. Ht was regularly replaced by tt: slahta ＞ ✱sclatta ＞ Pr. esclata; but wahta, perhaps borrowed at a different period, became Pr. gaita.

K, in southern Gaul, did not take the palatal pronunciation before front vowels: skërnon ＞ Pr. esquernir, skina ＞ Pr. esquina, skiuhan ＞ Pr. esquivar, ✱rîk-ĭtia ＞ Pr. riquẹza; only the derivatives of Franko (doubtless Latinized early) show palatalization, as ✱Francia ＞ Pr. Fransa. G, however, seems to have been palatalized: gîga ＞ Pr. giga, geisla ＞ Pr. giscle. Before a, in words introduced early, k and g were treated like Latin c and g: kausjan ＞ Pr. cauzir chauzir, gâhi ＞ Pr. gai iai; see § 11, (1).

W was vigorously pronounced, and, through reinforcement of its velar element, came to be sounded gw: warjan ＞ ✱warīre gwarīre ＞ Pr. garir, wërra ＞ ✱węrra gwęrra ＞ Pr. guęrra.

57. Greek ζ, θ, κ, φ, χ did not exactly correspond to any Latin consonants:—

Z, whatever may have been its original pronunciation, received in Vulgar Latin the value dy, which then, like any other dy, became y: ✱zelōsus (from ζῆλος) = dyelọsus yelọsus ＞ Pr. gelọs. The infinitive ending -ίζειν, introduced in such words as βαπτίζειν, ＞ baptizāre = bapti(d)yāre, became very common in the form -įdyāre -įyāre, and was used to make new verbs: wërra + ίζειν ＞ ✱werrįdyāre gwerrįyāre ＞ Pr. guerrẹiar.

θ, in the popular speech of Rome, was replaced by t: similarly χ was replaced by c: σπαθή ＞ spatha = spata; χορδή ＞ chŏrda = cǫrda.

κ was apparently intermediate in sound between Latin c and g; it was generally replaced by the former, but sometimes by the latter: κατά ＞ cata, κυβερνᾰν ＞ gubernare.

φ, in Greek, was in early times (perhaps until the 4th century of our era) a strongly explosive p; it then developed into f. In words borrowed by the Romans in the early period it was replaced by p; in later words it was sounded f: κόλαφος ＞ cŏlăphus = cǫlapus, φασίολος ＞ phaseŏlus faseŏlus.

58. The fate of all these consonants in Provençal depended largely on their position in the word: we must therefore distinguish initial, medial, and final consonants. In a general way, the first tended to remain unchanged, the second to weaken, the third to disappear. Furthermore we must separate single consonants from consonant groups: the latter resisted change better than the former; but a group consisting of dissimilar elements tended to assimilate them.

59. A consonant preceded by a prefix was treated as an initial consonant as long as the character of this preceding syllable was recognized: de-cadĕre ＞ decazẹr, de-pĭngĕre ＞ depẹnher, præ-parāre ＞ preparar, re-cordāre ＞ recordar, re-patriāre ＞ repairar, re-pausāre ＞ repausar, se-dūcĕre ＞ sedüire. If, however, the initial syllable ceased to be recognized as a prefix, the following consonant was treated as a medial consonant: præpŏsĭtum ＞ prebǫst, retŏrta ＞ redǫrta; so, perhaps, profŭndum ＞ preọn. The rare rebọnre (beside repọnre) ＜ re-pōnĕre has the special sense ‘to bury’.

Single Initial Consonants.

60. B, d, l, m, n, p, r, s, t underwent no change: ben, dọn, lǫc, mẹ, nau, pauc, rius, si, tü.

61. C, c´, f, g, g´, β, y suffered some change. C, g must be distinguished from c´, g´: § 55, C, G.

C, g before o, u remained unchanged: colōrem ＞ colọr, cūra ＞ cüra; gŭla ＞ gọla, gŭtta ＞ gọta. Before a they changed only in the north and northeast, where they became (perhaps from the 7th to the 9th century) respectively tš and dž: campus ＞ camps champs; gaudēre ＞ gauzir iauzir.

C´ ＞ ts, which just before and during the literary period was reduced to s: cælum ＞ cęl sęl, cīvitātem ＞ ciutat ciptat siptat. For g´, see Y.

Y, comprising Latin dy, g´, gy, j, and z, became dž (except in Béarn, where it remained y): diurnālem ＞ iornal (yornal), deō(r)sum ＞ iọs; gĕlus ＞ gęls, gentīlem ＞ gentil (yentil), gȳrāre ＞ girar; jam ＞ ia, jŏcum ＞ iǫc (yǫc), jŭvĕnem ＞ iọve; ✱zelōsus ＞ gelọs.

F remained unchanged, except in Béarn and a part of Gascony, where it became h: famem ＞ fam ham, fĭdem ＞ fẹ hẹ, fŏcum ＞ fǫc hüc, fŏlia ＞ fuelha huelha.

β ＞ v (the dentilabial spirant), except in Béarn, Gascony, and parts of Languedoc, where it became b: vĕnit ＞ ven be, vĕntum ＞ vent bent, vĕrsus (§ 55, R) ＞ vęs bęs, vōs ＞ vọs bọs.

Initial Groups.

62. There are three classes of groups: those ending in l or r, those ending in w, and those beginning with s:—

(1) Bl, br, cl, cr, dr, gl, gr, pl, pr, tr underwent no change: blasphemāre ＞ blasmar, brĕvem ＞ bręu, clarus ＞ clars, crŭcem ＞ crọtz, drappus ＞ draps, glaciem ＞ glatz, gradum ＞ gra, plēnum ＞ plẹn, precāre ＞ pregar, trans ＞ tras. Gras is from grassus, a fusion of crassus and grossus. For grǫcs ＜ κρόκος see § 57, κ.

(2) Gw (Germanic w) and kw (Latin qu) were reduced, perhaps in the 10th century, to g and k, except in the west, where the w was retained: wahta ＞ gaita guaita, warjan ＞ garir guarir, wërra ＞ gęrra guęrra, wīsa ＞ gisa guisa; quando ＞ can quan, quare ＞ car quar. It should be noted that the u was commonly kept in the spelling (especially before e and i) after it had ceased to be pronounced, gu and qu being regarded merely as symbols for “hard” g and c. For cinc ＜ quīnque, see § 87, kw. Sw remained in suavem ＞ suau.

(3) To groups beginning with s a vowel had been prefixed in Vulgar Latin (§ 55, S); this vowel appears in Provençal as e. Sc´ apparently did not occur in any popular word; sl early became scl; the other groups (sc, scl, scr, sp, st, str) remained unchanged, except that in the north and northeast sc ＞ stš before a: scala ＞ escala eschala, schŏa ＞ escǫla, slahta ＞ ✱sclatta ＞ esclata, scrībĕre ＞ escriure, spīna ＞ espina, stare ＞ estar, strĭngĕre ＞ estrẹnher.

MEDIAL CONSONANTS.

63. (1) It is well to note at the outset that when, through the fall of an unaccented vowel (§ 51), an early Provençal b, d, dz, dž, g, z, or ž was made final or contiguous to a final s, it became voiceless: ŏpus ＞ ǫbus ＞ ǫbs ǫps, ŏrbum ＞ ǫrbu ＞ ǫrb ǫrp: datum ＞ dadu ＞ dad dat, vĭrĭdem vĭrdem ＞ vẹrde ＞ vẹrd vẹrt; prĕtium ＞ prędzu ＞ prędz pręts (written pretz), vōcem ＞ vọdze ＞ vọdz vọts (written votz); mĕdium ＞ męyu mędžu ＞ mędž mętš (written meg or mech); amīcus ＞ amigus ＞ amigs amics, largum ＞ largu ＞ larg larc; rīsum ＞ rizu ＞ riz ris; basium ＞ bažu ＞ baiž baiš (bais). The combination tšs, however, loses either its second or its third element: ✱gaudios ＞ gautšs ＞ gautš or gauts (both of them often written gaugz); so nŏctes ＞ nuetšs ＞ nuetš or nuets (nuegz). For local variations of g, see (6). For apud ＞ ab ap am an, see § 65, P. 2.

(2) Under the same conditions, y became i: vĭdeo ＞ vẹyo ＞ vẹy vẹi, pĕjus ＞ pęyus ＞ pęys pięis.

(3) Under the same conditions, ð, coming from intervocalic d, fell when final, but became t before s: audit ＞ auði ＞ auð au; crūdus ＞ cruðus ＞ cruds crüts. So crūdum ＞ crü, fĭdem ＞ fẹ, fraudem ＞ frau, gradum ＞ gra, nīdum ＞ ni, nōdum ＞ nọ, pĕdem ＞ pę, sapidum ＞ sabe, tĕpidum ＞ tębe; grados ＞ grats, nōdus ＞ nọts, nūdus ＞ nüts, pĕdes ＞ pęts. The two sets of forms influenced each other: hence degras, fes,[41] nis, pes, etc.; crut, grat, not, nut,[41] etc.

(4) Under the same conditions, β, coming from v or from intervocalic b, became u if preceded by a vowel, but fell if preceded by a consonant: bĭbit ＞ bẹβi ＞ bẹβ bẹu, vīvit ＞ βịβi ＞ βịβ vịu, claves ＞ claβes ＞ claβs claus, vīvus ＞ βīβus ＞ βịβs vịus; salvet ＞ sal, salvum ＞ sal, sĕrvit ＞ siẹr, nĕrvos ＞ nęrs, salvus ＞ sals, sĕrvus ＞ sęrs. Sometimes, however, final β preceded by a consonant, instead of falling, became f: salvet ＞ salf, salvum ＞ salf, sĕrvit ＞ sięrf, vŏlvit ＞ vǫlf; it may be that these are the only regular forms for cons. + β when final, and that sal, sier are due to the analogy of sals, siers.

(5) Under the same conditions, final n, if preceded by a vowel, was kept in the extreme west, parts of the north, and all the southeast and east, but fell everywhere else; n before s was generally kept only in the southeast and east: bĕne ＞ be ben, canem ＞ ca can, sŏnum ＞ so son[42]; bŏnus ＞ bos bons, mansiōnes ＞ maisọs maisọns. In mĭnus ＞ mẹns the n was kept, perhaps through the analogy of menọr. If the n was preceded by a consonant (r), the fall seems to have been even commoner: cŏrnu ＞ cǫr cǫrn, tŏrno ＞ tọr tọrn; diŭrnus ＞ iọrs iọrns. For iọrnh ＜ diŭrnī, see § 51, 1. Provençal n coming from nn never falls: annus ＞ ans.

(6) Under the same conditions, g, representing original c or g, became c after o or u, and after other vowels either became c or was changed to i (which fused with a preceding i): fŏcum ＞ fǫc, lŏcus ＞ lǫcs, paucum ＞ pauc, Hūgo ＞ Uc; Aureliācum ＞ Aurelhac, dīco ＞ dic di, Henrīcum ＞ Enric Enri, ✱trago ＞ trac trai. The forms with c are the commoner; they have been most persistent in the west.

(7) The vocalization of l before s (malus ＞ maus) is a different phenomenon from the foregoing. See § 65, L.

(8) An m or an n that becomes contiguous to final s often develops into mp or nt, but oftener (judging from the spellings) does not: nĭmis ＞ nems nemps; annos ＞ ans anz.

(9) Between a liquid or a nasal and a final s, a b or a p generally fell, unless supported by the analogy of a form in which the b or p was final: ambos ＞ ams ambs, cŏrpus ＞ cors, tĕmpus ＞ tems temps; cf. balbs (balb), orbs (orb).