Part 4

(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.

1. In Aude, Tarn, Aveyron, Corrèze, and a part of Haute-Garonne, final ī was preserved as late as the 12th century: _pagadi_, _salvi_, _soli_. See _Rom._, XIV, 291-2 and XXXIV, 362. Such forms occur also in Vaud and Dauphiné. Cf. _Gram._, II, p. 82.--In the dialect of some texts, _-ī_, before falling, palatalized a preceding l (or ll), n (or nn), nd, nt, or t: _annī_ ＞ _anh_, _bellī_ ＞ _beill_, ✱_infantī_ ＞ _efanh_, ✱_spiritī_ ＞ _esperih_, _mundī_ ＞ _monh_. See _Rom._, XXXIV, 353.

2. In the extreme east there are traces of final _-ōs_: _aquestos_, _ellos_, _tantos_.

3. _Grau_ for _gra_ ＜ _gradum_, _niu_ for _ni_ ＜ _nīdum_ are Catalan. _Amiu_ for _amic_ ＜ _amīcum_, _chastiu_ for _chastic_ ＜ _castīgo_ belong to the dialect of Forez, and point to a very early fall of the guttural in that dialect. Cf. § 65, D, G.

4. _Aire_, _vaire_, beside _air_ ＜ _aĕrem_, _vair_ ＜ _varium_, probably show the influence of the numerous nouns in _-aire_ (_amaire_, etc.); cf. § 52, (1). _Fores_ beside _fors_ ＜ _fŏris_, _nemes_ beside _nems_ ＜ _nĭmis_, _senes_ beside _sens_ ＜ _sĭne_ probably developed the _e_ when the next word began with a consonant: see § 62, (3). For _colbe_, see § 48, 1. _Reide_ _rede_ perhaps owes its -e to _rege_: § 49, (1). Beside _volp_ ＜ _vŭlpem_ there is a _volpe_.

5. _Coma_, beside _com_, _con_, _co_ ＜ _quōmŏ(do)_, apparently owes its -a to the analogy of the adverbs _bona_ and _mala_ and other adverbs of manner. For a different explanation, see J. Vising in the _Tobler Festschrift_ (_Abhandlungen Herrn Prof. Dr. Tobler… dargebracht_, 1895), p. 113.

6. E seems to have been inserted in the second person singular of some verbs, to distinguish it from the third person: co(g)nōscis ＞ conọisses, _co(g)nōscit_ ＞ conọis.

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.

1. The rare forms _frair_, _mair_, _pair_, _Peir_ (still used in Gascony), beside regular _fraire_, _maire_, _paire_, _Peire_, are probably due to proclitic use; so _sor_ beside _sorre_ ＜ _sŏror_, and possibly _faur_ beside _faure_ ＜ _faber_. The learned _albir_ = _albire_ ＜ _arbĭtrium_ may be due to the analogy of other double forms. _Dimerc_ for _dimercre_ (§ 17, 2) perhaps follows _dimenc_.

2. Rr requires a vowel in a few dialects: _corre_ = _cor_ ＜ _cŭrrit_, _ferre_ = _fer_ ＜ _fĕrrum_, _torre_ = _tor_ ＜ _tŭrrem_.

(2) Examples: _cŭbĭtum_ ＞ cọde; _cŏmĭtem_ ＞ comte; _dēbĭtum_ ＞ dẹpte dẹute, § 47, (3); _dŏmnum_ ＞ domne; _dŭbĭto_ ＞ dọpte; _hŏspĭtem_ ＞ ǫste; _sabbătum_ ＞ sapte.

1. _Azaut_ seems to be post-verbal from _azautar_ ＜ _adaptāre_. _Escrit_ ＜ _scrīptum_ shows the influence of _dit_ ＜ _dīctum_. _Malaut_, beside _malaute_ _malapte_ ＜ _mal´habĭtum_, is reconstructed from the feminine _malauta_ on the model of _aut_, _auta_. _Set_ ＜ _sĕptem_ must have developed as a proclitic.

(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.

1. The forms _poutz_, _sautz_, beside _pouse_, _sauze_, would seem to indicate that lc´ did not require a supporting vowel in all dialects.

2. ✱_Ficotum_ (= _jēcur_), a fusion of συκωτόν (‘fig-fattened’) and _fīcus_, combined with ✱_hēpăte_ (= _hēpar_), became ✱fẹ́catu ✱fẹcitu ✱fẹgidu, and then, through the influence of the familiar ending -igu (= _ĭcum_), ✱fẹdigu ＞ fẹtge. See G. Paris in _Miscellanea linguistica in onore di G. Ascoli_, 1901, p. 41; H. Schuchardt in _Zs._, XXV, 615, and XXVIII, 435; L. Clédat in _Revue de philologie française et de littérature_, XV, 235. _Pege_, for _peich_ ＜ _pĕctus_, seems to be due to the analogy of _fetge_.

(4) Examples: _æstĭmo_ ＞ esme; _dĕcĭmum_ ＞ dęsme; _fraxĭnum_ ＞ fraisne; _incūdĭnem_ ＞ enclütge (cf. § 80, Dn); ✱_metĭpsĭmum_ ＞ medẹsme; _pĕssĭmum_ ＞ pęsme; _prŏxĭmus_ ＞ prǫsmes.

1. Faim ＜ _facĭmu(s)_ doubtless lost its -e through the analogy of the alternative form fazẹm ＜ ✱_facímu(s)_ and of the usual endings -ám, -ẹm.

(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_.

1. It should be remembered that the Latin words, at the time of their adoption, had undergone various phonetic changes in the clerical pronunciation: cf. § 15. A form _remezi_, for instance, presupposes a pronunciation of _remĕdium_ as remęðiu(m).

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:--

B between vowels became, through failure to close the lips tightly, β (bilabial v), from the 1st to the 3d century of our era: _habēre_ ＞ aβẹre. The same change took place, to a certain extent, when the b was not intervocalic, but we have few, if any, traces of it in Provençal. Between vowels, even in learned words, the clerical pronunciation was probably β or v until the 7th century. Cf. V.

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.

INITIAL CONSONANTS.

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.

1. For _cremetar_ ＜ ✱_tremitāre_, see Meyer-Lübke, _Einf._, § 194. For _granolha_ ＜ ✱_ranŭcŭla_, see Körting, _ranuculus_.

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.

1. In a few words β, owing to Germanic influence, was replaced by w ＞ gw: _vadum_ + _watan_ ＞ _gua_, _vastare_ + _wôst_ ＞ _guastar_. So _vagīna_ ＞ _guaína_, _Vascŏnia_ ＞ _Gasconha_. Cf. gw below.

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.