Back to Matrix [e] → [ai] Edit this Data

[ai]→[e]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 5/5

Monophthongization Smoothing Romance Indo-Aryan

Diphthong ai to Close-mid front unrounded vowel

Monophthongization of 'ai' to 'e' is a common shift where a low-to-high diphthong simplifies to a mid front vowel, often through assimilation of the two elements.

Phonetic Effects

Monophthongization, Smoothing

Language Examples

Sanskrit Indo-Aryan

Vedic /ai/→Classical Sanskrit /e:/— Original diphthongs /ai/ and /au/ became long mid vowels /e:/ and /o:/ in Classical Sanskrit.

Romance Romance

Latin AI→e— Latin diphthong AI frequently monophthongized to /e/ or /ɛ/ in many Romance dialects.

Related Transformations

Reverse

More Romance Shifts

[ã] → [õ] — Raising [a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [a] → [∅] — Elision [a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction [b] → [v] — Spirantization

Sources & References

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