[b]→[u]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 4/5

Voiced bilabial plosive to Close back rounded vowel

The shift from the voiced bilabial stop [b] to the vowel [u] is a form of vocalization. It typically occurs in syllable-final (coda) positions or between vowels, where the consonant weakens through a fricative stage [β] before losing its consonantal nature entirely.

Phonetic Effects

Vocalization, Lenition

Language Examples

Latin to Romance Romance

absentem [b]→ausente (Spanish) [u]— Coda /b/ before /s/ vocalized to /u/, yielding the diphthong 'au'.

debitum→deute (Catalan)— Intervocalic /b/ spirantized to [β] then vocalized to [u], yielding diphthong [ew].

Related Transformations

Intermediate step: Spirantization Inverse: Consonantalization

More Romance Shifts

[ã] → [õ] — Raising [a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [a] → [∅] — Elision [a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction [ai] → [e] — Monophthongization

Sources & References

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