Back to Matrix [s] → [f] Edit this Data

[f]→[s]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 1/5

Fricative Shifting Cluster Simplification Germanic

Voiceless labiodental fricative to Voiceless alveolar fricative

Shift of [f] to [s] is relatively rare, famously documented in the transition of initial clusters in Middle English.

Phonetic Effects

Fricative Shifting, Sonority Adjustment

Language Examples

English Germanic

fneosan (OE)→sneeze— initial cluster shift fn- to sn-

fnora (OE)→snore— initial cluster shift fn- to sn-

Related Transformations

More Germanic Shifts

[a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [a] → [∅] — Elision [a] → [ʔ] — Glottalization [a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction [æ] → [ɛ] — Vowel Raising

Sources & References

https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-a-historical-phonology-of-english.html

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