[f]→[θ]Certainty: 3/5Commonality: 1/5
Voiceless labiodental fricative to Voiceless dental fricative
The shift from 'f' to 'th' (θ) is a dentalization process, often occurring as a hypercorrection or dialectal variation where a labiodental fricative becomes dental.
Phonetic Effects
Dentalization
Language Examples
free [f]→[θriː]— Hypercorrection: speakers of TH-fronting dialects (where θ→f is standard) may over-apply dental articulation producing f→θ. E.g., 'free' pronounced as 'three' in some Cockney/Estuary hypercorrections. The direction f→θ is the inverse of standard TH-fronting.
Related Transformations
More Germanic Shifts
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