[f]→[w]Certainty: 4/5Commonality: 1/5

Voiceless labiodental fricative to Voiced labio-velar approximant

The shift from the voiceless labiodental fricative [f] to the voiced labio-velar approximant [w] is a process of lenition and vocalization. It involves a multi-stage weakening (f → v → ʋ → w) where the sound gains voicing and loses friction, eventually stabilizing as a glide.

Phonetic Effects

Lenition, Vocalization

Language Examples

Sardinian (Intervocalic) Romance

/f/→[v] / [w]— Intervocalic lenition of historical /f/ toward voiced fricatives or approximants.

Related Transformations

Stage 1: Voicing Inverse: Fortition

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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