[g]→[u]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 4/5

Voiced velar plosive to Close back rounded vowel

The shift from [g] to [u] occurs through the vocalization of the voiced velar fricative [ɣ]. In Middle English, post-vocalic [g] after back vowels softened to [w] and eventually vocalized into the high back rounded vowel [u].

Phonetic Effects

Vocalization, Velar Softening

Language Examples

Old English to Modern English Germanic

laġu [ɣ]→law [ɔː] (via [u])— The velar fricative vocalized and merged with the vowel.

fugel [ɣ]→fowl [aʊ] (via [u])— Development of the modern diphthong from a vocalized velar.

Related Transformations

Reverse Related: Mid-vowel vocalization

More Germanic Shifts

[a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [a] → [∅] — Elision [a] → [ʔ] — Glottalization [a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction [ʕ] → [a] — Vocalization

Sources & References

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