[h]→[e]Certainty: 4/5Commonality: 4/5

Vocalization Lenition Laryngeal Theory Indo-European

Voiceless glottal fricative to Close-mid front unrounded vowel

In many phonetic environments, the glottal fricative [h] weakens and vocalizes into a mid-front vowel [e], a process frequently reconstructed in the development of Indo-European and other major language families.

Phonetic Effects

Vocalization, Lenition, Vowel Coloring

Language Examples

Proto-Indo-European Indo-European

*h₁ (as fricative [h])→e— Neutral laryngeal coloring where the vowel quality is preserved while the consonant is lost.

Related Transformations

Reverse A-coloring

More Lenition Shifts

[a] → [∅] — Elision [ʕ] → [a] — Vocalization [b] → [v] — Spirantization [tɕ] → [ʃ] — De-affrication [tɕ] → [ɕ] — Lenition

Sources & References

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