[k]→[p]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 4/5

Labialization Indo-European Romance Celtic Hellenic

Voiceless velar plosive to Voiceless bilabial plosive

The shift from the voiceless velar stop [k] to the voiceless bilabial stop [p] typically occurs when the original sound is a labialized velar [kʷ] (produced with lip rounding). If a language loses the velar closure but retains the lip rounding, the sound 'slides' forward to become a pure bilabial stop. This is a classic example of labialization.

Phonetic Effects

Labialization, Place Assimilation

Language Examples

Proto-Indo-European to Greek Hellenic

*sekʷ- (follow)→hepomai [p]— The PIE labiovelar shifted to a bilabial stop in Greek before certain vowels (compare Latin sequor).

P-Celtic (Welsh / Breton) Celtic

*kʷetwor- (four)→pedwar [p] (Welsh)— This systematic labialization of PIE *kʷ to *p is the defining feature of the 'P-Celtic' language branch.

Latin to Romanian Romance

aqua [kʷ]→apă [p]— The Latin 'qu' cluster labialized into a 'p' in Balkan Romance.

Related Transformations

Reverse Voiced equivalent: Labialization

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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