[l]→[o]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 4/5

Alveolar lateral approximant to Close-mid back rounded vowel

Vocalization of [l] can result in the mid-back rounded vowel [o], particularly in languages where the 'dark L' [ɫ] is prominent and the resulting diphthongs simplify through monophthongization.

Phonetic Effects

Vocalization, Monophthongization

Language Examples

French Romance

altus (Latin)→haut [o]— The vocalized L eventually merged with the vowel into a mid-rounded quality.

Dutch Germanic

salt (Germanic)→zout [ou]— Systematic vocalization of post-vocalic L in the Middle Ages.

Related Transformations

Reverse

More Romance Shifts

[ã] → [õ] — Raising [a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [a] → [∅] — Elision [a] → [ʔ] — Glottalization [a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction

Sources & References

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