Back to Matrix [ɛ] → [oi] Edit this Data

[oi]→[ɛ]Certainty: 4/5Commonality: 3/5

Monophthongization Vowel Shift Unrounding Romance

Diphthong oi to Open-mid front unrounded vowel

The diphthong /oi/ has undergone various transformations in the history of languages. In French, a notable shift involved its monophthongization to an open-mid front unrounded vowel /ɛ/ in certain contexts, particularly evident in the evolution of verb conjugations.

Phonetic Effects

Monophthongization, Unrounding, Fronting, Lowering of the Diphthong's Vocalic Elements

Language Examples

French Romance

étoit→était— In Old French, 'oi' was pronounced as a diphthong, either /oi̯/ or /o̯e/ (or /wɛ/). In Modern French, in words like 'était', this has monophthongized to /ɛ/.

Related Transformations

Reverse Monophthongization to rounded vowel (Ancient Greek)Monophthongization to unrounded vowel (Modern Greek)Diphthongal shift (French)

More Vowel Shift Shifts

[ã] → [õ] — Raising [a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [a] → [∅] — Elision [a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction [ai] → [e] — Monophthongization

Sources & References

Spotted a mistake or have a better example?

EchoDrift is community-driven. You can suggest a change directly through GitHub.

Propose an Edit on GitHub