[u]→[v]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 5/5
Close back rounded vowel to Voiced labiodental fricative
The shift from the high-back rounded vowel [u] (or its semivowel counterpart [w]) to the labiodental fricative [v] is a common form of consonantalization. This process occurred independently in both the Romance and Germanic language families as glides strengthened into obstruents.
Phonetic Effects
Consonantalization, Fortition
Language Examples
vinum [w/u]→vin (French) / vino (Italian)— Latin semivocalic V strengthened to a fricative.
valere→valoir / valere
water [w/u]→Wasser [v]— German shifted the Proto-Germanic glide to a labiodental fricative.
wine→Wein [v]
Historical rounded vowels [u, o]→[v, b, m]— Documented gradual shift of rounded vowels to labial approximants and then to bilabial consonants.
Related Transformations
More Romance Shifts
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