Back to Matrix [w] → [uo] Edit this Data

[uo]→[w]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 4/5

Italic Germanic Consonantalization Glide Formation Diphthong Reduction West Germanic

Diphthong uo to Voiced labio-velar approximant

The diphthong /uo/, particularly when the initial /u/ is unstressed or occurs in specific phonetic contexts, can undergo consonantalization. This process transforms the vocalic element of the diphthong into the voiced labio-velar approximant /w/, effectively reducing the diphthong and strengthening its high vowel component into a consonantal glide.

Phonetic Effects

Consonantalization, Glide Formation, Diphthong Reduction

Language Examples

Oscan Italic

*fak'UO%→facus— The suffix *-uo- is attested to have become -w- in Oscan.

Frisian West Germanic

/uö/→[wö]— The initial element of the diphthong consonantalizes to /w/.

/uo/→[wo]— The initial element of the diphthong consonantalizes to /w/.

Related Transformations

Reverse

More Germanic Shifts

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

Sources & References

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