[y]→[o]Certainty: 4/5Commonality: 2/5

Vowel Shift Backing Indo-European Indo-Aryan

Close front rounded vowel to Close-mid back rounded vowel

The transformation of the high front rounded vowel [y] into the mid back rounded vowel [o] is a form of backing and lowering, typically observed in historical sound shifts or as a result of phonetic drift in speakers of languages without front rounded vowels.

Phonetic Effects

Backing, Lowering, Vowel Shift

Language Examples

Indo-Aryan (Historical) Indo-Aryan

Historical [y/r̥]→[o/u]— The specific shift of [y] to [o/u] in historical Indo-Aryan phonology is not attested in the provided search results. Documented vowel shifts primarily involve diphthongs like /ai/ and /au/ becoming /e/ and /o/.

L2 Acquisition Drift Various

[y]→[o/u]— Documented phonetic drift where L2 learners replace unfamiliar front rounded vowels with acoustically similar back rounded vowels.

Related Transformations

High equivalent Inverse: Fronting

More Vowel Shift Shifts

[ã] → [õ] — Raising [ai] → [e] — Monophthongization [d] → [dʑ] — Palatalization [e] → [o] — Backing [∅] → [ã] — Compensatory Nasalization

Sources & References

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