Chapter II: Phonology (1)

14. Inasmuch as Provençal, like the other Romance languages, grew out of the Latin commonly spoken under the Roman Empire, we must take this latter language as our starting-point. The transformation was so gradual and continuous that we cannot assign any date at which speech ceases to be Latin and begins to be Provençal; since, however, the various Latin dialects--destined to become later the various Romance languages--began to diverge widely in the 6th and 7th centuries, we may, for the sake of convenience, say that the Latin period ends at about this time. Before this, certain changes (which affected all the Romance tongues) had occurred in the popular language, differentiating it considerably from the classic Latin of the Augustan writers. Although the most important of these alterations have to do with inflections rather than with pronunciation, the sound-changes in Vulgar Latin are by no means insignificant.

15. It is essential at the outset to distinguish “popular” from “learned” words. The former, having always been a part of the spoken vocabulary, have been subject to the operation of all the phonetic laws that have governed the development of the language. The latter class, consisting of words borrowed by clerks, at various periods, from Latin books and from the Latin of the Church, is naturally exempt from sound-changes that occurred in the vulgar tongue before the time of their adoption. The form of learned words depends, in the first place, on the clerical pronunciation of Latin at the date of their borrowing; then, if they came into general use, their form was subject to the influence of any phonetic laws that were subsequently in force. The fate of borrowed terms differs, therefore, according to the time of their introduction and the degree of popularity which they afterwards attained.

1. ACCENT.

16. The place of the _primary_ accent, which in Classic Latin was determined by quantity, remained unchanged in Vulgar Latin even after quantitative distinctions were lost. A short vowel before a mute followed by a liquid may, in Classic Latin, be stressed or unstressed; in Vulgar Latin it is usually stressed: _cathédra_, _tenébræ_.[14]

There are some exceptions to the rule of the persistence of the accent in Vulgar Latin:--

1. An accented e or i immediately followed by the vowel of the
penult transfers the stress to this latter vowel, and is itself
changed to y: _filíŏlus_ ＞ _filyólus_, _mulíĕrem_ ＞ _mulyére_.
This shift is perhaps due to a tendency to stress the more
sonorous of two contiguous vowels.

2. An accented u immediately followed by the vowel of the
penult transfers the stress to the _preceding_ syllable, and
is itself changed to w: _habúĕrunt_ ＞ _ábwerunt_, _tenúĕram_ ＞
_ténwera_. This shift cannot be explained on the same principle
as the foregoing one; it is perhaps due in every case to
analogy--_hábuit_, _ténui_, for instance, being responsible for
the change in _habúerunt_, _tenúeram_.

3. Verbs compounded with a prefix, if their constituent parts
were fully recognized, were usually replaced in Vulgar Latin
by a formation in which the vowel and the accent of the
simple verb were preserved: _défĭcit_ ＞ _disfácit_, _réddĭdi_
＞ _reddédi_, _rénĕgo_ ＞ _renégo_, _réquĭrit_ ＞ _requærit_.
In _récĭpit_ ＞ _recípit_ the accent but not the vowel was
restored, speakers having ceased to associate this verb with
_capio_. In _cóllĭgo_, _érĭgo_, _éxĕo_, _ínflo_ the composite
nature of the word was apparently not recognized.

4. The adverbs _ĭllāc_, _ĭllīc_ accented their last syllable,
by the analogy of _hāc_, _hīc_.

17. In Provençal the primary accent falls on the same syllable as in Vulgar Latin: _bonitātem_ ＞ V. L. _bonitáte_ ＞ Pr. _bontát_, _compŭtum_ ＞ V. L. _cómputu_ ＞ Pr. _cónte_; _cathĕdra_ ＞ V. L. _catédra_ ＞ Pr. _cadéira_; _filiŏlus_ ＞ V. L. _filyólus_ ＞ Pr. _filhóls_, _tenuĕram_ ＞ V. L. _ténwera_ ＞ Pr. _téngra_, _requĭrit_ ＞ V. L. _requærit_ ＞ Pr. _requér_, _illac_ ＞ V. L. _illác_ ＞ Pr. _lai_.

1. Some learned words have an irregular accentuation,
apparently due to a mispronunciation of the Latin: _cándĭdum_ ＞
_quandí_, _grammátĭca_ ＞ _gramatíca_, _láchry̆mo_ ＞ _lagrím_,
_spírĭtum_ ＞ _esprít_ (perhaps from the formula _spirítui
sancto_). Others were adopted with the correct stress, but
shifted it later: _fábrĭca_ ＞ _fábrega_ ＞ _fabréga_ (and
_fárga_), _fémĭna_ ＞ _fémena_ ＞ _feména_ (and _fémna_),
_láchry̆ma_ ＞ _lágrema_ ＞ _lagréma_, _sémĭnat_ ＞ _sémena_ ＞
_seména_ (and _sémna_), _vírgĭnem_ ＞ _vérgena_ ＞ _vergína_ (and
_vérge_).

2. _Dimércres_ ＜ _dīe Mercūrī_ (perhaps through ✱_dīe
Mércŏris_) has evidently been influenced by _divénres_ ＜ _dīe
Vĕnĕris_.

3. Some irregularities due to inflection will be discussed
under Morphology.

18. The _secondary_ accent, in Vulgar Latin, seems not to have followed the Classic Latin quantitative rule, but to have fallen regularly on the second syllable from the primary stress: _cṓgĭtó_, _cupĭ́dĭtā́tem_. If this secondary accent _followed_ the tonic, its vowel probably developed as an unstressed post-tonic vowel; if it _preceded_, its vowel was apparently treated as a stressed vowel. This treatment was doubtless continued in Provençal until the intertonic vowel dropped out: _cógĭtó_ _cógĭtánt_ ＞ _cug_ _cúian_ (cf. _cánto_ _cántant_ ＞ _can_ _cántan_), ✱_comĭnĭtĭāre_ ＞ _comén’tiáre_ ＞ _coménzár_ ＞ _comensár_. As may be seen from this last example, after the fall of the intertonic vowel, the secondary stress, being brought next to the primary, disappeared, and its vowel was henceforth unaccented. Cf. § 45, 1.

19. Short, unemphatic words had no accent in Vulgar Latin, and were attached as particles to the beginning or the end of another word: _te vídet_, _áma me_. Such words, if they were not monosyllabic, tended to become so; a disyllabic proclitic beginning with a vowel regularly, in Vulgar Latin, lost its first syllable: _illum vídeo_ ＞ V. L. _lu véyo_ ＞ Pr. _lo vei_. A word which was used sometimes independently, sometimes as a particle, naturally developed double forms.

2. VOWELS.

QUANTITY.

20. Latin had the following vowels, which might be long or short: a, e, i, o, u. The diphthongs, æ, œ, au, eu, ui, were always long: æ and œ, however, were simplified into monophthongs, mainly in the Republican epoch, _æ_ being sounded ę̄, _œ_ probably ẹ̄; au retained (save in some popular dialects) its old pronunciation; eu did not occur in any word that survived; ui, in _cui_, _illui_, in Vulgar Latin, was accented _úi_ (as in _fui_). The simple vowels, except a, were, doubtless from early times, slightly different in quality according to their quantity, the long vowels being sounded close, the short open: ẹ̄, ị̄, ọ̄, ụ̄; ę̆, į̆, ǫ̆, ų̆.

21. Between the 1st and the 7th century of our era, the Classic Latin quantity died out: it had apparently disappeared from unstressed vowels as early as the 4th century, from stressed by the 6th. It left its traces, however, as we have seen, upon accentuation (§ 16), and also upon vowel quality, the originally long and short remaining differentiated in sound, if they were accented. Of the unaccented vowels, only i shows sure signs of such a differentiation, and even for i the distinction is evident only in a final syllable: _vēnī_ _vēnĭt_ ＞ vẹnị vẹnįt.

ACCENTED VOWELS.

22. The vowels of Vulgar Latin are a, ẹ, ę, ị, į, ọ, ǫ, ụ, ų, with the diphthongs áu and úi; the old æ and œ had become identical in sound with ę and ẹ. As early as the 3d century of our era, į was changed, in nearly all the Empire, to ẹ, and thus became identical with the vowel coming from original ē. A little later, perhaps, ų, in the greater part of the Empire, became ọ, thus coinciding with the vowel that was originally ō. Ypsilon, in words taken from the Greek, was identified, in early borrowings, with Latin u; in later ones, with Latin i: βύρσα ＞ Pr. _borsa_, γῠρος ＞ Pr. _girs_. Omicron, which apparently had the close sound in Greek, generally (but not always) retained it in recently borrowed words in Vulgar Latin: τόρνος ＞ tọrnus (cf. Pr. tọrn), but κόλαφος ＞ _cŏlăphus_ = cọlapus or cǫlapus (cf. Pr. cǫlp).

The development of the Vulgar Latin vowels in Provençal will now be examined in detail:--

a

23. Cl. L. ā, ă ＞ V. L. a ＞ Pr. ą: _ărbŏrem_ ＞ ąrbre, _grātum_ ＞ grąt, _măre_ > mąr.

1. The ending _-arius_ shows an irregular development in
French and Provençal, the Provençal forms being mainly such as
would come from _-ĕrius_; as in _parlier_, _parleira_. In the
earliest stage we find apparently -ęr´ and -ęr´a; then -ęr´
and -ęir´a; next -ęr, -ięr and -ęira, -ięira; finally, with
a reciprocal influence of the two genders, -ęr, -ięr, -ęir,
and -ęra, -ięra, -ęira, -ięira: _caballarium_ ＞ _c(h)avaler_
_-ier_, _-eir_, ✱_man(u)aria_ ＞ _manera_ _-iera_ _-eira_
_-ieira_. The peculiar treatment of this suffix has not been
satisfactorily explained. See E. R. Zimmermann, _Die Geschichte
des lateinischen Suffixes -arius in den romanischen Sprachen_,
1895; E. Staaff, _Le suffixe -arius dans les langues romanes_,
Upsala, 1896, reviewed by Marchot in _Zs._, XXI, 296, by
Körting in _Zeitschrift für französische Sprache_, XXII, 55;
Meyer-Lübke, _Gram._, I, 222, § 237; Zimmermann in _Zs._,
XXVI, 591; Thomas in _Rom._, XXXI, 481 and in _Bausteine zur
romanischen Philologie_, 641. The likeliest theory is that of
Thomas: that _-arius_ was associated with the Germanic ending
_-ari_ and participated in the _umlaut_ which affected the
latter; cf. _Phon._, pp. 34-36.

2. In Gascony and Languedoc _ei_ is used for _ai_ ＜ _habeo_.
The _ei_ perhaps developed first as a future ending (_amar
-ei_) by analogy of the preterit ending _-ei_ (_amei_): see
Morphology, §§ 152, 1, 162, (4), 175, (4), where this latter
ending is discussed also. For a different explanation, see
Meyer-Lübke, _Gram._, I, 222, § 237.

3. A few apparent irregularities are to be traced to the
vocabulary of Vulgar Latin. For instance, Pr. _sereisa_
represents, not Cl. L. _cĕrăsus_, but V. L. _cĕrĕsĕa_: see
Meyer-Lübke, _Einf._, § 103. _Uebre_ is from ✱_ŏpĕrit_, or
_apĕrit_ modified by ✱_cŏpĕrit_ = _cōperit_. _Voig_ is from
✱_vŏcĭtum_ = _vacuum_: _Einf._, § 114.

4. Such forms as _fontaina_ = _fontana_ ＜ _fontāna_, etc., and
_tres_ = _tras_ ＜ _trans_, etc., are French or belong to the
borderland between French and Provençal.

24. In some dialects, particularly in Rouergue, Limousin, Auvergne, and Dauphiné, a became ạ before a nasal, and at the end of a monosyllable or an oxytone: _canem_ ＞ cạn, _grandem_ ＞ grạnt, _cadit_ ＞ cạ, _stat_ ＞ estạ.

1. The conditions differ somewhat in the various dialects,
according as the nasal consonant falls or remains, and is
followed by another consonant or not. In Limousin the sound
is ą before an n that cannot fall: see § 11, (5). In Rouergue
and in Dauphiné, ạ appears before all nasals. The poets
generally follow the Limousin usage. See F. Pfützner, _Ueber
die Aussprache des provenzalischen A_, Halle, 1884.

ẹ

25. Cl. L. ē, ĭ, œ ＞ V. L. ẹ ＞ Pr. ẹ: _habēre_ ＞ avẹr, _mē_ ＞ mẹ, _mensem_ ＞ mẹs, _plēnum_ ＞ plẹn, _rēgem_ ＞ rẹi, _vēndĕre_ ＞ vẹndre; _ĭnter_ ＞ ẹntre, _fĭdem_ ＞ fẹ, _malĭtia_ ＞ malẹza, _mĭnus_ ＞ mẹns, _mĭttĕre_ ＞ mẹtre, _sĭccum_ ＞ sẹc, _vĭrĭdem_ ＞ vẹrt, _pœna_ ＞ pẹna.

1. Some words have ę instead of ẹ:--

(_a_) The ending -_ētis_ in the present indicative becomes -ętz
through the analogy of ętz ＜ _ĕstis_.

(_b_) Camęl (also ẹ), candęla (also ẹ), cruzęl, fizęl (also
ẹ), maissęla have ę through the analogy of the suffix -ęl ＜
-_ĕllus_. In _camel_ the substitution probably goes back to
Vulgar Latin.

(_c_) Many learned words, including proper names, have ę for
ẹ: decręt, Elizabęt, Moysęs, pantęra, requięs, secręt (ẹ),
sencęr.

(_d_) Espęr for espẹr ＜ _spēro_, quęt for quẹt ＜
_qu_(_i_)_ētum_ are perhaps bad rhymes. Bartolomeo Zorzi, a
Venetian, rhymes -ẹs with -ęs; in Catalan these two endings
were not distinguished.

(_e_) Individual cases: adęs, ‘at once,’ probably from _ad
id ĭpsum_, seems to have been affected by pręs and apręs ＜
_ad prĕssum_; mostięr ＜ _monastērium_ shows the influence of
_ministĕrium_; nęr nięr (also nẹr nẹgre) ＜ _nĭgrum_ perhaps
shows the influence of entęr entięr and the numerous adjectives
in -ęr -ięr; nęu nięu nęy ＜ _nĭvem_ has been attracted by bręu
gręu, lęu; senęstre (cf. late Lat. _sinexter_) is evidently
influenced by dęstre.

2. Many words have i instead of ẹ:--

(_a_) _Berbitz_ = _vervēcem_, _camis_ = _camĭsia_, come from
alternative V. L. forms, _berbīcem_, ✱_camīsia_. _Planissa_
(also -_eza_), _sebissa_, etc., probably show -_īcia_ for
-_ĭtia_. For _dit_ = _dĭgĭtum_ see § 65, Y, 1.

(_b_) In many learned words Latin ĭ is represented by i in
Provençal: _albir_, _martire_, _edifici_, _iuzizi_, _servizi_,
_vici_, etc.; _iusticia_, _leticia_, _tristicia_, etc.
_Aurilha_ (also ẹ) ＜ _aurĭcula_, _cilh_, (also _cieilh_,
_sobreselhs_) ＜ _cĭlium_, _issilh_ ＜ _exĭlium_, _familha_ ＜
_famĭlia_, _maístre_ (also maẹstre maiẹstre) ＜ _magĭstrum_,
_meravilha_ (also ẹ) ＜ _mirabĭlia_, _perilh_ ＜ _perĭculum_,
etc., are probably learned forms. _Máistre_ and _mestre_ are
French.

(_c_) _Ciri_ (_cere_) = _cēreum_, _iure_ (cf. _ebriac_)
= _ēbrium_ (or ✱_ĕbrium_), _marquis_ (ẹ), _merci_ (ẹ),
_país_ (ẹ) = ✱_pagēnsem_, _plazir_ (ẹ), _pris_ (ẹ), etc.,
are French.[15] For a discussion of _iure_ and a different
explanation of _ciri_, see P. Savj-Lopez, _Dell’ “Umlaut”
provenzale_, 1902, p. 4.

(_d_) _Ins_ (also _entz_) ＜ _ĭntus_, _dins_ (also _dens_) ＜ _de
ĭntus_, _dintre_ (cf. _en_, _entre_) ＜ _de ĭnter_ have not
been satisfactorily explained. Regular forms with ẹ are found
in Béarn, Gascony, Dauphiné, and the Alps.

(_e_) Individual cases: _tapit_ ＜ ταπήτιον shows the modern
pronunciation of Greek η; _verin_ = _venēnum_ is an example of
substitution of suffix.

3. _Arnei_, _fei_, _mei_ = _me_, _palafrei_, _perquei_, _sei_ =
_se_ are French or Poitevin forms; they are common in William
of Poitiers. _Mercey_, _rey_ = _re_, used by Marcabru, seem to
be due either to an imitation of such forms as the preceding or
to the analogy of _crei_ _cre_ ＜ _crēdo_. Cf. § 65, N, 3.

4. _Contránher_ seems to be a fusion of _constrĭngere_ and
_contrahere_; _vendanha_ ＜ _vindēmia_ shows French influence.

26. An ẹ in hiatus became i: _lĭgat_ ＞ lia, _vĭa_ ＞ via.

27. When there was in the next syllable a final ī, V. L. ẹ was changed in Provençal to i: _ecc’ĭllī_ ＞ cilh, _ecc’ĭstī_ ＞ cist, _fēcī_ ＞ fis, ✱_prēsī_ ＞ pris, ✱_vēnuī_ ＞ vinc, _vigĭntī_ ✱_vĭntī_ ＞ vint.

1. In the nominative plural of masculine nouns and adjectives
this change was regularly prevented by the analogy of the
singular and the accusative plural: _mĭssī_ ＞ _mes_, _plēnī_ ＞
_plen_. We find, however, _cabil_ ＜ _capĭllī_.

2. _Dec_ for ✱_dic_ ＜ _dēbuī_ seems to have been attracted
by the _dec_ ＜ _dēbuit_ of the third person. _Venguest_ for
_venguist_ ＜ ✱_venuĭstī_ is due both to the influence of the
plural forms _venguem_, _venguetz_ and to the analogy of the
weak preterits, such as _cantest_, _vendest_.

ę

28. Cl. L. ĕ, æ ＞ V. L. ę ＞ Pr. ę: _infĕrnum_ ＞ enfęrn, _fĕrrum_ ＞ fęr, _pĕdem_ ＞ pę; _cælum_ ＞ cęl, _quærit_ ＞ quęr.

1. Such forms as _glisia_, _lire_, _pire_, _pis_, _profit_
are French. _Profich_ may be a cross between _profieg_ and
_profit_, or it may be due to the analogy of _dich_.

2. _Cossint_, _mint_, _sint_, used by Arnaut Daniel, are
perhaps faulty rhymes.

3. _Auzil_ ＜ _avicĕllī_, in the _Boeci_, may be due to the
analogy of such plural forms as _cabil_ ＜ _capĭllī_, _il_ ＜
_ĭllī_, etc. _Briu_, sometimes used for _breu_ ＜ _brĕvem_,
is evidently connected with _abrivar_, ‘hasten,’ the origin
of which is uncertain. _Elig_ shows the influence either
of _eligir_ (beside _elegir_) or of _dig_. _Ginh_ = _genh_
＜ _ingĕnium_ evidently follows _ginhos_ ＜ _ingeniōsus_ and
its derivatives. _Isme_ (_esme_) is a post-verbal noun from
✱_ismar_ (cf. _azismamen_), a dialect form of _esmar_ ＜
_æstimare_. _Quis_ ＜ ✱_quæsi_, _tinc_ ＜ _tĕnui_ are due to the
analogy of _pris_ ＜ ✱_prēsī_, _vinc_ ＜ ✱_vēnuī_.

4. Beside nęula ＜ _nĕbula_, we find _nebla_, _neble_,
presumably from the same source, and also _nible_, _niól_,
_nióla_, _niúl_, _niúla_, _nivól_. According to Nigra,
_Archivio glottologico italiano_, XV, 494, _nūbes_ ＞ _nūbĭlus_
＞ ✱_nĭbŭlus_ (and ✱_nĭbūlus_?), whence might be derived
✱_níŭlus_ ✱_niúlus_, which would account for _niól-a_,
_niúl-a_, and perhaps for a ✱_nívol_ ＞ _nivól_. _Nible_ might
be regarded as a cross between _neble_ and _niul_. Cf. § 38, 3.

5. In ẹs ＜ _ĕst_ the ẹ probably comes from such combinations
as mẹ’s, quẹ’s, understood as m’ẹs, qu’ẹs. Espẹlh ＜
_spĕculum_ shows the influence of cossẹlh, solẹlh. Estẹla
presupposes a Latin ✱_stēla_ or ✱_stēlla_ for stĕlla: cf. the
Fr. and It.

6. _Plais_, ‘hedge’ seems to be a cross between _plĕxus_ and
_paxillus_, ‘fence.’ _Vianda_ (＜ _vivenda_?) is probably French.

7. _Volon_ ＜ _volentem_ shows the influence of the ending
_-ŭndus_.

8. _Greuga_ ＜ _con-gregar_ has been influenced by _greu_ ＜
✱_grĕvem_ = _gravem_ influenced by _lĕvem_. Cf. _grey_ ＜
_grĕgem_.

29. Before a nasal, in most of the dialects of Limousin, Languedoc, and Gascony, ę became ẹ: _bĕne_ ＞ bẹn, _dicĕntem_ ＞ dizẹn, _tĕmpus_ ＞ tẹms, _tĕnet_ ＞ tẹn, _vĕniam_ ＞ vẹnha, _vĕntum_ ＞ vẹnt.

30. Early in the history of Provençal, before u, i, or one of the palatal consonants l´, r´, s´, z´, y, tš, dž, an ę broke into ię, except in a few dialects of the west and north: _dĕus_ ＞ dięus, _mĕum_ ＞ mięu; _amāvi_ ＞ ✱_amai_ ＞ amęi amięi,[16] ✱_fĕria_ ＞ fięira, ✱_ec(c)lĕsia_? (Cf. _Zs._, XXV, 344) ＞ glięiza, _lĕctum_ ＞ lięit, _pĕjus_ ＞ pięis; _vĕtŭlum_ _vĕclum_ ＞ vięlh, _ministĕrium_ ＞ mestięr, ✱_ec(c)lĕsia_? ＞ glięza, _mĕdia_ ＞ mięia, _lĕctum_ ＞ lięg. There seems to be also, at least in some dialects, a tendency to break the ę before a g or a k: _lĕgunt_ ＞ lięgon; ✱_sĕquit_ ＞ sęc sięc, subjunctive sięgas (sęga), but infinitive sęgre ＜ ✱_sĕquere_.[17]

The breaking was probably due to a premature lifting of the tongue under the influence of a following high vowel or a palatal (or velar) consonant.[18] Before u it occurred everywhere except in the extreme west; before palatals the ę apparently remained intact both in the extreme west and in Quercy, Rouergue, Auvergne, and Dauphiné. At first, no doubt, the diphthong was less marked than it became in the 12th and 13th centuries. It is not indicated in our oldest text, the _Boeci_ (_breu_, _deu_, _eu_, _mei_, _meler_, _vel_)[19], and it frequently remains unexpressed even in the writings of the literary period.

It is to be noted that ę does not break before u ＜ l nor before i ＜ ð: _bĕllus_ ＞ bęls ＞ bęus, _pĕtra_ ＞ ✱pęðra ＞ pęira, _Pĕtrum_ ＞ ✱Pęðre ＞ Pęire, _rĕtro_ ＞ ✱ręðre ＞ ręire[20]. The breaking must, therefore, have occurred before these developments of l and ð, both of which apparently antedate the _Boeci_: cf. _euz_ = _els_, v. 139; _eu_ = _el_, v. 155; _Teiric_ ＜ ✱_Teðric_ ＜ _Theodorīcum_, v. 44, etc. On the other hand, there is no diphthong before ts, dz, s, z coming from Latin c´, cy, pty, tty, ty: _dĕcem_ ＞ dętz, _pĕttia_ (or _pĕcia_) ＞ pęssa, _nĕptia_ ＞ nęssa, ✱_prĕtiat_ ＞ pręza, _prĕtium_ ＞ prętz[21]. The breaking, therefore, took place after these consonants had ceased to be palatal. We may ascribe it with some confidence to the period between the seventh and tenth centuries.

1. A number of cases of ię before r are doubtless to be
explained by analogy. _Hĕri_ ＞ ęr; _autre_ + _er_ ＞ autręr,
which, through the influence of adjectives in -ęr -ięr, became
autrięr: hence the form ięr. _Fĕrio_, _mĕreo_ ＞ fięr, mięr;
hence, by analogy, the first person forms profięr, quięr, then
the third person forms fięr, mięr, profięr, quięr, sięrf (but
sęrvon, sęrva), and the subjunctives ofięira, sofię(i)ra.

2. Ięsc (= _ĕxeo_), ięscon, ięsca receive their diphthong
either from earlier forms with s´ or from ięis ＜ _ĕxit_.

ị

31. Cl. L. ī ＞ V. L. ị: _amīcum_ ＞ amịc, _fīnem_ ＞ fịn, _trīstem_ ＞ trịst.

1. Frẹg, frẹit are from V. L. ✱_frĭgdum_ = _frīgĭdum_, the ĭ
being perhaps due to the analogy of _rĭgĭdum_.

32. In the 13th century or earlier the group iu, in most dialects, became ieu: _captīvum_ ＞ caitiu caitieu, _æstīvum_ ＞ estiu estieu, _revīvĕre_ ＞ reviure revieure, _sī vās_ ＞ sius sieus.

ọ

33. Cl. L. ō, ŭ ＞ V. L. ọ ＞ Pr. ọ, which developed into ụ probably during the literary period: _dolōrem_ ＞ dolọr, _spōnsa_ ＞ espọsa, _flōrem_ ＞ flọr; _bŭcca_ ＞ bọca, _gŭla_ ＞ gọla.

1. An irregular ǫ, which is found in some words, goes back
to Vulgar Latin: cǫbra = _re-cŭperat_, cǫsta (also ọ) =
_cōnstat_, nǫra = _nŭra_, ǫu = _ōvum_, plǫia = _plŭvia_,
redǫbla = ✱_redŭplat_, sǫbra = _sŭperat_, suefre = _sŭffero_.
V. L. ✱_cŏperat_ may be regarded as a fusion of _cŭperat_
and ✱_cŏperit_ (§ 40, 1; cf. _Rom._ XXXI, 9); ✱_cŏstat_ is
unexplained; ✱_nŏra_ shows the influence of _sŏror_ and
_sŏcĕra_; the _ŏ_ of ✱_ŏvum_ has been explained as due to
differentiation from the following _v_; ✱_plŏia_ is to be
connected with the popular _plŏvĕre_ (cf. Meyer-Lübke,
_Einf._, § 142); ✱_sŏperat_ follows the analogy of ✱_cŏperat_;
✱_sŏffero_ evidently follows _ŏffero_. Redǫbla (also ọ) is
not accounted for. If trǫba has anything to do with _tŭrbat_,
it was perhaps influenced by _prŏbat_ (cf. _Zs._, XXVIII, 50).
Engǫissa ＜ V. L. ✱_angŏstia_ = _angŭstia_. See A. Thomas,
_Nouveaux essais de philologie française_, 1904, 339.

2. Some words have ü: iüs (also iọs) ＜ _deōrsum_ shows the
influence of süs ＜ _sūrsum_; lür (usually lọr) ＜ _illōrum_
(cf. _lur_ in the dialects of Navarre and Aragon) comes through
an ✱_illūrum_ due to the analogy of _illūi_ = _illi_; melhüra
(ọ), peiüra (ọ) perhaps follow aüra ＜ ✱_a(u)gūrat_; rancüra
is a mixture of _rancōrem_ and _cūra_; üis is from V. L.
_ūstium_ = _ōstium_ (cf. _Zs._, XXV, 355); üpa ＜ _ŭpŭpa_ is due
to onomatopœia.

3. The adverbs _ar_, _ara_, _er_, _era_, _eras_, meaning ‘now,’
are hardly to be connected with _hōra_. Meyer-Lübke takes
_era_, etc., from a Latin ✱_era_ corresponding to Greek άρα;
_ara_, _ar_ may come directly from άρα, άρ: cf. _Gr._, III,
552, note.

4. _Tonleu_, ‘tariff,’ from τελώνιον, shows double metathesis.
For _adoutz_, ‘fount,’ see A. Thomas, _Essais de philologie
française_, 1897, 205.

34. Before tš, dž (and it, id), before n´, and before final i, an ọ becomes ü in various dialects: _cōgĭtat_ ＞ cüia cüida, ✱_stŭdiat_ ＞ estüia, _fŭgit_ ＞ füg, _refŭgium_ ＞ refüg; _jŭngĕre_ ＞ iünher, _ŭngĕre_ ＞ ünher, _pŭgnum_ ＞ pünh; _dŭī_ ＞ düi, _sŭm_ ＞ sọ + i ＞ süi. The ü before tš, dž apparently occurs everywhere except in Dauphiné; before n´ it is to be found in nearly all the dialects of the north and west; before final i it seems to be limited to Bordeaux, Auvergne, and a part of Languedoc.

ǫ

35. Cl. L. ŏ ＞ V. L. ǫ ＞ Pr. ǫ: _cŏr_ ＞ cǫr, _cŏrpus_ ＞ cǫrs, _mŏrtem_ ＞ mǫrt, _ŏpĕra_ ＞ ǫbra, _rŏta_ ＞ rǫda.

1. For demọra (also ǫ) ＜ ✱demŏrat, see Meyer-Lübke, _Gram._,
I, 204, § 220. For prọa (also prǫa, prueva) ＜ _prŏbat_, see
_Rom._, XXXI, 10, footnote 3.

36. Before a nasal, in most of the dialects of Limousin, Languedoc, and Gascony, ǫ became ọ: _bŏnum_ ＞ bọn, _fŏntem_ ＞ fọnt, _pŏntem_ ＞ pọnt. Cf. E. Levy in _Mélanges de philologie romane dédiés à Carl Wahlund_, 1896, p. 207.

1. If the nasal was n´, the vowel remained open in most or all
of these dialects: _cŏgnĭta_ ＞ _coinda_ _cuenda_ _cuenhda_,
_lŏnge_ ＞ _lonh_ _luenh_, _sŏmnium_ ＞ _sonh_ _suenh_.

37. Early in the history of Provençal, before u, a labial consonant, a g or a k, an i, or one of the palatal consonants l´, n´, r´, s´, z´, y, tš, dž, an ǫ broke, in most dialects, into a diphthong which developed into ue, üo, üe, or ü[22]: _bŏvem_ ＞ bǫu büọu büeu, ✱_ŏvum_ ＞ ǫu üou üeu, _nŏvus_ ＞ nǫus nüous nüeus; ✱_cŏpero_ ＞ cǫbri cüebre[23], _nŏva_ ＞ nǫva nüeva, _ŏpus_ ＞ ǫps üops, _prŏbat_ ＞ prǫa prüeva, ✱_trŏpo_? ＞ trǫp trüeb; _cŏquus_ ＞ cǫcs cüocs cüex, _fŏcum_ ＞ fǫc füoc füec füc, _crŏcus_ ＞ grǫcs grüocs grüecs, _jŏcum_ ＞ iǫc iüoc iüec iüc, _lŏcus_ ＞ lǫcs lüocs lüecs, _lŏcat_ ＞ lüoga, _pŏtui_ ＞ püec, _sŏc(ĕ)rum_ ＞ (sǫzer) sǫgre süegre (fem. süegra); ✱_ingrŏssiat_ ＞ engrǫissa engrüeissa, ✱_angŏstia_ ＞ engǫissa engüeissa, _nŏctem_ ＞ nǫit nüoit nüeit, _ŏcto_ ＞ ǫit üeit, _pŏstea_ ＞ pǫissas püeissas, _prŏximus_ ＞ prǫymes prüeymes; _fŏlia_ ＞ fǫlha füolha füelha fülha, _ŏcŭlus_ _ŏclus_ ＞ ǫlhs üolhs üelhs ülhs, _lŏnge_ ＞ lǫnh lüenh, _sŏmnium_ ＞ sǫnh süenh, _cŏrium_ ＞ cǫr cüer, _pŏstea_ ＞ pües, _prŏximum_ ＞ prǫsme prüesme, ✱_plŏia_ ＞ plǫia plüeia plüia, ✱_inŏdiat_ ＞ enǫia enüeia enüia, ✱_pŏdiat_ ＞ pǫia püeia püia, _nŏctem_ ＞ nüoch nüech nüh, _ŏcto_ ＞ üeg.

The breaking was probably due to a premature lifting of the tongue under the influence of a following high vowel or a palatal or velar consonant, or to a premature partial closure of the lips in anticipation of a following labial. Before i or a palatal the diphthong was at the start presumably üo; before u or a labial or velar consonant, uo: from these two types, the first of which influenced the second, came the later developments. Ü is a reduction of üo or üe; it apparently does not occur before u.

The dialect conditions are mixed, the development in each region depending somewhat on the following sound. In the southwest, ǫ and ue seem to prevail; in the northwest, ü; in the west, in Limousin, and in Auvergne, üe; in Languedoc, üo; in the east and south, üe, üo, ǫ.

The date of breaking is discussed in § 30.

1. In some words where a diphthong would be expected, none
is found, although it may have existed: mǫu ＜ _mŏvet_, nǫu ＜
_nŏvem_, plǫu ＜ ✱_plŏvit_; trǫp ＜ _þrop_; brǫcs ＜ ✱_brŏccus_,
iǫgon ＜ _jŏcunt_, lǫgui ＜ _lŏco_. The form püoc or püec ＜
_pŏtui_ is regularly reserved for the first person, _pŏtuit_
being represented by pǫc.

2. A few cases of irregular breaking are easily explained:
püosc püesc (= _pŏssum_) and püosca püesca (= _pŏssim_) owe
their diphthong either to earlier forms with s´ or to the
analogy of püec; sǫfre süefre süfre (= _sŭffert_) are from
✱_sŏfferit_, formed upon ✱_ŏfferit_ = _ŏffert_ (cf. § 33, 1);
vüelc (= _vŏlui_) follows the analogy of vüelh (＜ ✱_vŏleo_ =
_vŏlo_) and of püec.

ụ

38. Cl. L. ū ＞ V. L. ụ ＞ Pr. ü: ✱_habūtus_ ＞ avütz, _jūstum_ ＞ iüst, _mūrum_ ＞ mür, _mūtus_ ＞ mütz, _nūdus_ ＞ nütz, _plūs_ ＞ plüs.

The date of the change of ụ into ü is not known; there is no ü in Catalan, and there may have been none in early Gascon. It seems likely that the Celts, when they adopted Latin, pronounced ū a little further forward in the mouth than did the Romans; that their ụ continued to advance gradually toward the front of the mouth until it became ü; and that this ü spread to the parts of France that were not originally Celtic.[24] In the literary period the sound was probably ü in most or all of the Provençal dialects.

1. Pr. ọnze represents a V. L. ✱_ŭndĕcim_, which in Gaul and
Spain replaced _ūndĕcim_. Lọita lücha, trọcha trücha probably
go back to Latin double forms, ✱_lŭcta lūcta_, ✱_trŭcta trūcta_.

2. Nǫssas ＜ ✱_nŏptias_ = _nūptias_, by analogy of ✱_nŏvius_,
‘bridegroom,’ from _nŏvus_.

3. Before u, Pr. ü apparently became i: _nūbem_ ＞ ✱nüu ＞ niu,
_pūlĭcem_ ＞ ✱püuze ＞ piuze. See §§ 63, (4); 74, (2).

au

39. Cl. L. au ＞ V. L. au ＞ Pr. au: _aurum_ ＞ aur, _gaudium_ ＞ gaug, _paucum_ ＞ pauc, _thesaurus_ ＞ tesaurs.

1. _Bloi_ ＜ _blauþr_, _ioi_, _ioia_, _ioios_, _lotia_ ＜
✱_laubja_, _noiza_, _onta_ ＜ _hauniþa_, _or_, _sor_, _tesor_,
etc., are French or Poitevin; _ioi_ is a good Poitevin form.
_Iai_, ‘joy,’ seems to be a fusion of _ioi_ and Pr. _iai_ =
_gai_.

2. _Anta_ ＜ _hauniþa_ is unexplained.

UNACCENTED VOWELS.

40. (1) The fate of an unaccented vowel depended largely upon the syllable in which it stood: in general, unstressed vowels in the initial syllable remained intact, while all vowels, except a, fell (at different dates) in the other syllables. The fall of unaccented vowels resulted in many new consonant groups: _collocáre_ ＞ colcár, _hóminem_ ＞ ómne, _sábbatum_ ＞ sápte.

(2) The vowels e̯ and i̯, instead of falling or remaining unchanged, became y in Vulgar Latin, early in our era: _alea_ ＞ alya, _diŭrnus_ ＞ dyųrnus, _mĕdium_ ＞ mędyu. Similarly u̯ became w: _placui_ ＞ placwi, _tĕnuis_ ＞ tęnwis.

1. Apparently, however, e̯é, i̯é ＞ e; o̯ó, u̯ó ＞ o:
_prĕhĕndĕre_ ＞ _prĕndĕre_; _abĭĕtem_ ＞ ✱_abētem_, _facĭēbat_
＞ ✱_facēbat_, _parĭĕtem_ ＞ _parētem_, _quĭētus_ ＞ _quētus_;
_cŏhŏrtem_ ＞ _cōrtem_, _cŏŏpĕrit_ ＞ _cōpĕrit_ ✱_cŏpĕrit_;
_dŭŏdĕcim_ ＞ ✱_dōdĕcim_. The short e and o in _prĕndĕre_ and
✱_cŏpĕrit_ are not accounted for. In _mulĭĕrem_[25] ＞ Pr.
molhęr the i̯ remained long enough (perhaps under the influence
of the nominative _mŭlier_) to palatalize the l.

INITIAL SYLLABLE.

41. Usually, in the literary language, Latin a ＞ Pr. a; Latin æ, œ, and e, i (without regard to quantity) ＞ Pr. e; Latin o, u (long or short) ＞ Pr. o; Lat. au ＞ Pr. au, unless the next syllable contained an ú, in which case the au was reduced (in the Vulgar Latin time) to a. Ex.: _amīcum_ ＞ amic, _caballus_ ＞ cavals; _æquālem_ ＞ egal, ✱_pœnĭtĕre_ ＞ penẹdre, _dēbēre_ ＞ devẹr, _mĕliōrem_ ＞ melhọr, _dīlĕctum_ ＞ delęit, _dīvīnum_ ＞ devin, _dīvīdĕre_ ＞ devire, _fīnīre_ ＞ fenir, _mĭnōrem_ ＞ menọr; _plōrāre_ ＞ plorar, _sōlātium_ ＞ solatz, _cŏlōrem_ ＞ colọr, ✱_vŏlēre_ ＞ volẹr, _mūstēla_ ＞ mostẹla, _sŭbĭnde_ ＞ sovẹn; _aucĕllum_ ＞ auzęl, _audīre_ ＞ auzir, _augŭstum_ ＞ aọst, ✱_augūrium_ ＞ aür.

1. An initial vowel is occasionally lost, either through
elision with the article (✱_eclĕsia_ ＞ ✱eglęisa, la eglęisa ＞
la glęisa) or through the dropping of a prefix (_ingĕnium_ ＞
engẹnh gẹnh): _epĭscŏpus_ ＞ _bisbes_, _alauda_ ＞ _lauzeta_,
_occasiōnem_ ＞ _ocaiso_ _caiso_.

2. In a few words the vowel of the initial syllable
disappeared, for some unknown reason, before r in Vulgar
Latin: ✱_cŏrrŏtŭlāre_ ＞ ✱_crŏtŭlāre_ ＞ _crollar_, _dīrēctus_ ＞
_drēctus_[26] ＞ _dreitz_, _quĭrītāre_ ＞ ✱_crītāre_ ＞ _cridar_.

3. _Domne_, used familiarly as a proclitic (§ 19), lost its
first syllable, and, before a vowel, was reduced to _n_. The
combinations _de n_, _que n_ (followed by a proper name) were
understood as _d’en_, _qu’en_; hence the title _en_, ‘Sir.’
See Schultz-Gora in _Zs._, XXVI, 588; Elise Richter in _Zs._,
XXVII, 193; V. Cescini, _Manualetto provenzale_, 2d ed., 1905,
168 ff.

4. The proclitic ọ probably comes from a V. L. _ot_, not from
_aut_.

42. The vowel of the initial syllable, especially in verbs, was extremely subject to the influence of analogy: cülhir (ǫ) through cülh (ǫ) ＜ _cŏllĭgit_, dizẹn ＜ _dīcĕntem_ through dire ＜ _dīcĕre_, dürar through dür ＜ _dūrum_ and düra ＜ _dūrat_, finir through fin ＜ _fīnem_, fivęla through fibla ＜ _fībula_, puęiar (ǫ) through puęia (ǫ) ＜ ✱_pŏdiat_.

1. Avangęli (e) is perhaps influenced by _avan_; blisọ (e) ＜
_blas_ may possibly have been influenced by _tiso_; gazardọ
＜ _wiðarlôn_ shows the influence of _gazanhar_; in piucęla
(pülcęla) ＜ ✱_pūellicĕlla_ (_Zs._, XXV, 343) the püu of the
first syllable was changed to piu just as _pūlĭcem_ became
_piuze_ (see § 38, 3); in _vas_ = _ves_ ＜ _ve(r)sus_ the a
is due to the analogy of _az_ ＜ _ad_; _vais_ is unexplained,
_vaus_ follows _daus_ (§ 44, 6). If dessẹ is from _de exín_,
the first syllable is irregular. Beside _maniar_ ＜ _manducare_
are unexplained forms _meniar miniar_. In _duptar_ (_o_),
_suritz_ (_o_) the _u_ doubtless represents ụ or ọ, not ü.
_Girofle_ ＜ Καρυόφυλλον and _olifan orifan_ ＜ _elephantem_ are
French.

43. Sometimes the initial syllable was altered by a change of prefix or a false idea of etymology: aucire ＜ _occīdĕre_ (cf. the Italian and Rumanian forms), diman (e) ＜ _de máne_ (cf. di ＜ _dīem_), dementre ＜ _dum ĭntĕrim_ (cf. de ＜ _de_), engǫissa ＜ ✱_angŭstia_ (cf. en ＜ _in_), envanezir ＜ _evanēscĕre_, escür ＜ _obscūrum_ (cf. es- ＜ _ex_-), preọn prefọn (o) ＜ _profŭndum_, redọn ＜ _rotŭndum_ (_re-_ in V. L.: Schuchardt, _Vokalismus des Vulgärlateins_, II, 213), trabalh ＜ _trepalium_ (cf. tra- ＜ _tra-_ = _trans-_). _Dimenge_ (also _ditmenge_) is from _dīe domĭnĭco_.

1. On the same principle are doubtless to be explained such
double forms as _evori_ (_a_), _saboros_ (_e_), _socors_ (_e_),
_somondre_ (_e_), _soror_ (_e_). _Serori_ occurs in a Latin
inscription.

2. The prefix _eccu-_, under the influence of _ac_ and _atque_,
became ✱_accu-_ in southern Gaul and elsewhere: _aco_ ＜
✱_accu’hoc_, _aquel_ ＜ ✱_accu’ĭllum_, _aquest_ ＜ ✱_accu’ĭstum_,
_aqui_ ＜ ✱_accu’hīc_. _Eissi_ ＜ _ecce hīc_ sometimes becomes
_aissi_ through the analogy of _aissi_ ＜ _ac sīc_.

3. In such forms as _tresanar_, the prefix _tres-_ is French.

44. Local or partial phonetic changes affected the initial syllable of many words: demandar (do-) ＜ _demandāre_, emplir (üm-) ＜ _implēre_; ciutat cieutat ＜ _cīvĭtātem_; eissir issir ＜ _exīre_, getar gitar ＜ ✱_jĕctāre_; crear criar ＜ _creāre_; mercẹ (mar-) ＜ _mercēdem_; delgat (dal-) ＜ _delicātum_.

1. Nearly everywhere there is a tendency to change e to o, u,
or ü before a labial, especially before m: _premier_ _promier_
_prumier_, _remas_ _romas_, _semblar_ _somblar_, _trebalh_
_trubalh_. So _de ves_ ＞ ✱_do ves_ ＞ _dous_.

2. In the 13th century, nearly everywhere, iu ＞ ieu: _piucela_
_pieucela_.

3. Many dialects of the north and west change ei and e to i:
_deissendre_ _dissendre_, _eissam_ _issam_, _eissi_ _issi_,
_eissilh_ _issilh_, _leisso_ _lisso_, _meitat_ _mitat_;
_degerir_ (_i_), _denhar_ (_i_), _disnar_, _en_ _in_, _enfern_
(_i_), _entrar_ (_i_), _envers_ (_i_), _escien_ _icient_,
proclitic _est_ _ist_, _estar_ (_i_), _estiers_ (_i_), _Felip_
(_i_), _gelos_ (_i_), _genhos_ (_i_), _genolh_ (_i_), _gequir_
(_i_), _guereiar_ (_i_), _guerensa_ (_i_), _i(n)vern_, _isnel_
_irnel_, _peior_ _pigor_, proclitic _per_ _pir_, _premier_
(_i_), _semblar_ (_i_), _serven_ (_i_), _serventes_ (_i_),
_sevals_ (_i_), _trebalhar_ (_i_), _tremblar_ (_i_). In
_disnar_, _ivern_, _isnel_ only i is found. In some dialects
there is an alternation of e and i, e being used when there
is an í in the next syllable, i when there is none, _fenít_,
_sirvén_. In _vezí_ ＜ _vīcīnum_ the e probably goes back to V.
L.: cf. Fr.

4. In a few dialects e in hiatus with a following vowel becomes
i: _crear_ _criar_, _leal_ _lial_, _prear_ _priar_, _preon_
_prion_, _real_ _rial_.

5. In many dialects of the north and west e has a tendency to
become a before r: _guerentia_ _garensa_, _merce_ _marce_,
_pergamen_ _pargamen_.

6. In some dialects there is a tendency to assimilate e to an
á in the next syllable: _delgat_ _dalgat_, _gigant_ _iaian_,
_deman_ (_a_), _semblar_ (_a_), _serrar_ (_a_), _tremblar_
(_a_). So _de vás_ (§ 42, 1) ＞ _da vás_ ＞ _dávas_; hence
_daus_, under the influence of _deus_ ＞ _de ves_.

INTERTONIC SYLLABLE.

45. The term _intertonic_ is applied to the syllable that follows the secondary (§ 18) and precedes the primary accent. In this position all vowels, except a, regularly disappeared in popular words, probably between the 5th and the 8th century[27]; a apparently remained: ✱_bŭllĭcāre_ ＞ boiar (bollegar), _bŏnĭtātem_ ＞ bontat, ✱_carrĭcāre_ ＞ carcar cargar, _caballĭcāre_ ＞ cavalcar cavalgar, _cĕrĕbĕllum_ ＞ cervęl, _cīvĭtātem_ ＞ ciutat, _cŏllŏcāre_ ＞ colcar colgar, _dēlĭcātum_ ＞ delcat delgat, _excommūnĭcāre_ ✱_excommĭnĭcāre_ ＞ escomeniar, _vĕrēcŭndia_ ＞ vergọnha; _calamĕllum_ ＞ calamęl, _invadĕre_ ✱_invadīre_ ＞ envazir, _margarīta_ ＞ margarida, _mīrabĭlia_ ＞ miravilha, _parav(e)rēdus_ ＞ palafrẹs.

1. The vowel is preserved in a number of words in which it
originally bore the secondary accent (§ 18): _abbréviáre_ ＞
_abreuiar_, _calúmniáre_ ＞ _caloniar_, ✱_eríciónem_ ＞ _erisso_;
on the other hand, ✱_cominítiáre_ (through ✱_comín’tiáre_) ＞
_comensar_, _partítiónem_ (through ✱_pártiónem_) ＞ _parso_.
Cf. _Zs._, XXVII, 576, 684, 693, 698, 701, 704. When kept,
the vowel is sometimes altered: ✱_carōnea_ ✱_caróneáta_
＞ _caraunhada_, ✱_cupídietósus_ ＞ _cobeitos_ _cobitos_,
_papíliónem_ ＞ _pabalho_.

2. The prefix _mĭnus-_ was reduced to _mis-_ (or _mes-_)
in Gaul, perhaps at the close of the Vulgar Latin period:
✱_mínus-prétiat_ ＞ _mespreza_. _Menes-_ was used also. Cf. P.
Marchot, _Phon._, pp. 43, 44.

3. _Mostier_ is from ✱_monistĕrium_, altered, by the influence
of _ministĕrium_, from _monastērium_. _Comprar_ is from V. L.
_comperare_. _Calmelh_ _calmelha_ (cf. _calamel_ above) are
Provençal formations from _calm_. _Caresma_ or _caresme_ seems
to be from V. L. ✱_quarrēsĭma_ = _quadragēsĭma_. _Anedier_ ＜
_anatarium_ shows the influence of _anét_ _ánet_ ＜ _anătem_ (§
48, 1).

4. In learned words the vowel is generally preserved:
_irregulár_, _irritár_, _pelicán_, _philozophía_. The vowel
is, however, often altered, the exchange of e and i being
particularly frequent: _esperít_, _femeníl_, _orifán_,
_peligrí_ (_e_), _soteirán_ (_sotrán_) ＜ _subterraneum_
influenced by _dereirán_ and _primeirán_.

46. Very often the intertonic vowel was preserved by the analogy of some cognate word or form in which that vowel was stressed: dev_i_nár through _devín_, fin_i_mén through _finír_, guerr_e_iár through _guerréia_, noir_i_dúra through _noirír_, obl_i_dár through _oblít_, pert_u_sár through _pertúsa_, re_u_sar through _reúsa_, serv_i_dór through _servíre_.

1. In such cases the preserved vowel is sometimes altered, the exchange of e and i being especially common: _avinén_, _covinén_, _sovinénsa_, cf. _venír_, _ven_; _enginhár_, _enginhós_, cf. _genh_; _envelzír_, cf. _vil_; _gememén_, cf. _gemír_; _issarnít_ (_eissernít_), from _excĕrnĕre_; _randóla_, from _hirŭndŭla_, perhaps influenced by _randón_; _temerós_ (_o_), from ✱_timorōsus_, influenced by _temér_; _traazó_ (_i_), from _traditiōnem_, with a substitution of suffix; _volentiérs_, from _voluntarius_, under the influence of _volén_ ＜ _volentem_.

PENULT.[28]

47. (1) The vowel of the penult of proparoxytones fell in many words in Vulgar Latin, especially between a labial and another consonant, and between two consonants one of which was a liquid: ✱_avĭca_ ＞ ✱_auca_, _cŏm(i)tem_, _cŏmp(u)tum_, _dēb(i)tum_, _dŏm(i)nus_[29]; _alt(e)ra_, _vĭg(i)lat_, _cal(i)dus_, _vĭr(i)dem_; _frig(i)dus_, _nĭtĭdus_ ＞ ✱_nĭttus_, _pŏs(i)tus_, _pūtĭdus_ ＞ ✱_pūttus_.

(2) The classic Latin _-culus_ comprises an original _-clus_ (_sæclum_) and an original _-culus_ (_aurĭcŭla_). In popular Latin both were _-clus_ (✱_macla_, _ŏclus_, etc.), to which was assimilated _-tŭlus_ in current words (_vĕtŭlus_ ＞ _vĕclus_, etc.).

(3) Many popular words which in Vulgar Latin had very generally lost the vowel were for some reason introduced into southern Gaul in their classical forms, and not a few were adopted both in the uncontracted and in the syncopated state: _fragĭlem_ ＞ frágel (cf. Fr. _fraile_, It. _frale_), _jŭvĕnem_ ＞ iọve (cf. Fr. _iuevne_); _clĕrĭcum_ ＞ clęrgue _clĕr’cum_ ＞ clęrc, _dēbĭtum_ ＞ dẹute _dēb’tum_ ＞ dẹpte, _flēbĭlem_ ＞ frẹvol _flēb’lem_ ＞ frẹble, _mal’habĭtum_ ＞ malaute _mal’hab’tum_ ＞ malapte, _nĭtĭdum_ ＞ nẹde ✱_nĭttum_ ＞ nẹt, _hŏmĭnem_ ＞ ome _hŏm’nem_ ＞ omne, _pŏpŭlum_ ＞ pǫbol _pŏp’lum_ ＞ pǫble.

1. _Cŏgnĭtum_ seems to have become ✱_cónhede_, whence _coinde_
_cuende_ _conge_. Cf. § 79, Gnd, Gnt.

48. The unaccented penult vowels that had not already fallen disappeared, in most cases, in the transition from Latin to Provençal: ✱_carrĭcat_ ＞ carca, _cŏllŏcat_ ＞ cǫlca, _cŭrrĕre_ ＞ cọrre, _spathŭla_ ＞ espatla, ✱_ĕssĕre_ (= _ĕsse_) ＞ ęstre, _ī(n)sŭla_ isla, _pĕssĭmum_ ＞ pęsme, _pōnĕre_ ＞ pọnre, ✱_rīdĕre_ ＞ rire, _tabŭla_ ＞ taula, _tŏllĕre_ ＞ tǫlre.

1. A apparently was more tenacious than other vowels, and
frequently remained as an indistinct e: _anătem_ ＞ ánet,
which, being associated with the diminutive ending _-ét_,
became anét (cf. modern Pr. _anèdo_); _cannăbim_ ＞ cánebe
(learned?); _cŏlăphum_ ＞ ✱cólebe ＞ cǫlbe, but _cŏl’phum_ ＞
cǫlp; _Stĕphănum_ ＞ Estęve; _lampăda_ ＞ lámpeza; _ŏrgănum_ ＞
órguene (later orguéne) órgue; _ŏrphănum_ ＞ ǫrfe; _raphănum_ ＞
ráfe; _Rhŏdănum_ ＞ Rǫzer; ✱_sēcăle_ (= _sĕcāle_) ＞ séguel (but
cf. modern _segle_ _selho_). Cf. A. Thomas in the _Journal des
savants_, June, 1901, p. 370. See also P. Marchot, _Phon._,
pp. 90-94. Cf. § 45, footnote. It is noteworthy that ✱cólebe
ultimately lost its penult, while the other words lost the
final syllable or none.

49. Under certain conditions, however, a vowel which had not fallen in the Latin of southern Gaul was often kept in Provençal. It was then probably indistinct in sound, and was written usually _e_, but occasionally _o_.

(1) After c´, g´, or y the vowel was apparently retained in some dialects and lost in others. When the c´, g´, or y was intervocalic, forms with and without the vowel are about equally common; when the c´, g´, or y was preceded by a consonant, forms with the vowel predominate, and after cons. + c´ the vowel was apparently never lost. After intervocalic c´: _cŏcĕre_ (= _cŏquĕre_) ＞ cǫire cǫzer, _dīcĕre_ ＞ dire dízer, _dūcĕre_ ＞ düire ✱düzer (condücir dedüzir), _facĕre_ ＞ faire ✱fázer (fazedọr, etc.), _gracĭlem_ ＞ graile, ✱_nŏcĕre_ (= _nŏcēre_) ＞ nǫire nǫzer, _placĭtum_ ＞ plach, _sŏcĕrum_ ＞ sǫzer (sǫgre is from _sŏcrum_), ✱_vŏcĭtum_ (= _vacuum_) ＞ vuech. After intervocalic g´ or y: _bajŭlus_ ＞ bailes, _fragĭlem_ ＞ frágel, _imagĭnem_ ＞ imáge, _lĕgĕre_ ＞ lęire legír (through ✱lęger?), _rĭgĭdum_ ＞ rẹide rẹge, _rĭgĭda_ ＞ rẹgeza, ✱_tragĕre_ (= _trahĕre_) ＞ traire tragír (through ✱tráger?). After cons. + c´: _carcer_ ＞ cárcer, _crēscĕre_ ＞ crẹisser, _nascĕre_ ＞ náisser, _pascĕre_ ＞ páisser, _parcĕre_ ＞ párcer, ✱_tŏrcĕre_ (= _tŏrquēre_) ＞ tǫrzer. After cons. + g´ or y: _angĕlum_ ＞ ángel (learned?), ✱_cŏll’gĕre_ (= _cŏllĭgĕre_, through _cŏllĭgo_ etc.) ＞ cǫlre cuelher colhír, ✱_dē-ēr’gĕre_ (= _ērĭgĕre_) ＞ dẹrdre dẹrzer, ✱_fŭlgĕrem_ (from _fŭlger_ = _fŭlgur_) ＞ fọuzer, _jŭngĕre_ ＞ iọnher, _margĭnem_ ＞ marge, _plangĕre_> planher, _vĭrgĭnem_ ＞ vẹrgena vẹrge.

(2) After ks, s, ss, and sy the vowel was apparently retained in some dialects and lost in others: _dīxĕrunt_ ＞ diron dissęron (through ✱dísseron)[30], _dūxĕrunt_ ＞ düystrent düissęron (✱dúisseron), _fraxĭnum_ ＞ fraisne fraisse, _traxĕrunt_ ＞ traissęron (✱tráisseron), _tŏxĭcum_ ＞ tuęissec; _asĭnum_ ＞ asne ase, _mĭsĕrum_ ＞ miser (learned), ✱_prē(n)sĕrunt_ ＞ prẹson prezęron (✱prẹzeron), _rema(n)sĕrunt_ ＞ remastrent remasęron (✱remáseron); ✱_ĕssĕre_ (= _ĕsse_) ＞ ęstre ęsser (used in Rouergue, Limousin, Marche, and Dauphiné), ✱_mĭssĕrunt_ (= _mīsĕrunt_) ＞ mestrunt (mẹsdren) mesęron (✱mẹsseron), _passĕrem_ ＞ pásser; ✱_cō(n)sĕre_ (= _consuĕre_) ＞ coser (cozír is from V. L. ✱_cosīre_).

(3) Between a labial and a dental the vowel was apparently kept: _cŭpĭdum_ ＞ cọbe,[31] _fēmĭna_ ＞ fẹmena fẹme (but _fēm’na_ ＞ fẹmna), _jŭvĕnem_ ＞ iọve, ✱_lūmĭnem_ ＞ lüme (_lūmen_ ＞ lüm), _hŏmĭnem_ ＞ ómen óme (but _hŏm’nĕm_ ＞ omne), _tĕpĭdum_ ＞ tębe,[31] _tĕrmĭnum_ ＞ tęrme. Cf. § 48, 1.

(4) Between a dental and a guttural the vowel remained long enough for the guttural to become y (§ 52; § 65, G): _mĕdĭcum_ ＞ ✱mędegu ＞ ✱mędeye ＞ mędže (= _mege_). If the first consonant was a liquid or a nasal, the vowel apparently allowed the guttural to become y in some dialects, but not in others: ✱_carrĭcat_ ＞ caria carga, _clĕrĭcum_ ＞ clęrie clęrgue, _mŏnăchum_ ＞ monie mongue. _Caballĭcat_ ＞ cavalga, _cŏllŏcat_ ＞ cǫlca cǫlga show an earlier fall. In _clĕr´cum_ ＞ clęrc the fall goes back to Latin times.

(5) Between lv and r the vowel was kept in some dialects and lost in others: _sŏlvĕre_ ＞ sǫlver sǫlvre, _vŏlvĕre_ ＞ vǫlver vǫlvre, _pŭlvĕrem_ ＞ polvęra.

50. Some learned proparoxytones kept for a while both post-tonic vowels (usually written _e_), but most of them ultimately either shifted their accent to the penult (§ 17, 1) or dropped their final syllable: _domĕstĭcum_ ＞ domęstegue, _lacrĭma_ ＞ lágrema, _mĕrĭtum_ ＞ męrite, _hŏrrĭda_ ＞ ǫreza, _rēgĭmen_ ＞ régeme; _fĭstŭla_ ＞ festóla, _fragĭlem_ ＞ fragíl, _mĕrĭtum_ ＞ merít, _tĕrmĭnum_ ＞ termíni; _diacŏnum_ ＞ diágue, _flēbĭlem_ ＞ frẹvol (cf. _flēb´lem_ ＞ frẹble), _nĭtĭdum_ ＞ nẹde (cf. ✱_nĭttum_ ＞ nẹt), _ōrdĭnem_ ＞ órde, _pŏpŭlum_ ＞ pǫbol (cf. _pŏp´lum_ ＞ pǫble), _prīncĭpem_ ＞ príncep prínce. Cf. § 47, (3).

FINAL SYLLABLE.

51. As early as the 8th century, in popular words, the vowels of final syllables fell, the fall occurring first, perhaps, after liquids: _hĕrĭ_ ＞ ęr, _malĕ_ ＞ mal; _bŏnŭs_ ＞ bos, _cŏlăphŭm_ ＞ cǫlp, _cōgĭto_ ＞ cüg, _panĕm_ ＞ pan, _prĕtiŭm_ ＞ prętz.

(1) Latin a, however, remained, being generally pronounced ạ: _audiăm_ ＞ auiạ, _bŏnă_ ＞ bonạ, _fīliās_ ＞ filhạs.[32]

(2) Latin final ī probably remained in all dialects later than the 8th century, and in some until the beginning of the literary period: _hábuī_ ＞ águi ＞ aguí. Before it fell, it changed an accented ẹ in the preceding syllable to ị: see § 27.

(3) Latin i and u remained if they were immediately preceded by an accented vowel: _fuī_ ＞ füi, _mĕī_ ＞ męi, _sŭī_ ＞ sọi; _cavum_ ✱_caum_ ＞ chau, _dĕus_ ＞ dęus, _ĕgo_ ✱_ĕo_ ✱_ĕu_ ＞ ęu, _rīvum_ _rīum_ ＞ riu. In such cases the two vowels formed a diphthong.

(4) Before final nt Latin e, u remained as e, o: _cantent_ ＞ canten, _vēndunt_ ＞ vẹndon.

1. In Aude, Tarn, Aveyron, Corrèze, and a part of
Haute-Garonne, final ī was preserved as late as the 12th
century: _pagadi_, _salvi_, _soli_. See _Rom._, XIV, 291-2 and
XXXIV, 362. Such forms occur also in Vaud and Dauphiné. Cf.
_Gram._, II, p. 82.--In the dialect of some texts, _-ī_, before
falling, palatalized a preceding l (or ll), n (or nn), nd, nt,
or t: _annī_ ＞ _anh_, _bellī_ ＞ _beill_, ✱_infantī_ ＞ _efanh_,
✱_spiritī_ ＞ _esperih_, _mundī_ ＞ _monh_. See _Rom._, XXXIV,
353.

2. In the extreme east there are traces of final _-ōs_:
_aquestos_, _ellos_, _tantos_.

3. _Grau_ for _gra_ ＜ _gradum_, _niu_ for _ni_ ＜ _nīdum_ are
Catalan. _Amiu_ for _amic_ ＜ _amīcum_, _chastiu_ for _chastic_
＜ _castīgo_ belong to the dialect of Forez, and point to a very
early fall of the guttural in that dialect. Cf. § 65, D, G.

4. _Aire_, _vaire_, beside _air_ ＜ _aĕrem_, _vair_ ＜ _varium_,
probably show the influence of the numerous nouns in _-aire_
(_amaire_, etc.); cf. § 52, (1). _Fores_ beside _fors_ ＜
_fŏris_, _nemes_ beside _nems_ ＜ _nĭmis_, _senes_ beside _sens_
＜ _sĭne_ probably developed the _e_ when the next word began
with a consonant: see § 62, (3). For _colbe_, see § 48, 1.
_Reide_ _rede_ perhaps owes its -e to _rege_: § 49, (1). Beside
_volp_ ＜ _vŭlpem_ there is a _volpe_.

5. _Coma_, beside _com_, _con_, _co_ ＜ _quōmŏ(do)_, apparently
owes its -a to the analogy of the adverbs _bona_ and _mala_ and
other adverbs of manner. For a different explanation, see J.
Vising in the _Tobler Festschrift_ (_Abhandlungen Herrn Prof.
Dr. Tobler… dargebracht_, 1895), p. 113.

6. E seems to have been inserted in the second person singular
of some verbs, to distinguish it from the third person:
co(g)nōscis ＞ conọisses, _co(g)nōscit_ ＞ conọis.

52. When the fall of the vowel would have resulted in an undesirable consonant group at the end of a word, the vowel was retained as an indistinct e: _dŭbĭto_ ＞ dọpte, _lŭcrum_ ＞ lọgre.

The principal groups that call for a supporting vowel are: (1) a consonant and a liquid; (2) a labial and a dental; (3) in proparoxytones, a consonant and a c´ or c originally separated by the vowel of the penult; (4) in proparoxytones, a consonant and an m or n originally separated by the vowel of the penult. Ex.: _ĭnter_ ＞ ẹntre; _aptum_ ＞ apte; ✱_dōdĕcim_ ＞ dọtze, _jūdĭco_ ＞ iütge; ✱Jacŏmus ＞ Iacmes, _asĭnum_ ＞ asne.

If the word was a paroxytone, and the first consonant was a palatal and the second an r, the supporting vowel stood between the two: _major_ ＞ maier, _mĕlior_ ＞ męlher, _mŭlier_ ＞ mọlher, _pĕjor_ ＞ pęier, _sĕnior_ ＞ sęnher. Otherwise the supporting vowel followed the consonant group.

The four classes of groups (aside from the palatal + r just mentioned) will now be examined in detail:--

(1) Examples: _alter_ ＞ autre, _Carŏlus_ ＞ Carles, _dŭplus_ ＞ dọbles, ✱_ĕssĕre_ ＞ ęstre, _fabrum_ ＞ fabre, ✱_mĕr(ŭ)lum_ ＞ męrle, _nŏster_ ＞ nǫstre, _pauper_ ＞ paubre, _pŏp(ŭ)lum_ ＞ pǫble, _pōnĕre_ ＞ pọnre, _recĭpĕre_ ＞ recẹbre, _rŭmpĕre_ ＞ rọmpre, _tŏllĕre_ ＞ tǫlre, _vŏlvĕre_ ＞ vǫlvre; _mascŭlum_ ＞ mascle, etc.; _flēb(ĭ)lem_ ＞ frẹble, etc. Under this head is included r-r (_cŭrrere_ ＞ cọrre, _quærĕre_ ＞ quęrre), but not ll and rr (_bĕllum_ ＞ bęl, _fĕrrum_ ＞ fęr). In Provençal the first element was often changed, later than the 8th century, into a vowel, original b and v becoming u, and d, t, c, g, and y being turned to i: _bĭbĕre_ ＞ bẹure, _scrībĕre_ ＞ escriure, ✱_mŏvĕre_ ＞ mǫure, _plŏvĕre_ ＞ plǫure, _vīvĕre_ ＞ viure; _latro_ ＞ laire, _matrem_ ＞ maire, _radĕre_ ＞ raire, ✱_rīdĕre_ ＞ rire, _vĭtrum_ ＞ vẹire; _desīdĕro_ ＞ desire, etc.; _amātor_ ＞ amaire, _servītor_ ＞ servire, etc.; _dīcĕre_ ＞ dire, _dūcĕre_ ＞ düire, _facĕre_ ＞ faire, _gracĭlem_ ＞ graile, ✱_tacĕre_ ＞ taire; _frīgĕre_ ＞ frire, _weigăro_ gaire, _lĕgĕre_ ＞ lęire; _bajŭlum_ ＞ baile. Apparent exceptions to the rule are intervocalic cl, gl, which were probably reduced to single consonants before the 8th century: _ŏc(ŭ)lum_ ＞ ǫlh, _vĭg(ĭ)lo_ ＞ vẹlh.

1. The rare forms _frair_, _mair_, _pair_, _Peir_ (still
used in Gascony), beside regular _fraire_, _maire_, _paire_,
_Peire_, are probably due to proclitic use; so _sor_ beside
_sorre_ ＜ _sŏror_, and possibly _faur_ beside _faure_ ＜
_faber_. The learned _albir_ = _albire_ ＜ _arbĭtrium_ may
be due to the analogy of other double forms. _Dimerc_ for
_dimercre_ (§ 17, 2) perhaps follows _dimenc_.

2. Rr requires a vowel in a few dialects: _corre_ = _cor_
＜ _cŭrrit_, _ferre_ = _fer_ ＜ _fĕrrum_, _torre_ = _tor_ ＜
_tŭrrem_.

(2) Examples: _cŭbĭtum_ ＞ cọde; _cŏmĭtem_ ＞ comte; _dēbĭtum_ ＞ dẹpte dẹute, § 47, (3); _dŏmnum_ ＞ domne; _dŭbĭto_ ＞ dọpte; _hŏspĭtem_ ＞ ǫste; _sabbătum_ ＞ sapte.

1. _Azaut_ seems to be post-verbal from _azautar_ ＜ _adaptāre_.
_Escrit_ ＜ _scrīptum_ shows the influence of _dit_ ＜ _dīctum_.
_Malaut_, beside _malaute_ _malapte_ ＜ _mal´habĭtum_, is
reconstructed from the feminine _malauta_ on the model of
_aut_, _auta_. _Set_ ＜ _sĕptem_ must have developed as a
proclitic.

(3) Examples: _jūdicem_ ＞ iütge[33]; _pŏllĭcem_ ＞ pǫuze; _quīndĕcim_ ＞ quinze; _salĭcem_ ＞ sauze; _sēdĕcim_ ＞ sẹdze;--_canŏnĭcum_ ＞ canonge canọrgue,[34] § 49, (4); _clĕrĭcum_ ＞ clęrge clęrgue (§ 48, 2); _mĕdĭcum_ ＞ mętge; _mŏnăchum_ ＞ monge mongue mǫrgue,[34] § 49, (4); _vĭndĭco_ ＞ vẹnie; _viatĭcum_ ＞ viatge, etc.

1. The forms _poutz_, _sautz_, beside _pouse_, _sauze_, would
seem to indicate that lc´ did not require a supporting vowel in
all dialects.

2. ✱_Ficotum_ (= _jēcur_), a fusion of συκωτόν (‘fig-fattened’)
and _fīcus_, combined with ✱_hēpăte_ (= _hēpar_), became
✱fẹ́catu ✱fẹcitu ✱fẹgidu, and then, through the influence of
the familiar ending -igu (= _ĭcum_), ✱fẹdigu ＞ fẹtge. See G.
Paris in _Miscellanea linguistica in onore di G. Ascoli_, 1901,
p. 41; H. Schuchardt in _Zs._, XXV, 615, and XXVIII, 435; L.
Clédat in _Revue de philologie française et de littérature_,
XV, 235. _Pege_, for _peich_ ＜ _pĕctus_, seems to be due to the
analogy of _fetge_.

(4) Examples: _æstĭmo_ ＞ esme; _dĕcĭmum_ ＞ dęsme; _fraxĭnum_ ＞ fraisne; _incūdĭnem_ ＞ enclütge (cf. § 80, Dn); ✱_metĭpsĭmum_ ＞ medẹsme; _pĕssĭmum_ ＞ pęsme; _prŏxĭmus_ ＞ prǫsmes.

1. Faim ＜ _facĭmu(s)_ doubtless lost its -e through the analogy
of the alternative form fazẹm ＜ ✱_facímu(s)_ and of the usual
endings -ám, -ẹm.

(5) In some dialects, at least, by, mby, mny, py, rny required a supporting vowel: _rŭbeum_ ＞ rọtge, _cambio_ ＞ camie, _sŏmnium_ ＞ songe suenh, _apium_ ＞ ache api, ✱_Arvĕrnium_[35] ＞ Alvęrnhe; ratge (= _rabiem_) is probably French. Original lm, rm, sm required a supporting vowel in some dialects but not in others: _hëlm_ ＞ ęlme ęlm, _ŭlmum_ ＞ ọlme ọlm, _palmum_ ＞ palm; ✱_ĕrmum_ ἔρημον ＞ erm, _fĭrmum_ ＞ fẹrm, _gĕrmen_ ＞ gęrme; _spasmum_ ＞ espasme.

(6) Many verbs regularly have an -e in the first person singular of the present indicative: desire, dọpte, iütge, etc. By the analogy of these, -e often appears in the first person singular of verbs which need no supporting vowel: _remīro_ ＞ remir remire. By the analogy of the preterit (águi, füi, etc.), -i is very often substituted for this -e: azọr azọri, cant canti, prętz pręzi, etc.

53. Many late words preserve the final vowel as _-e_: benigne, bisbe ＜ _epĭscŏpum_, digne (cf. denhar), mixte (cf. mẹst), regne (cf. reing), signe (cf. sẹnh). Cf. § 50; (for cǫlbe) § 48, 1; and (for cǫinde, etc.) § 47, 1. Learned formations from nouns in _-ium_ usually end in _-i_, simply dropping the _-um_: capitǫli, edifici, empęri, iüzízi, martíri (martíre), negǫci, ofíci, periüri, remęzi, servízi, vici. Similar forms in _-i_ were sometimes taken from the accusative of nouns and adjectives in _-ius_: Boęci ＜ _Boëthium_, prǫpri (prǫpre) ＜ _prŏprium_, savi ＜ _sabium_.

1. It should be remembered that the Latin words, at the time
of their adoption, had undergone various phonetic changes
in the clerical pronunciation: cf. § 15. A form _remezi_,
for instance, presupposes a pronunciation of _remĕdium_ as
remęðiu(m).

3. CONSONANTS.

54. The Latin consonants which we have to consider are: b, c (= k), d, f, g, h, j (= y), l, m, n, p, qu (= kw), r, s, t, v (= w), x (= ks). To these we must add the Vulgar Latin w coming from u̯, and y coming from e̯, i̯: see § 40, (2). Furthermore, in words borrowed from Germanic dialects we find b, ð, h, k, þ, w, which call for special notice; and, in words borrowed from Greek, ch, k, ph, th, z.

The Latin d, f, j, l, p, t call for no remark at present. Latin h, in popular speech, became silent very early (_hŏc_ ＞ _ŏc_, _hŏmo_ ＞ _ŏmo_), and, although an attempt was made to restore it in polite speech, it left no trace in the Romance languages: cf. _Rom._, XI, 399. Double consonants were pronounced distinctly longer than single ones: _annus_, _ĭlle_, _ŏssum_, _tĕrra_.

55. Latin b, c, g, m, n, qu, r, s, v, w, x, y show the following developments in popular Latin speech:--

B between vowels became, through failure to close the lips tightly, β (bilabial v), from the 1st to the 3d century of our era: _habēre_ ＞ aβẹre. The same change took place, to a certain extent, when the b was not intervocalic, but we have few, if any, traces of it in Provençal. Between vowels, even in learned words, the clerical pronunciation was probably β or v until the 7th century. Cf. V.