User:Nicodene/sandbox3

As Proto-Romance developed into French, it underwent numerous sound changes, an approximate chronology of which is provided below.

Late Latin

 * Western Romance vowel mergers: /ɪ ʊ/ merge with /e o/. Sĭtem, nŭcem > /ˈsete, ˈnoke/.
 * Intervocalic /ɡ/, if followed by a non-front vowel or /r/, spirantizes to /ɣ/. Plagās, nĭgrōs > /ˈplaɣas, ˈneɣros/.
 * /k/ before a front vowel yields /c/. Cēra, placēre > /ˈcera, plaˈcere/.


 * /dj/ and /ɡ/ before a front vowel yield /ɟ/. Diāna, gĕntem > /ˈɟana, ɟɛnte/.
 * Consonant cluster reductions:
 * /nkt/ [ŋkt] reduces to /ŋt/. Sanctus > /ˈsaŋtos/.
 * /k/ before /s/ or /t/ spirantizes to /x/. Laxāre, nŏctem > /laxˈsare, ˈnɔxte/.

6th–7th centuries

 * /c/ and /ɟ/ affricate to /ts/ and /dz/ respectively.
 * Intervocalic /k/ voices to /ɡ/.
 * Intervocalic /ɣ/ is lost before back vowels.
 * /ɛ, ɔ/ in stressed open syllables diphthongize to /iɛ̯, uɔ̯/.

7th century

 * /k, ɡ, ɣ/ palatalize before /a/ and...
 * /rj, sj, zj, tj, dj/ metathesize to /jr, js, jz, jt, jd/.
 * Intervocalic /d/ spirantizes to /ð/.
 * Intervocalic /p, t, ts/ voice to /b, d, dz/.
 * Intervocalic /b/ spirantizes to /β/.
 * Final /-t/ and intervocalic /-t-/ spirantize to /θ/ and /ð/ respectively.
 * Initial /w-/ (in Frankish borrowings) changes to /ɡw/.
 * Initial /j-/ affricates and fronts to /dʒ/.
 * Unstressed penultimate vowels begin to weaken and delete.
 * Intertonic and unstressed final /e, i, o u/ weaken to /ə/.
 * A following nasal consonant closes /ɔ, o/ to /u/.
 * /e, o/ in stressed open syllables diphthongize to /ei̯, ou̯/.
 * /a/ in stressed open syllables diphthongizes, perhaps to /ae̯/.