On The Mergers Of Latin Close‐Mid Vowels

Abstract

In this article, we examine the details and dating of the mergers of Latin ı, e into e ̣ and u˘, o into o ̣. While these mergers have long since been recognised as a matter of historical fact within the broader development of Latin into Romance, their micro-level mechanics present several problems. By re-examining the available evidence from various empirical and theoretical perspectives, we argue that the mergers were the result of two phonological processes: the rise of peripherality distinctions in the vowel system on the one hand and the loss of contrastive vowel length in the fifth century AD on the other. 1 The authors wish to thank Andreas Opfermann and Michael Mazzola for reading and commenting drafts of this article. We also wish to thank the editor, James Clackson, and the two anonymous reviewers for useful suggestions and corrections. All remaining errors are our own.

Orthographic Traditions and the Sub-elite in the Roman Empire

“…1999), I take the following vowel phonemes to have existed in early Latin (Figures 1 and 2). 41 In the fourth century BC, the diphthong /ɔu/ monophthongised to /oː/, as did /ɔi/ in most contexts, briefly giving a three-way contrast Figure 1 Early Latin vowels Figure 2 Early Latin diphthongs 41 On the developments outlined here, see Meiser (1998: 57-60), Adams (2013: 37-89), Leppänen and Alho (2018), Weiss (2020: 71-3, 109-13).…”