Latin to Spanish (Phonology)

SICCU [sikːu]

seco (lenition: simplification of geminate /k:/, [seko]])

SECĀRE [seka:re]

segar (lenition: voicing of /k/ and fricatization [seɣaɾ])

NŪBĒS

nubes (lenition: fricatization of /b/, [nuβes])

RĒGĀLE

real (lenition: fricatization of /g/ and loss)

LIGĀRE

liar (lenition: fricatization of /g/ and loss)

DIGITU

dedo (lenition: loss of /g/)

SEDĒRE

seer (lenition: fricatization of /d/ and loss)

PLĀGA

llaga (lenition: fricatization of /g/)

RĒGĪNA

reina (lenition: loss of /g/)

CIBU

cebo (lenition: fricatization of /b/)

CATĒNA

cadena (lenition: voicing of /t/)

MINĀCIA

amenaza (lenition: voicing of /ts/)

PRŌFECTU

provecho (lenition: voicing of /f/)

ROSA

rosa (lenition: voicing of /s/)

CŪPA

cuba (lenition: voicing of /p/)

CUPPA

copa (lenition: simplification of geminates)

URSU

osso (lenition: simplification of geminates)

*PETTIA

pieça (lenition: simplification of geminate /tts/)

SCOFFĪNA

escofina (lenition: simplification of geminates)

FLAMMA

llama (lenition: simplification of geminates)

GUTTA

gota (lenition: simplification of geminates)

CAPRA

cabra (lenition: voicing of /p/)

DUPLU

doble (lenition: voicing of /p/)

ĀFRICU

ábrego (lenition: voicing of /f/)

FOLIA

hoja (palatal consonants: /-lj-/ > [ʎ] (> [ʒ] > [x]))

APICŬLA

abeja (palatal consonants: /-kl-/ > [ʎ] (> [x]))

TĒGŬLA

teja (palatal consonants: /-gl-/ > [ʎ] (> [ʒ] > [ʃ]) > [x]))

PLĀGA

llaga (palatal consonants: /pl-/ > [ʎ] (> [ɟ]))

CLĀMĀRE

llamar (palatal consonants: /kl-/ > [ʎ] (> [ɟ]))

FLAMMA

llama (palatal consonants: /fl-/ > [ʎ] (> [ɟ]))

CABALLU

caballo (palatal consonants: /-lː-/ > [ʎ] (> [ɟ]))

ARĀNEA

araña (palatal consonants: /-nj-/ > [ɲ])

ANNU

año (palatal consonants: /-nː-/ > [ɲ])

PŪGNU

puño (palatal consonants: /-gn-/ > [ɲ])

IAM

ya (palatal consonants: /j-/ > [ɟ])

PODIU

poyo (palatal consonants: /-dj-/ > [ɟ])

EXAGIU

ensayo (palatal consonants: /-gj-/ > [ɟ])

MAIŌRE

mayor (palatal consonants: /-j:-/ > [ɟ])

GENER

yerno (palatal consonants: /gé-/ > [ɟ])

GYPSUM

yeso (palatal consonants: /gí-/ > [ɟ])

HERBA

hierba (palatal consonants: /ɛ́-/ > [ɟ])

FOVEA

hoya (palatal consonants: /-bj-/ > [ɟ])

IŪSTUS

justo (palatal consonants: /j-/ + back vowel > [ʒ] (>[ʃ]) > [x])

FOLIA

hoja (palatal consonants: /-lj-/ > [ʎ] > [ʒ] (>[ʃ]) > [x]))

OCŬLU

ojo (palatal consonants: /-kl-/ > [ʎ] > [ʒ] (>[ʃ]) > [x]))

TĒGŬLA

teja (palatal consonants: /-gl-/ > [ʎ] > [ʒ] (>[ʃ]) > [x]))

AXE

eje (palatal consonants: /-ks-/ >[ʃ] (>[x]))

SĀPŌ

jabón (palatal consonants: /s-/ >[ʃ] (>[x]))

RUSSU

rojo (palatal consonants: /-s:j-/ > [ʃ] (>[x]))

LACTE

leche (palatal consonants: /-kt-/ > [tʃ])

MULTU

mucho (palatal consonants: /-lt-/ > [tʃ])

AMPLU

ancho (palatal consonants: /-pl-/ > [tʃ])

MACŬLA

mancha (palatal consonants: /-kl-/ > [tʃ])

PLUTEU

choza (palatal consonants: /pl-/ > [tʃ])

OCTŌ

ocho (metathesis due to yod 1: /ɔ/ + glide (/i̯/) in same syllable > [o])

LĀICU

lego (metathesis due to yod 1: /a/ + off glide (/i̯/) in same syllable > [e]) (yod 1 affects /a/, /ɛ/, /ɔ/ and /o/, i.e., all possible vowels apart from /e/)

NERVIU

nervio (metathesis due to yod 2: /ɛ/ + intervening consonant(s) + on glide [j] (from earlier /i/ in hiatus) in following syllable) (yod 2 affects /e/, /ɛ/, /ɔ/ and /o/, i.e., all possible vowels apart from /a/)

MĀTERIA

madera (metathesis due to yod 2: /ɛ/ + glide [j] (from /i/ in hiatus) in the following syllable > /e/) (yod 2 affects /e/, /ɛ/, /ɔ/ and /o/, i.e., all possible vowels apart from /a/)

VINDĒMIA

vendimia (metathesis due to yod 2: /e/ + glide [j] (from /i/ in hiatus) in the following syllable > /i/) (yod 2 affects /e/, /ɛ/, /ɔ/ and /o/, i.e., all possible vowels apart from /a/)

PODIU

poyo (metathesis due to yod 3: /ɔ/ + glide (/i̯/) (from earlier [dj]) in following syllable > [o]) (yod 3 affects /ɛ/ and /ɔ/)

FOVEA

hoya (metathesis due to yod 3: /ɔ/ + glide (/i̯/) (from earlier [bj]) in following syllable > [o]) (yod 3 affects /ɛ/ and /ɔ/)

FOLIA

hoja (metathesis due to yod 4: /ɔ/ + [ʎ] (from earlier [lj] > [o])) (yod 4 affects /ɛ/ and /ɔ/)

PUGNU

puño (metathesis due to yod 5: /o/ followed by [ɲ] (from earlier [gn]) > [u]) (yod 5 affects /ɛ/ and /o/)

PARIETE

pared (outcome of hiatus that is not metathesis: loss of weaker vowel in hiatus)

DORSUM

DOSSUM (increase in geminates in Latin: criticized by Appendix Probi)

LANCEA

LANCIA (emergence of the glide: criticized by Appendix Probi)

VĪNEA

VINIA (emergence of the glide: criticized by Appendix Probi)

FĪCU

higo (loss of Latin F-: various theories, e.g. Menéndez Pidal (1964) points to substratum influence exercised by Basque, which lacks the labiodental phoneme /f/, on Cantabrian Latin, but this does not explain why words such as FORTE and FONTE appear in standard Spanish with /f/. Penny favours intra-Latin explanation, suggests that Latin used a bilabial articulation of the labiodental /f-/ ([φ]), but this was replaced by the labiodental /F-/ in Rome and in areas that were in closest contact with Rome. However, the spoken Latin of remoter areas such as Cantabria preserved the bilabial articulation of [φ], which would have been pronounced as [ʍ] (voiceless labio-velar approximant) in front of the glide [w] (hence FORTE > [‘ʍwoɾte] or [‘ʍweɾte]), but is realized as [φ] before non-back vowels, /ɾ/ and /l/ (so FĪCU > [φiko]). The range of allophones is possibly increased early on, with [φ] pronounced as [h] before the back vowels /o/ and /u/ (so FURNU > [hoɾno]). The allophone [h] is then generalized and comes to occur before all syllabic vowels and the on glide [j] (e.g. FERRU > [hjero]). In later Old Spanish, the allophones [φ] and [ʍ] would be modified to labiodental [f] in urban Spanish varieties, possibly because of French and Occitan influence in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Following this change, [h] would appear before syllabic vowels and [j], but [f] would be used before [w] and [ɾ]. The allophones [h] and [f] would eventually be phonologized, although /h/ was disappearing in Old Castile in the later Middle Ages, a pronunciation that would become standard in the sixteenth century. However, the spelling only came to reflect this change in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries)

FĪLIU

hijo (loss of Latin F: various theories, e.g. Menéndez Pidal suggested substratum influence exercised by Basque on Cantabrian Latin, he says that pre-Roman Basque lacks a labiodental phoneme (/f/), so when Basque speakers became bilingual in Latin, they replaced Latin /f/ with the aspirate /h/. However, this theory cannot explain why words such as FORTE and FONTE appear in standard Spanish with /f/. Penny favours an internal Latin explanation, says that a bilabial articulation of /f/ ([ɸ]) used to be normal in Latin but was replaced by labiodental /f/ in Rome and areas in closest contact with Rome. However, in remoter areas such as Cantabria, the bilabial articulation [ɸ] was preserved in initial position. When it preceded the glide [w] (the outcome of diphthongization), it would have been realized as [ʍ], so FORTE > [ʍworte] or [ʍwerte], but when it preceded non-back vowels, the glide [j], /ɾ/ and /l/, it was realized as [ɸ]. Before a syllabic back vowel (so /o/ or /u/), it was realized as [h], e.g. FURNU > [‘hoɾno]. This was the result of dissimilation of bilabial [ɸ] before the labial vowels /o/ and /u/. The allophone [h] was then generalized, coming to occur before all syllabic vowels and the glide [j]. In Later Old Spanish, the allophones [ɸ] and [ʍ] were modief to labiodental [f] in urban varieties, possibly because of influence from speakers of French and Occitan in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, who may have replaced the unfamiliar [ʍ] and [ɸ] with [f], the most similar sound of their native language). Following this change, Latin F- would have been articulated as [h] before syllabic vowels and [j], while it was articulated as [f] before [w] and /ɾ/, giving [fweɾte] and [fɾio]. The two allophones [h] and [f] were eventually phonologized, providing Spanish with two distinct phonemes, /h/ and /f/, although /h/ was being dropped from pronunciation in Old Castile in the later Middle Ages. This /h/-less pronunciation became standard in the sixteenth century. However, the spelling only came to reflect this change in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries)

FARĪNA

harina (loss of Latin F-: various theories, e.g. Menéndez Pidal (1964) points to substratum influence exercised by Basque, which lacks the labiodental phoneme /f/, on Cantabrian Latin, but this does not explain why words such as FONTE and FUERTE appear in standard Spanish with /f/. Penny favours intra-Latin explanation, suggests that Latin used a bilabial articulation of the labiodental /f-/ ([φ]), but this was replaced by the labiodental /F-/ in Rome and in areas that were in closest contact with Rome. However, the spoken Latin of remoter areas such as Cantabria preserved the bilabial articulation of [φ], which would have been pronounced as [ʍ] (voiceless labio-velar approximant) in front of the glide [w] (hence FORTE > [‘ʍwoɾte] or [‘ʍweɾte]), but is realized as [φ] before non-back vowels, /ɾ/ and /l/ (so FĪCU > [φiko]). The range of allophones is possibly increased early on, with [φ] pronounced as [h] before the back vowels /o/ and /u/ (so FURNU > [hoɾno]). The allophone [h] is then generalized and comes to occur before all syllabic vowels and the on glide [j] (e.g. FARĪNA > [haɾina] and FERRU > [hjero]). In later Old Spanish, the allophones [φ] and [ʍ] would be modified to labiodental [f] in urban Spanish varieties, possibly because of French and Occitan influence in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Following this change, [h] would appear before syllabic vowels and [j], but [f] would be used before [w] and [ɾ]. The allophones [h] and [f] would eventually be phonologized, although /h/ was disappearing in Old Castile in the later Middle Ages, a pronunciation that would become standard in the sixteenth century. However, the spelling only came to reflect this change in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. This is arguably a case of phonemic split (where the number of phonemes in a language is increased) in the history of Spanish, as the introduction of borrowings from neighbouring languages and from Latin created the possibility in Spanish of the sequence [f] + full vowel, e.g. FŌRMA was borrowed as [‘foɾma]. From that point on, both [f'] and [h] could occur in the same environment and could therefore serve to distinguish the meanings of separate words (e.g. /’hoɾma/ ‘shoemaker’s last’ and /’foɾma/), at which point the phonemic split was complete)

FORNU

horno (loss of Latin F-: various theories, e.g. Menéndez Pidal (1964) points to substratum influence exercised by Basque, which lacks the labiodental phoneme /f/, on Cantabrian Latin, but this does not explain why words such as FONTE and FUERTE appear in standard Spanish with /f/. Penny favours intra-Latin explanation, suggests that Latin used a bilabial articulation of the labiodental /f-/ ([φ]), but this was replaced by the labiodental /F-/ in Rome and in areas that were in closest contact with Rome. However, the spoken Latin of remoter areas such as Cantabria preserved the bilabial articulation of [φ], which would have been pronounced as [ʍ] (voiceless labio-velar approximant) in front of the glide [w] (hence FORTE > [‘ʍwoɾte] or [‘ʍweɾte]), but is realized as [φ] before non-back vowels, /ɾ/ and /l/ (so FĪCU > [φiko]). The range of allophones is possibly increased early on, with [φ] pronounced as [h] before the back vowels /o/ and /u/ (so FURNU > [hoɾno]). The allophone [h] is then generalized and comes to occur before all syllabic vowels and the on glide [j] (e.g. FARĪNA > [haɾina] and FERRU > [hjero]). In later Old Spanish, the allophones [φ] and [ʍ] would be modified to labiodental [f] in urban Spanish varieties, possibly because of French and Occitan influence in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Following this change, [h] would appear before syllabic vowels and [j], but [f] would be used before [w] and [ɾ]. The allophones [h] and [f] would eventually be phonologized, although /h/ was disappearing in Old Castile in the later Middle Ages, a pronunciation that would become standard in the sixteenth century. However, the spelling only came to reflect this change in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries)

FĪLU

hijo (loss of Latin F-: various theories, e.g. Menéndez Pidal (1964) points to substratum influence exercised by Basque, which lacks the labiodental phoneme /f/, on Cantabrian Latin, but this does not explain why words such as FONTE and FUERTE appear in standard Spanish with /f/. Penny favours intra-Latin explanation, suggests that Latin used a bilabial articulation of the labiodental /f-/ ([φ]), but this was replaced by the labiodental /F-/ in Rome and in areas that were in closest contact with Rome. However, the spoken Latin of remoter areas such as Cantabria preserved the bilabial articulation of [φ], which would have been pronounced as [ʍ] (voiceless labio-velar approximant) in front of the glide [w] (hence FORTE > [‘ʍwoɾte] or [‘ʍweɾte]), but is realized as [φ] before non-back vowels, /ɾ/ and /l/ (so FĪCU > [φiko]). The range of allophones is possibly increased early on, with [φ] pronounced as [h] before the back vowels /o/ and /u/ (so FURNU > [hoɾno]). The allophone [h] is then generalized and comes to occur before all syllabic vowels and the on glide [j] (e.g. FARĪNA > [haɾina] and FERRU > [hjero]). In later Old Spanish, the allophones [φ] and [ʍ] would be modified to labiodental [f] in urban Spanish varieties, possibly because of French and Occitan influence in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Following this change, [h] would appear before syllabic vowels and [j], but [f] would be used before [w] and [ɾ]. The allophones [h] and [f] would eventually be phonologized, although /h/ was disappearing in Old Castile in the later Middle Ages, a pronunciation that would become standard in the sixteenth century. However, the spelling only came to reflect this change in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries)

FORTE

fuerte (loss of Latin F-: various theories, e.g. Menéndez Pidal (1964) points to substratum influence exercised by Basque, which lacks the labiodental phoneme /f/, on Cantabrian Latin, but this does not explain why words such as FONTE and FUERTE appear in standard Spanish with /f/. Penny favours intra-Latin explanation, suggests that Latin used a bilabial articulation of the labiodental /f-/ ([φ]), but this was replaced by the labiodental /F-/ in Rome and in areas that were in closest contact with Rome. However, the spoken Latin of remoter areas such as Cantabria preserved the bilabial articulation of [φ], which would have been pronounced as [ʍ] (voiceless labio-velar approximant) in front of the glide [w] (hence FORTE > [‘ʍwoɾte] or [‘ʍweɾte]), but is realized as [φ] before non-back vowels, /ɾ/ and /l/ (so FĪCU > [φiko]). The range of allophones is possibly increased early on, with [φ] pronounced as [h] before the back vowels /o/ and /u/ (so FURNU > [hoɾno]). The allophone [h] is then generalized and comes to occur before all syllabic vowels and the on glide [j] (e.g. FARĪNA > [haɾina] and FERRU > [hjero]). In later Old Spanish, the allophones [φ] and [ʍ] would be modified to labiodental [f] in urban Spanish varieties, possibly because of French and Occitan influence in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Following this change, [h] would appear before syllabic vowels and [j], but [f] would be used before [w] and [ɾ]. The allophones [h] and [f] would eventually be phonologized, although /h/ was disappearing in Old Castile in the later Middle Ages, a pronunciation that would become standard in the sixteenth century. However, the spelling only came to reflect this change in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries)

FONTE

fuente (loss of Latin F-: various theories, e.g. Menéndez Pidal (1964) points to substratum influence exercised by Basque, which lacks the labiodental phoneme /f/, on Cantabrian Latin, but this does not explain why words such as FONTE and FUERTE appear in standard Spanish with /f/. Penny favours intra-Latin explanation, suggests that Latin used a bilabial articulation of the labiodental /f-/ ([φ]), but this was replaced by the labiodental /F-/ in Rome and in areas that were in closest contact with Rome. However, the spoken Latin of remoter areas such as Cantabria preserved the bilabial articulation of [φ], which would have been pronounced as [ʍ] (voiceless labio-velar approximant) in front of the glide [w] (hence FORTE > [‘ʍwoɾte] or [‘ʍweɾte]), but is realized as [φ] before non-back vowels, /ɾ/ and /l/ (so FĪCU > [φiko]). The range of allophones is possibly increased early on, with [φ] pronounced as [h] before the back vowels /o/ and /u/ (so FURNU > [hoɾno]). The allophone [h] is then generalized and comes to occur before all syllabic vowels and the on glide [j] (e.g. FARĪNA > [haɾina] and FERRU > [hjero]). In later Old Spanish, the allophones [φ] and [ʍ] would be modified to labiodental [f] in urban Spanish varieties, possibly because of French and Occitan influence in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Following this change, [h] would appear before syllabic vowels and [j], but [f] would be used before [w] and [ɾ]. The allophones [h] and [f] would eventually be phonologized, although /h/ was disappearing in Old Castile in the later Middle Ages, a pronunciation that would become standard in the sixteenth century. However, the spelling only came to reflect this change in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries)

FRONTE

(loss of Latin F-: various theories, e.g. Menéndez Pidal (1964) points to substratum influence exercised by Basque, which lacks the labiodental phoneme /f/, on Cantabrian Latin, but this does not explain why words such as FONTE and FUERTE appear in standard Spanish with /f/. Penny favours intra-Latin explanation, suggests that Latin used a bilabial articulation of the labiodental /f-/ ([φ]), but this was replaced by the labiodental /F-/ in Rome and in areas that were in closest contact with Rome. However, the spoken Latin of remoter areas such as Cantabria preserved the bilabial articulation of [φ], which would have been pronounced as [ʍ] (voiceless labio-velar approximant) in front of the glide [w] (hence FORTE > [‘ʍwoɾte] or [‘ʍweɾte]), but is realized as [φ] before non-back vowels, /ɾ/ and /l/ (so FĪCU > [φiko]). The range of allophones is possibly increased early on, with [φ] pronounced as [h] before the back vowels /o/ and /u/ (so FURNU > [hoɾno]). The allophone [h] is then generalized and comes to occur before all syllabic vowels and the on glide [j] (e.g. FARĪNA > [haɾina] and FERRU > [hjero]). In later Old Spanish, the allophones [φ] and [ʍ] would be modified to labiodental [f] in urban Spanish varieties, possibly because of French and Occitan influence in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Following this change, [h] would appear before syllabic vowels and [j], but [f] would be used before [w] and [ɾ]. The allophones [h] and [f] would eventually be phonologized, although /h/ was disappearing in Old Castile in the later Middle Ages, a pronunciation that would become standard in the sixteenth century. However, the spelling only came to reflect this change in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries)

DĒFĒNSA

dehesa (loss of Latin F-: various theories, e.g. Menéndez Pidal (1964) points to substratum influence exercised by Basque, which lacks the labiodental phoneme /f/, on Cantabrian Latin, but this does not explain why words such as FONTE and FUERTE appear in standard Spanish with /f/. Penny favours intra-Latin explanation, suggests that Latin used a bilabial articulation of the labiodental /f-/ ([φ]), but this was replaced by the labiodental /F-/ in Rome and in areas that were in closest contact with Rome. However, the spoken Latin of remoter areas such as Cantabria preserved the bilabial articulation of [φ], which would have been pronounced as [ʍ] (voiceless labio-velar approximant) in front of the glide [w] (hence FORTE > [‘ʍwoɾte] or [‘ʍweɾte]), but is realized as [φ] before non-back vowels, /ɾ/ and /l/ (so FĪCU > [φiko]). The range of allophones is possibly increased early on, with [φ] pronounced as [h] before the back vowels /o/ and /u/ (so FURNU > [hoɾno]). The allophone [h] is then generalized and comes to occur before all syllabic vowels and the on glide [j] (e.g. FARĪNA > [haɾina] and FERRU > [hjero]). In later Old Spanish, the allophones [φ] and [ʍ] would be modified to labiodental [f] in urban Spanish varieties, possibly because of French and Occitan influence in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Following this change, [h] would appear before syllabic vowels and [j], but [f] would be used before [w] and [ɾ]. The allophones [h] and [f] would eventually be phonologized, although /h/ was disappearing in Old Castile in the later Middle Ages, a pronunciation that would become standard in the sixteenth century. However, the spelling only came to reflect this change in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Intervocalic -F- is uncommon in Latin, but when it is perceived as syllable-initial (as in DĒ-FĒNSA) it undergoes the generalization to [h])

CAPIT

cabe (merger (i.e. the neutralization of originally distinct phonemes until there are no phonetic environments in which the two units remain distinct) of /b/ and /β/: third-person present indicative of caber (>CAPĔRE). In intervocalic position, there was without question a contrast between these two phonemes in Old Spanish (we know this because of the relative consistency of spelling in Old Spanish and rhyme in Old Spanish verse), so in Old Spanish cabe is pronounced [kabe]. However, the contrast between initial /b/ and /β/ was probably neutralized by the 14th century in all environments. In later Old Spanish intervocalic and post-vocalic /b/ underwent fricatization to /β/ (>[kaβe]), and thus this contrast was neutralized in intervocalic position)

CAVET

cave (merger of /b/ and /β/: third-person present subjunctive of cavar (>CAVĀRE).In intervocalic position, there was without question a contrast between these two phonemes in Old Spanish (we know this because of the relative consistency of spelling in Old Spanish and rhyme in Old Spanish verse), so in Old Spanish cave is pronounced [kaβe]. However, the contrast between initial /b/ and /β/ was probably neutralized by the 14th century in all environments. In later Old Spanish intervocalic and post-vocalic /b/ underwent fricatization to /β/ (>[kaβe]), and thus this contrast was neutralized in intervocalic position as well)

BENE

bienes (merger of /b/ and /β/: it is likely that the contrast between /b/ and /β/ applied in initial position as well as in intervocalic position, at least when the word was preceded by a vowel or by certain consonants. So in Old Spanish bienes is pronounced [bjenes] (as opposed to vienes (<VENĪS), which is pronounced [βjenes]). However confusion of spelling in consonant clusters and in initial position (e.g. in the PMC) suggests neutralization, and this took a further step when /b/ took on a fricative articulation in many environments (but especially when preceded by a vowel). By the end of the fourteenth century, initial /b/ and /β/ were probably neutralized in all environments (however, the phonemic contrast survived in intervocalic position until the fifteenth century))

VENĪS

vienes (merger of /b/ and /β/: second-person present indicative. It is likely that the contrast between /b/ and /β/ applied in initial position as well as in intervocalic position, at least when the word was preceded by a vowel or by certain consonants. So in Old Spanish vienes is pronounced [βjenes] (as opposed to bienes (from BENE), which is pronounced [bjenes]). However confusion of spelling in consonant clusters and in initial position (e.g. in the PMC) suggests neutralization, and this took a further step when /b/ took on a fricative articulation in many environments (but especially when preceded by a vowel). By the end of the fourteenth century, initial /b/ and /β/ were probably neutralized in all environments (however, the phonemic contrast survived in intervocalic position until the fifteenth century))

AD RĪPAM

arriba (merger of /b/ and /β/: by the fifteenth century, some poets allow words like arriba to rhyme with viva (from VIVĀ), meaning that the merger has been completed)

VIVĀ

viva (merger of /b/ and /β/: by the fifteenth century, some poets allow words like viva to rhyme with arriba (from AD RĪPAM) , meaning that the merger has been completed)

SUĀVIS

suave (merger of /b/ and /β/: by the fifteenth century, some poets allow words like suave to rhyme with cabe (from CAPIT) , meaning that the merger has been completed)

DĪCĔRE

dezir (readjustment of the sibilants: [dedʒiɾ], where /dʒ/ represents the voiced dento-alveolar affricate which is the product of Latin /k/ + front vowel (having undergone voicing). However, /dʒ/ was weakened to the voiced dental fricative [z̪] by the end of the Middle Ages, and, by the late sixteenth century, the phonemes /z̪/ and /s̪/ merged in /s̪/, i.e. the voiceless phoneme (>[des̪iɾ]). Later (around this time) the functional load placed on the contrast of locus between /s̪/, /s/ and /ʃ/ means that /s̪/ is moved forwards (i.e. away from alveolar /s/) and becomes interdental /θ/ (>[deθiɾ]))

CAPTĀRE (*CAPTIĀRE)

caçar (readjustment of the sibilants: [katsaɾ], where /ts/ represents the voiceless dento-alveolar affricate which is the product of Latin /k/ + [j]. However, /ts/ was weakened to the voiceless dental fricative [s̪] by the end of the Middle Ages. Later (around the late sixteenth century) /s̪/ was moved forwards (to increase the contrast with alveolar /s/) and became interdental /θ/ ([kaθa]))

PASSUS

passo (readjustment of the sibilants: [paso] in Old Spanish, after simplification of the Latin geminate /s:/ (>paso))

CASA

casa (readjustment of the sibilants: [kaza] in Old Spanish, where /z/ represents the voiced alveolar fricative. However, by the late sixteenth century, the phonemes /z/ and /s/ had merged in favour of /s/, i.e. /z/ was devoiced (so > [kasa]))

CAPSA

caxa (readjustment of the sibilants: [kaʃa] in Old Spanish (change of -PS- > /ʃ/ is not common in Castilian, but may be attributed to Catalan or Occitan influence (as the change is usual in these languages)), where /ʃ/ represents the voiceless prepalatal fricative. However, around the late sixteenth century /ʃ/ was moved backwards (i.e. away from alveolar /s/) to become velar /x/ (>[kaxa]))

MULIER

muger (readjustment of the sibilants: [muʒeɾ] in Old Spanish, where /ʒ/ represents the voiced prepalatal fricative, here the product of /l/ + [j].

PŪGNU

puño (learned consonant groups: GN > /ɲ/, meaning that GN was impermissible by the later Middle Ages (as velar consonants were impermissible in final position))

IPSA

essa (>esa) (learned consonant groups: PS > /s/, meaning that PS was impermissible by the later Middle Ages (as /p/ was impermissible in final position))

APTĀRE

atar (learned consonant groups: PT > /t/, meaning that PT was impermissible by the later Middle Ages)

SCAMNU

escaño (learned consonant groups: MN > /ɲ/, meaning that MN was impermissible by the later Middle Ages (as syllable-final /m/ could not occur before /n/))

DĪXĪ

dixe (>dije) (learned consonant groups: X > /ʃ/, meaning that X was impermissible by the later Middle Ages (as velars such as /k/ could not occur before in syllable-final position))

FACTU

hecho (learned consonant groups: CT > /tʃ/, meaning that CT was impermissible by the later Middle Ages (as velars such as /k/ could not occur before in syllable-final position))

CAPITĀLIS

cabdal/caudal (learned consonant groups: in the late Middle Ages, syllable-final /b/ did occur in some words, but only before /d/, and it was already being modified to the glide [u̯] or being omitted (latter as in dubda > duda))

EFFECTU

efeto/efecto (learned consonant groups: alternating forms in the Middle Ages, one where the first consonant is lost, a second where both consonants are pronounced, thus introducing new phonotactic possibilities to Spanish. This variety of forms was eventually resolved (by the RAE in the late 18th century) in favour of the full, i.e. more Latinate, forms, meaning that the phonology of Spanish had come to accept syllable-final /k/)

LĒCTIŌNE

lición/lección (learned consonant groups: alternating forms in the Middle Ages, one where the second consonant is lost, a second where both consonants are pronounced, thus introducing new phonotactic possibilities to Spanish. This variety of forms was eventually resolved (by the RAE in the late 18th century) in favour of the full, i.e. more Latinate, forms, meaning that the phonology of Spanish had come to accept syllable-final /k/)

SIGNIFICĀRE

sinificar/significar (learned consonant groups: alternating forms in the Middle Ages, one where the first consonant is lost, a second where both consonants are pronounced, thus introducing new phonotactic possibilities to Spanish. This variety of forms was eventually resolved (by the RAE in the late 18th century) in favour of the full, i.e. more Latinate, forms, meaning that the phonology of Spanish had come to accept syllable-final /g/)

EXCELLENTE

ecelente/excelente (learned consonant groups: alternating forms in the Middle Ages, one where the first consonant is lost, a second where both consonants are pronounced, thus introducing new phonotactic possibilities to Spanish. This variety of forms was eventually resolved (by the RAE in the late 18th century) in favour of the full, i.e. more Latinate, forms, meaning that the phonology of Spanish had come to accept syllable-final /k/)