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.
C before a front vowel (e, i), as early as the 3d century, doubtless
had, in nearly all the Empire, a front or palatal articulation;
that is, it was formed as close as possible to the following
vowel[36]: _cĕntum_ ＞ c´ĕntu, _dūcĕre_ ＞ dūc´ĕre. The next step was
the introduction of an audible glide, a brief y, between the c´ and
the vowel[37]: c´yęntu, dục´yere. By the 5th century this c´y had
developed into a kind of ty, the c´ having been drawn still further
forward: t´yęntu dụt´yere. Through a modification of the y-glide,
the group then became, in the 6th or 7th century, tš or ts: tšęntu
tsęntu. See H. Schuchardt, _Voc._, I, 151, and _Ltblt._, XIV, 360; P.
E. Guarnerio, in _Supplementi all’ Archivio glottologico italiano_, IV
(1897), pp. 21-51 (cf. _Rom._, XXX, 617); G. Paris, in the _Journal
des savants_, 1900, 359, in the _Annuaire de l’École pratique des
Hautes-Études_, 1893, 7, in the _Comptes rendus des séances de
l’Académie des Inscriptions_, 1893, 81, and in _Rom._, XXXIII, 322;
W. Meyer-Lübke, _Einf._, pp. 123-126; F. G. Mohl, _Zs._, XXVI, 595;
P. Marchot, _Phon._, pp. 51-53; W. Meyer-Lübke, in _Bausteine zur
romanischen Philologie_, 313. Cf. G and X.[38]
G between vowels, before the accent, disappeared in some words in at
least a part of the Empire: _le(g)ālis_, _li(g)āmen_, _re(g)ālis_,
(_realis_ is attested for the 8th century); _ĕgo_, generally used as
a proclitic, everywhere lost its g; on the other hand, g was kept in
_castigāre_, _fatigāre_, _ligāre_, _negāre_, _pagānus_. G before a
front vowel (e, i), by the 1st or 2d century, was pronounced g´ (cf.
C): _gĕntem_ ＞ g´ĕnte, _fragĭlis_ ＞ frag´ĭlis. As early as the 4th
century this g´, through failure to form a close articulation, opened
into y[39]: yęnte, fráyilis. Before an accented e or i an intervocalic
y disappeared, in the greater part of the Empire, being fused with
the vowel: _magĭster_ ＞ mayįster ＞ maẹster, ✱_pagēnsis_ ＞ payẹsis ＞
paẹsis, _regīna_ ＞ reyịna ＞ reịna.[38]
M and n, when final, were weak and indistinct from the earliest times,
except in monosyllables; by the 3d or 4th century they had probably
disappeared altogether from the end of polysyllables: damnu, nọme; but
jam, non.
N before spirants (f, j, s, v), except in the prefixes _con-_ and
_in-_, became silent during the Republican period, the preceding vowel,
if it was short, being lengthened by compensation[40]: _mē(n)sis_,
_pē(n)sare_. If the syllable _con-_ or _in-_ was not recognized as a
prefix, the n fell: _co(n)sul_, _co(n)ventum_, _i(n)fas_. In learned
and newly constructed words the _n_ was pronounced. Cf. M.
Qu, gu before o or u were reduced to c, g in the 1st or 2d century: see
W.
R before s, in a number of words, became s in the Republican period:
_deōrsum_ ＞ deōssum, _dŏrsum_ ＞ dŏssum, _sūrsum_ ＞ sūssum; so, in a
part of the Empire, _pĕrsĭca_ ＞ pĕssĭca, _vĕrsus_ (preposition) ＞
vĕssus. Early in our era ss after a long vowel was reduced to s: deōsu,
sūsu.
S was probably always voiceless, or surd, in classic Latin, but became
voiced between vowels, in Gaul, at the end of the Vulgar Latin period:
_casa_. To initial s + consonant an i or e was prefixed, at first, no
doubt, after a word ending in a consonant: _in schŏla_ ＞ in iscŏla;
this process began in the 2d century and had become general by the 4th.
V, originally pronounced w, became β probably in the 1st century:
_vīvĕre_ ＞ βīβĕre. Before u, _v_ regularly disappeared, but it was
restored by analogy in many words: _flavus_ ＞ flaus, _ōvum_ ＞ ŏum,
_rīvus_ ＞ rīus; but also _ŏvum_, _rīvus_, by the analogy of _ova_,
_rivi_. In the greater part of the Empire v apparently fell also before
an accented o: _pavōnem_ ＞ paōne, _pavōrem_ ＞ paōre. Cf. W. When a
β, representing either b or v, became contiguous to a following
consonant, it changed to u: ✱_avĭca_ ＞ aβĭca ＞ auca, _gabăta_ ＞ gaβata
＞ gauta, ✱_flavĭtat_ ＞ flaβĭtat ＞ flautat. In several words rv became
rb in Latin: _vervēcem_ ＞ berbēce berbīce, _cŏrvus_ ＞ cŏrbus, _cŭrvus_
＞ cŭrbus.
W coming, in the 2d or 3d century, from u̯ (§ 40) differed from Latin
_v_, then pronounced β, but was probably identical with Germanic _w_:
_dēbuī_ ＞ dẹbwị, _placuī_ ＞ placwị, _sapuit_ ＞ sapwit, _tĕnuis_ ＞
tęnwis. W fell between a consonant and o or u: _antīquus_ ＞ antịcus,
_battuo_ ＞ batto, _carduus_ ＞ cardus, _cŏquus_ ＞ cǫcus, _distĭnguo_ ＞
distįngo, _mŏrtuus_ ＞ mǫrtus; so _eccu’hŏc_ ＞ Pr. acǫ. Cf. Qu.
X (= ks) was reduced to s, in the 2d or 3d century, before a consonant
or at the end of a word of more than one syllable: _sĕstus_, _sĕnes_;
but _sĕx_. So the prefix _ex-_ ＞ es- before any consonant but s:
✱_exgaudēre_ ＞ Pr. esiauzir, ✱_exlucēre_ ＜ Pr. esluzir, ✱_exmĭttĕre_
＞ Pr. esmẹtre; _excernĕre_ ＞ ✱_escernīre_ ＞ Pr. _eissernir_. Ex-
+ s apparently became either ex- or ess-: ✱_exsanguinātum_ ＞ Pr.
eissancnat, ✱_exsaritāre_ ＞ Pr. eissartar, ✱_exsĕquĕre_ ＞ Pr. essęgre,
✱_exsŭrgĕre_ ＞ Pr. essọrger, ✱_exsūcāre_ ＞ Pr. eissügar essügar.
Y coming, in the 2d or 3d century, from e̯ or i̯, (§ 40) coincided with
Latin _j_: _habeam_ ＞ abya, _eāmus_ ＞ yamus, _tĕneat_ ＞ tęnyat; _audio_
＞ audyo, _fīlia_ ＞ fịlya, _vĕniat_ ＞ vęnyat. As early as the 4th
century the groups dy, gy were reduced to y; and ly, ny probably became
l´, n´: _mĕdius_ ＞ mędyus ＞ męyus, _corrĭgia_ ＞ corrįgya ＞ corrẹya;
_mĕlior_ ＞ męlyor ＞ męl´or, _tĕneo_ ＞ tęnyo ＞ tęn´o.