Leggi fonetiche · Legge 13 · Consonanti

Germanic W- becomes gu- / g-

Germanic W-

Per ora le spiegazioni sono in inglese; gli esempi sono in tutte le lingue.

Spagnolo

gu- ([gw] before a, o; [g] before e, i)

Francese

g(u)- [g]

Italiano

gu- [gw]

Portoghese

gu- ([gw] before a, o; [g] before e, i)

Rumeno

— (Romanian has no words from this Germanic layer)

Catalano

gu- ([gw] before a, o; [g] before e, i)

Cosa è successo

Words borrowed from Germanic peoples (Franks, Goths, Lombards) in late antiquity began with a [w] that spoken Latin no longer had, since its own V had become a fricative. Speakers rendered it as gw, reinforcing the lip-rounding with a velar stop. Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Catalan keep gu-; French reduced gw to plain g, writing gu before e and i. Romanian, cut off from the West, never received these words (gardă and gherilă are modern loans).

Esempi

Latino	Italiano	Spagnolo	Francese	Portoghese	Rumeno	Catalano	Parente inglese
Germanic *WERRA‘strife → war’	guerra	guerra	guerre	guerra	—	guerra	war
Germanic *WARDŌN‘to watch, guard’	guardare	guardar	garder	guardar	—	guardar	guard
Germanic *WĪSA‘manner, way’	guisa	guisa	guise	guisa	—	guisa	guise
Frankish *WARNJAN‘to equip, furnish’	guarnire	guarnecer	garnir	guarnecer	—	guarnir	garnish

Chiave di decodifica

Spanish, Italian, Portuguese or Catalan gu- and French g- often go back to English w-: guerra, guerre ~ war; guardar, garder ~ ward. Italian guardare means 'to look at', Spanish and Portuguese guardar 'to keep'.

Eccezioni

Germanic w sometimes rubbed off on Latin V-words in French: VESPAM → guêpe (beside avispa, vespa), VASTĀRE → gâter. Norman French kept w, which is why English has war, warden and wardrobe beside guard and guardian.

Cosa è successo

Esempi

Chiave di decodifica

Eccezioni

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