Proto-Finnic/Later phonological changes
This is a list of post-Proto-Finnic phonological changes, ordered from the most divergent to the most conservative languages.
Livonian edit
- /aː/ → /oː/.
- Loss of consonant gradation, with single consonants merge to unvoiced consonants (voiced between sonorants, vowels, and word-finally), while long and semi-long consonants merge to unvoiced consonants. *Vettä → *vetä → vietā "some of the water".
- Palatalization of /s/ and /ts/ after voiced consonants and vowels to /ʃ/ and /tʃ/ before /i/, later phonemized following the loss of /i/.
- Elisions of unstressed short vowels in an interlocking style:
- Apocope of word-final /n/, and this must have happened before the next change: *magon → *mago → ma'g "of the belly". This often caused syncretism between nominative and genitive, but some cases do not: nominative ve'ž "water" vs. genitive vied "of the water".
- Elision of vowels preceding weak grade consonants (/β/, /ð/, /ɣ/, /h/): *kalada → *ka'ldõ → ka'llõ. The elided vowel results on the rising tone of the preceding short vowel.
- Apocope of unstressed vowels other than /ɑ/: *veci → ve'ž "water", but *jalka → jālga "leg" (compare Estonian jalg). The elided vowel also results on the rising tone of the preceding short vowel.
- Clipping of unstressed long vowels (e.g. *aa), umlauted vowels (e.g. *ä), and diphthongs (e.g. *ai) to short vowels (a) unumlauted vowels (a), and monophthongs with first components (a), respectively.
- Lengthening of certain syllables:
- All closed syllables lengthened their vowel, except when following another closed syllable.
- Open syllables following another open syllable lengthen their vowels: *kala → kalā "fish". This was originally an allophonic development, as in Finnish where an open syllable following another open syllables pronounced with a semi-long vowel.