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Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

• FishFace@piefed.social ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  One plausible etymology is:

  aqua > agua > egua > ewa > ewe > eawe > eaw > eau > o

  So first the k sound changed to a g, then the initial a became an e, which lengthened to a diphthong, the final sound disappeared, the new final sound turned from a consonant into a vowel (like an oo) and the resulting triphthong reduced to a monophthong.

  The elision of medial g is pretty surprising to me though.

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  • Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Are you sure that the Q is supposed to be read like a K? It does not seem to be the case in other neo-latin languages such as Italian and IIRC Spanish

    i am not a latin expert– i barelly know it in fact, btw

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    • FishFace@piefed.social ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      Yes, Latin qu was pronounced /kʷ/, which became straight /kw/ in English. I don’t know which it was in Old French. Italian does have qu which is pronounced /kw/.

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      • hikaru755@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

        Italian does have qu which is pronounced /kw/

        Same in German

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      • Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

        Italian does have qu which is pronounced /kw/.

        I can confirm this as native speaker :3

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• CommanderCloon@lemmy.ml ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  here is a whole video on that exact topic

  Aqua ➡️ eau is one of the explained examples 😁

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  • Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Thank you!

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• HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  I wonder when French took the wrong path,

  When did Caesar invade Transalpine Gaul?

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