Page "Vulgar Latin" Paragraph 82

As Vulgar Latin evolved, three main changes occurred in parallel.

First, length distinctions were lost, so that for instance ă and ā came to be pronounced the same way.

Second, the near-close vowels ĭ and ŭ became more open in most varieties of Vulgar Latin, merging with the long vowels ē and ō, respectively.

As a result, Latin pira " pear " ( fruit ) and vēra " true ", came to rhyme in most of its daughter languages: Italian, French, and Spanish pera, vera ; Old French poire, voire ( but not Modern French " vrai ").

Similarly, Latin nux (" nut ", acc.

sing nucem ) and vōx ( voice ) become Italian noce, voce, Portuguese noz, voz, and French noix, voix ( in some cases the quality of the vowel later changed again, because of regularising tendencies, or other extraneous influences ).