L'évolution des voyelles accentuées latines « i », «e», «o», « u » dans le système phonétique français

Abstract

The goal of the present paper is to present the evolution of the Latin stressed vowels i, e , o . u in Medieval French. Special attention is paid to the fate of the labio-velar sounds o, u, which coalesced in Vulgar Latin into a close-mid vowel o. On the other hand, the Latin ü is known to have turned into ü (y) leaving thus a gap in the phonetic system of Medieval French. We think that the close-mid labial o should have immediately changed its pronounciation and transformed into a new u. Notice that according to many phonetic studies, (almost) any phonetic system in the world holds the vowel u. regarded generally as one of the three universal sounds (i, a, u). Beyond that, we propose a slightly modified relative and absolute chronology of phonetic changes suffered by the French stressed vowels, often yielding rising and falling diphthongs.