Dalmatian underwent a weird vowel shift in stressed open syllables where:
i > ai, e > ai, u > oi, o > au
ɛ > i, ɔ > u
a > wo (> u)
...which is somewhat comparable to the English GVS. Examples:
Vulgar Latin > Late Latin vowel > Dalmatian outcome [...examples...]
i > [i:] > [ai] diem > *[di] > dai, radīcem > radaika, spīca > spaika
e > [e:] > [ai] mēnsem > mais, fidem > faid, sitem > sait, nivem > nai
u > [u:] > [oi] ūnum > join, lūna > loina, creātūra > kratoir, flūmen > floim
o > [o:] > [au] nōmen > naum, sōlem > saul, suprā > saupra, nōn > na(un)
ɛ > [jɛ] > [ i] faenum > fin, petra > pitra, caelum > čil, brevem > briv
ɔ > [wɔ] > [ u] novum > nuf, locum > luk
a > [a:] > [wo] or [ u] cīvitātem > čitu(o)t, cor > ku(o)r, cantāre > kantu(o)r, caballum > kavu(o)l, pānem > pun/puan
Dalmatian creates diphthongs in other ways too, but in ways that are susceptible to a following consonant. E.g. [e:] > [ai] before a nasal in an open syllable (plēnum > plain, rēgnum > raigno [ˈraiɲo]), [e ɛ] > [ja] when in a closed syllable (nigrum > niar, viridem > viart; ventum > viant, terra > tiar, lectum > liat, bellam > biala, pectinem > piakno), [ɔ] > [wa] in a closed syllable (longum > luang, rossum > ruas, noctem > nuat, porcum > puark).
qwed117 wrote: ↑18 Feb 2020 22:08In English the kink is a: -> ɛː, which, to me, is an absolutely strange fronting.
It seems a little easier to swallow once you learn that Late Latin underwent [a:] > [e:] into Old French (while short [a] was retained), and that Old Arabic /a a:/ often become /e: e/ in Lebanese Arabic when stressed in an open syllable or in word-final position (unless prevented by a nearby guttural consonant).
cārum 'dear' > Late *[ˈka:ro] > *[ˈtʃe:ro] > Old French chér [tʃer] (> modern
cher [ʃɛ:ʁ])
salem 'salt' > (with stressed open-syllable vowel lengthening) Late *[ˈsa:le] > *[ˈse:le] > Old French sél [sel] (> modern
sel [sɛl])
sapiunt 'they know' > Late *[ˈsa:pont] > OF sévent [ˈsevə(n)t] (> now regularized to
ils savent [sav], after sapitis > analogized to *[saˈpe:tes] > modFr savez [saˈve])
(for the last one, also contrast: sapiant 'that they may know' > (with [pj] > [ptʃ]) *[ˈsaptʃant] > OF sachent [ˈsatʃə(n)t] (> modern
ils sachent [saʃ])
Old Arabic θala:θah 'three' > Lebanese [ˈtle:te] (cf. Cairo Egyptian [ˈtælæ:tæ])
Old Arabic θama:nijah 'eight' > Lebanese [ˈtme:ne] (cf. Cairo Egyptian [tæˈmænjæ])