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.
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/.
The former is a labialised consonant, so the lips are brought close together, like to pronounce a /w/, but while saying a k. The general term is “secondary articulation”. I think the most famous of these, at least in European languages, is palatalisation.
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.
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
Edit: i searched and it seems that the sound of Q could’ve been /kʷ/ which makes sense
i am not a latin expert– i barelly know it in fact, btw
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/.
Same in Germanactually noSorry bud, but in German it usually (though not always ill grant you) is pronounced /kv/ :) quark, quasseln, usw
Oh dang you’re right, read your comment too quickly and mixed up v and w, lol
What’s the difference between /kʷ/ and /kw/ though? Never seen that first notation
The former is a labialised consonant, so the lips are brought close together, like to pronounce a /w/, but while saying a k. The general term is “secondary articulation”. I think the most famous of these, at least in European languages, is palatalisation.
I can confirm this as native speaker :3