Poireaux ‘leeks’ and poire ‘pear’: a lesser-known diphthongization of open [ɔ] in northern gallo-romance

Abstract

Yves Charles Morin analyzes a common form of diphthongization that affected unstressed non-low back vowels in some dialects of Northern Gallo-Romance. Contrary to the traditional view, he argues that the diphthong of poireau resulted from a genuine sound change that developed in the Paris region in ways similar to, but historically independent from, the diphthongization observed in Southern Picardy and Western Normandy.

Keywords

• diptongación
• lengua francesa
• picardo
• geografía lingüística
• cambio fonético