Assimilation In
i-mutation and
Germanic umlaut, a
back vowel is fronted under the influence of or in a following syllable. This is assimilation.
Vowel shifts In the
Attic and
Ionic dialects of
Ancient Greek,
Proto-Greek close back were fronted to . This change occurred in all cases and was not triggered by a nearby front consonant or vowel. Similarly in
French and
Occitan, this sound change also occurred. In
Old English and
Old Frisian, the back vowels were fronted to in certain cases. For more information, see
first a-fronting and
second a-fronting. In many dialects of English, the vowel is fronted to or , a sound change that is sometimes called
-fronting. The same sound change occurred in many dialects of
Norwegian and Standard
Swedish but not in
Danish. Fronting can also take place as part of a chain shift. For example, in the
Northern Cities Shift, the raising of left room in the low-front area of the vowel space for to expand. Thus, words like
cot and
father are often pronounced with a low-front vowel . == See also ==