Betacism

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Betacism is a linguistic phenomenon in which /b/ shifts to /v/. The name comes from the Greek letter beta (β) which denoted /b/ in Classical Greek, but denotes /v/ in Modern Greek (Modern Greek denotes /b/ with μπ).

Betacism is an old phenomenon in linguistics, and best known in Romance languages. Its first traces in Latin can be found already in the Middle Imperial Roman period (3rd century). It is most common in the Western Romance languages, especially in Spanish, where /b/ is pronounced as [β] (a sound similar to the English 'v') unless at the beginning of a word or after /m/.

[edit] Examples of betacism

[edit] Neapolitan

(Italian v. Neapolitan)

• bocca v. vocca
• albero v. arvero
• barba v. varva