On the loss of latin -b- in Rumanian and related phenomena

The general consonantal structure of Rumanian is characterized by its closeness to that of Latin. Modifications of the Latin pattern concern primarily the simplification of the geminates and certain consonant clusters (ct > pt, -qu > -p, etc.). But Latin voiced and unvoiced single stops are meticulously preserved. Yet there is one important exception to this rule: the Latin intervocalic -b- and {-u-}, with which it had merged in late Latin, was eliminated. The process of elimination must have been comparatively early, for it had ceased to be operative at the time of the borrowing of Slavic words 1 Intervocalic -b- and of Latin disappear: caballum > cal, lavare > la, scribo > scriu. Cf. É Bourciez, Éléments de linguistique romane, 4th ed. (Paris, 1946), p. 556. Slavic -b- is preserved: iubi. Note, however, that Slavic -b-, unlike Latin -b-, was a real stop. The loss of Latin -b- and -v- has some rare exceptions: adevar (⋖ ad-de-verum), cuvint (⋖ conventus), avere (⋖ habere) Cf. H. Tiktin, Rumdnisches Elementarbuch (Heidelberg, 1905), p. 71. . The purpose of this article is to consider from a structural viewpoint the reasons which forced Rumanian to depart from the Latin structure with respect to the intervocalic -b- and {-u-}.