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Kentum Versus Satum Split
- Early linguists found a consistent east–west split in how Indo-European languages treated initial k in words like 'hundred'.
- This led to the kentum (k) vs satum (s) classification, explained by an early assibilation sound change.
Assibilation Explains K→S Shifts
- The k→s shift is called assibilation (or palatalization) and produces sibilant sounds like s or sh.
- This change recurred across languages and explains many modern pronunciations.
How C And G Originated
- The modern letter C descends from Greek gamma and became a rounded C in Latin representing /k/.
- Romans later created G by modifying C to mark the /g/ sound.