Osthoff's Law and the Vocalism of the Proto-Roman

Abstract

The quantitative changes which grow more and more numerous in popular Latin serve as a proof of the existence of a rythmical factor which shortens the ultra-long syllables created by the dropping of undtressed vocals into canonic duration syllables.

that autocorrection phenomenon of the language, which is a proof of permanency of the long/short syllable opposition, is one of the manifestations of the general phonetics law called Osthoff's Law.