318 ANALYTIC ORTHOGRAPHY. 
CHAPTER XII. 
TRANSMUTATION. 
IN NOVA FERT ANIMUS MUTATAS DICERE FORMAS CORPORA.— Ovid. 
§ 273. Transmutation is the interchange of consonants of different contacts. Itis due to 
Otosis, Assimilation, Dissimilation, Glottosis, Metallaxis, and Anallaxis. Its importance 
entitles it to a distinct chapter. 
274. The peculiarity of Latin, Welsh, and English, which place together a guttural and 
a labial (§ 2224) of which one alone can be used and permuted in some other languages, 
may give rise to many apparent transmutations, as in the Welsh pedwar (four) and Irish 
cithar (already cited,) which seem to present a transmutation between P and Cay. 
275. Welsh has few words commencing with English w, but so many with gay preceding 
it, that this guttural is prefixed by induction to introduced words which were without it. 
This language has wince, pine, and gwine (a finch,) and the following examples show how 
new words might arise like the French G(u)illaume and English William with a seeming 
labial and guttural transmutation. 
eward, a guard, ward gwin, wine 
gwyrd, verd-ant gwinegar, vinegar 
gwyn (white,) wan gwing, a wince, a wink 
gwae, woe, Sp. guay, Lat. vax! gwag, a vac-wum 
gwallo, Lat. vallo, to wall gwr, gwyr, Lat. vir, a man 
gwlan, Lat. véllus, wool gwarant, guarantee, warrant. 
276. As the labial vowel U and guttural I are interchangeable, and have an intermediate 
in Greek Y, this has had a tendency to induce an occasional interchange between labials 
and gutturals.* This partially accounts for the forms Bddavog (acorn) Latin Glans:— 
iiKos (wolf) Latin luPus. In 2z0¢ the guttural is preceded by a partially guttural vowel, 
and in the Latin form, P is preceded by the labial U. 
277. In the Belgian bevrijd and gevrijd (be-freed) there is no transmutation, because be- 
and ge- are distinct prefixes, probably present in Biégapov and [2égapov (eyelid) from Brerew 
(to look,) which may be connected with jdéyecv (to shine) and g-leam. Compare the Ger- 
man Flimmern, and English Glimmer. The stem of B-péy-w and K-péz-c (to ring, c-rack) is 
seen in od-pry-pa (a c-reaking.) [écepo¢ (which of the two,) Aeolic Kézepoc, seem to have a 
different prefix, to a stem seen in the Latin utér, with the same meaning. 
* Olivier, Des Sons de la Parole. Paris, 1844. 
