24. In some dialects, particularly in Rouergue, Limousin, Auvergne, and Dauphiné, a became ạ before a nasal, and at the end of a monosyllable or an oxytone: canem ＞ cạn, grandem ＞ grạnt, cadit ＞ cạ, stat ＞ estạ.
1. The conditions differ somewhat in the various dialects, according as the nasal consonant falls or remains, and is followed by another consonant or not. In Limousin the sound is ą before an n that cannot fall: see § [11], (5). In Rouergue and in Dauphiné, ạ appears before all nasals. The poets generally follow the Limousin usage. See F. Pfützner, Ueber die Aussprache des provenzalischen A, Halle, 1884.
ẹ
25. Cl. L. ē, ĭ, œ ＞ V. L. ẹ ＞ Pr. ẹ: habēre ＞ avẹr, mē ＞ mẹ, mensem ＞ mẹs, plēnum ＞ plẹn, rēgem ＞ rẹi, vēndĕre ＞ vẹndre; ĭnter ＞ ẹntre, fĭdem ＞ fẹ, malĭtia ＞ malẹza, mĭnus ＞ mẹns, mĭttĕre ＞ mẹtre, sĭccum ＞ sẹc, vĭrĭdem ＞ vẹrt, pœna ＞ pẹna.
1. Some words have ę instead of ẹ:—
(a) The ending -ētis in the present indicative becomes -ętz through the analogy of ętz ＜ ĕstis.
(b) Camęl (also ẹ), candęla (also ẹ), cruzęl, fizęl (also ẹ), maissęla have ę through the analogy of the suffix -ęl ＜ -ĕllus. In camel the substitution probably goes back to Vulgar Latin.
(c) Many learned words, including proper names, have ę for ẹ: decręt, Elizabęt, Moysęs, pantęra, requięs, secręt (ẹ), sencęr.
(d) Espęr for espẹr ＜ spēro, quęt for quẹt ＜ qu(i)ētum are perhaps bad rhymes. Bartolomeo Zorzi, a Venetian, rhymes -ẹs with -ęs; in Catalan these two endings were not distinguished.