• FishFace@piefed.social
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    3 days ago

    Yes, Latin qu was pronounced /kʷ/, which became straight /kw/ in English. I don’t know which it was in Old French. Italian does have qu which is pronounced /kw/.

      • FishFace@piefed.social
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        2 days ago

        Sorry bud, but in German it usually (though not always ill grant you) is pronounced /kv/ :) quark, quasseln, usw

        • hikaru755@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          Oh dang you’re right, read your comment too quickly and mixed up v and w, lol

          What’s the difference between /kʷ/ and /kw/ though? Never seen that first notation

          • FishFace@piefed.social
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            2 days ago

            The former is a labialised consonant, so the lips are brought close together, like to pronounce a /w/, but while saying a k. The general term is “secondary articulation”. I think the most famous of these, at least in European languages, is palatalisation.

    • Axolotl@feddit.it
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      3 days ago

      Italian does have qu which is pronounced /kw/.

      I can confirm this as native speaker :3