Abstract
The coalescence of multiple phonemes into one.
Several mergers took place in the consonantal system between PIE and the Classical period, while later mergers transformed the vowel system as it developed into Koine.
As a centum language, one important set of mergers in the prehistory of Greek was between the plain velars *k, *g, *gʰ and their palatovelar counterparts *ḱ, *ǵ, *ǵʰ (examples from Sihler 1995).
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| oîkos | *woyḱ-o- | ‘house(hold)’ |
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| génos | *ǵenh₁- | ‘race, kind’ |
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| khéō | *ǵʰew- | ‘I pour’ |
The labiovelars*kʷ, *gʷ, and *gʷʰ inherit…