Why Latin p became English f: Grimm's law and the sound-shift chain
30seconds
Latin says pes, English says foot. Latin tres, English three. Latin cornu, English horn. The swap is not random: when the Germanic languages split off, their consonants shifted in three linked steps, known as Grimm's law, after Jacob Grimm.
Press the three shifts in any order on twelve Latin words and watch them turn into English. Only one of the six possible orders works, because each shift pushes into the space the last one left.
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