final "oo" in Sicilian dialect

[Scott Sadowsky]

On 2003-02-05 21:30, Peter Farruggio wrote the following:

>I think this vowel substitution may not be limited to the Sicilian
>dialect(s), but may be common to several Southern Italian regions.

Not to mention Portuguese (<tudo>=[tudu], <obrigado>=[obrigadu], etc.).

It's also common in the Spanish of the Andean highlands, but there it's not
a fossil from Latin but the result of the influence of the Quechua
substrate, with its three-vowel system (a, i, u).

BTW, would this really be a *substitution* in Italian dialects?  Is it not
more likely to be a case of *preservation*?

Cheers,
Scott