Final Theta in Spanish

[Rick Mc Callister]

>Anyway, the history of final /e/-loss in Castilian is a trifle
>complicated.  For example, Latin <dulcem> yielded the expected <duz>,
>well attested in medieval Castilian, but the variant <duce> seemingly
>never disappeared, and modern <dulce> exhibits not only the final /e/
>but also an extra /l/ which it picked up somehow.

dulce is a Latinate form

>As for <doce> '12',
>from <duodecim>, I confess I have little idea why that /e/ is still
>there.

I imagine because *doz & *trez would have been too close to dos & tres
There was possibly also an assimilation to the final /-e/ of once, catorce
& quince which kept the final /-e/ to conform to Spanish phonology

>Larry Trask

Rick Mc Callister
W-1634
Mississippi University for Women
Columbus MS 39701