/h/
SOURCE: OE
/h/
ME /h/ had three different realizations, or allophones, depending upon its phonetic environment.
1. Voiceless velar fricative--initially before vowels and the consonants /l/, /r/, /n/, and /w/. Example: hand "hand."
REFLEX: EME /h/
2. Voiceless velar fricative, but more forcefully articulated than (1)--like ch in Modern High German ach. After back vowels. Example: through "through."
REFLEX: EME /f/
3. Voiceless palatal fricative--after front vowels. Example: right "right."
REFLEX: EME /f/
Except in final position (where they became EME /f/), allophones (2) and (3) disappeared in most dialects during EME.
SPELLING: h, gh, 3
SOUND
CHANGES AFFECTING ME /h/
Loss in consonant clusters
Loss in unstressed position