Proto-Samic

Vowel changes

Possibly original Proto-Uralic: *e → *ɪ / _Ci (see *ê)

Shared with Finnic & Mordvinic

• ë → a
• e → e / _{j w x} (ie. does not become *ɪ → *ɤ)

Shared with Mordvinic

• ü → i (feeds the next changes)
• i → iː / _{j x}
• u → uː / _{w x}
• i u → ɪ ʊ (*iː *uː remain) (also shared with Nenets!)

Remainder

• V → Vː / [-HIGH] (also shared with Nenets!)
• eː äː oː → ea aa oa / _C{aː, oː} (note that this *aː is distinct from *ɑː!)
• äː ɑː → eː oː / [+STR] (shared with Finnic)
• aː → eː / [-STR]
• ɪ ʊ → ɤ o (a late change - consider eg the northern Lappland toponym *ɤnárɤš → Finnish Inari)

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This results in the following inventory:

• long vowels */iː eː ea aː oa oː uː/ <í é ea á oa ó ú>
• short vowels */ɤ o/ <ë o>

The shortening of iː uː → i u and the diphthongization eː oː → ie uo may postdate Proto-Samic; the former have bimoraic reflexes /ij uv/ in South Samic.

Consonant changes

Proto-Uralic to Pre-Samic (≈ "Finno-Volgaic")

• Vx → Vː / _C
• w → ∅ / _{y u o} (shared with Finnic, Mordvinic, Mari)
• j → ∅ / _{i e} (not sure about this)

Pre-Samic to Proto-Samic

• x, ŋ → *w / _t (*xt only occurring in newer derivativs)
• x → k
• ðʲ → ð (also lʲ → l, if it exists separately)
• sʲ <ś> → tɕ <č> _V
• tʃ ʃ <č š> → ts s <c s>
• ∅ → j / #_eː
• ∅ → v / #_oː (these after the splitting off of *oa *ea)
• w → v (even syllable-finally)