For some of these words the voiceless velar fricative [x] (as in Scots dialect loch ) was lost, and for others it became [f]. In either case the diphthong became a monophthong. The [f], when present, had a subsequent effect on the pronunciation of the vowel.

The voiceless velar fricative [x], as heard in the Scots dialect pronunciation of loch , is sounded with the middle-and-back of the tongue raised to the rear of the oral cavity.