Devoiced and voiced w- in where and so forth coexisted for a long time.

清音的w和在单词where等词中浊音的w共存了一段时间。

youdao

Apparently, it was this devoiced, “whispered” w for which Middle English scribes, under French influence, invented the spelling wh-.

显然，正是由于这个清音化，“whispered”中的w在中古英语的文书中，受到法语的影响，发明了拼写wh-。

youdao

Apparently, it was this devoiced, “whispered” w for which Middle English scribes, under French influence, invented the spelling wh-.

显然，正是由于这个清音化，“whispered”中的w在中古英语的文书中，受到法语的影响，发明了拼写wh-。

youdao