Sound Laws P . S. Langeslag i -Mutated Plurals in Present-Day - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Sound Laws

P . S. Langeslag

i-Mutated Plurals in Present-Day English

Table 1: A selection of i-mutated plurals in Present-Day English

goose geese foot feet man men woman women mouse mice louse lice

i-Mutation in Old English Consonant Stems

Table 2: Fōt (“foot”)

Singular Plural Nom. fōt fēt Acc. fōt fēt Gen. fōtes fōta Dat. fēt fōtum PG *fōts, ds *fōti, nap *fōtiz

Table 3: Mann (“person, man”)

Singular Plural Nom. mann menn Acc. mann menn Gen. mannes manna Dat. menn mannum PG *mann, ds *manni, nap *manniz

Figure 1: Old English vowel chart

Figure 2: Front mutation

i-Mutation in Old English Consonant Stems

Table 4: Fōt (“foot”)

Singular Plural Nom. fōt fēt Acc. fōt fēt Gen. fōtes fōta Dat. fēt fōtum PG *fōts, ds *fōti, nap *fōtiz

Table 5: Mann (“person, man”)

Singular Plural Nom. mann menn Acc. mann menn Gen. mannes manna Dat. menn mannum PG *mann, ds *manni, nap *manniz

What about dæg?

Table 6: Dæg (“day,” masc. a-stem)

Singular Plural Nom. dæg dagas Acc. dæg dagas Gen. dæges daga Dat. dæge dagum (Cf. German Tag, MnE day.) ▶ PG a fsonted to OE æ unless followed by a nasal (Campbell §131) ▶ æ was then restored to a before a back vowel (Campbell §157)

What about dæg?

Table 6: Dæg (“day,” masc. a-stem)

Singular Plural Nom. dæg dagas Acc. dæg dagas Gen. dæges daga Dat. dæge dagum (Cf. German Tag, MnE day.) ▶ PG a fsonted to OE æ unless followed by a nasal (Campbell §131) ▶ æ was then restored to a before a back vowel (Campbell §157)

i-Mutation in German Strong Verbs

Table 7: fahren

Proto-Germanic German 1sg *farō fahre 2sg *farizi fährst 3sg *faridi fährt

Table 8: treten

Proto-Germanic German 1sg *trudō trete 2sg *trudizi trittst 3sg *trudidi tritt NB the stem vowel became e in PWG.

i-Mutation in Old English Strong Verbs

Table 9: faran (“go, travel”)

Proto-Germanic Old English 1sg *farō fare 2sg *farizi færst 3sg *faridi færþ

Table 10: tredan (“step”)

Proto-Germanic Old English 1sg *trudō trede 2sg *trudizi tritst 3sg *trudidi tritt NB the stem vowel became e in PWG.

Front Mutation in Old English Weak Verbs

Proto-Germanic

Table 11: Proto-Germanic *satjaną (“set”)

Singular Plural 1 *satjō satjamaz 2 *satisi satiþ 3 *satiþi satjanþi

Old English

Table 12: Old English settan (“set”)

Singular Plural 1 *sette settaþ 2 *setst settaþ 3 *sett settaþ (Cf. German setzen, MnE set.)

Syncope

Table 13: Engel (“angel,” masc. a-stem)

Singular Plural Nom. engel englas Acc. engel englas Gen. engles engla Dat. engle englum

Conditions

• 1. The word has a dissyllabic stem;
• 2. Its first syllable has a long vowel, or a short vowel followed by two consonants;
• 3. Its second syllable has a short vowel followed by no more than one consonant;

Effect

▶ When an ending is added, the second vowel disappears: engel + -es → engles (M&R §42)

Syncope

Table 13: Engel (“angel,” masc. a-stem)

Singular Plural Nom. engel englas Acc. engel englas Gen. engles engla Dat. engle englum

Conditions

• 1. The word has a dissyllabic stem;
• 2. Its first syllable has a long vowel, or a short vowel followed by two consonants;
• 3. Its second syllable has a short vowel followed by no more than one consonant;

Effect

▶ When an ending is added, the second vowel disappears: engel + -es → engles (M&R §42)

Breaking

▶ Short e becomes eo if followed by

▶ h ▶ r + consonant

▶ Short æ becomes ea if followed by

▶ h ▶ r + consonant ▶ l + consonant

▶ PG *werką > OE weorc (“work”; cf. German Werk) ▶ PG *aldaz > Proto-English *æld > OE eald (“old”; cf. German alt)

Table 14: The effect of breaking on the principal parts of class III strong verbs

Infinitive Past Singular Past Plural Past Participle Without breaking bregdan brægd brugdon brogden With breaking weorpan wearp wurpon worpen

Breaking

▶ Short e becomes eo if followed by

▶ h ▶ r + consonant

▶ Short æ becomes ea if followed by

▶ h ▶ r + consonant ▶ l + consonant

▶ PG *werką > OE weorc (“work”; cf. German Werk) ▶ PG *aldaz > Proto-English *æld > OE eald (“old”; cf. German alt)

Table 14: The effect of breaking on the principal parts of class III strong verbs

Infinitive Past Singular Past Plural Past Participle Without breaking bregdan brægd brugdon brogden With breaking weorpan wearp wurpon worpen

Breaking

▶ Short e becomes eo if followed by

▶ h ▶ r + consonant

▶ Short æ becomes ea if followed by

▶ h ▶ r + consonant ▶ l + consonant

▶ PG *werką > OE weorc (“work”; cf. German Werk) ▶ PG *aldaz > Proto-English *æld > OE eald (“old”; cf. German alt)

Table 14: The effect of breaking on the principal parts of class III strong verbs

Infinitive Past Singular Past Plural Past Participle Without breaking bregdan brægd brugdon brogden With breaking weorpan wearp wurpon worpen

Grimm’s Law and Verner’s Law

Table 15: Grimm’s Law and Verner’s Law

Aspirated Voiced Stops → Voiced Stops → Voiceless Stops → Voiceless Fricatives bh → b → p → b dh → d → t → d gh → g → k → g s → r immediately afuer IE word stress: p → f t → θ k → x s → s

Alternation Due to Verner’s Law

▶ s : r ▶ þ : d ▶ (*)h : g ▶ (*)h : w

Table 16: Alternation in strong verbs

Infinitive

• Pret. Sg.
• Pret. Pl.

Past Ptc.

• Cf. English
• Cf. German

fsēosan fsēas fsuron fsoren fseeze fsieren cēosan cēas curon coren choose küren snīþan snāþ snidon sniden schneiden flēon flēah flugon flogen flee fliehen sēon seah sāwon sewen see sehen

Example Sentences

(1) Wa þonne þam menn þe her on þisum life geearnað him hellewite. (2) Eage wið eagan, toþ wiþ teð, hand wiþ handa, fot wiþ fet. (3) Se Hælend sylf cymð mid his scinendum englum. (4) He is deofles sunu, ðe þe deofles weorc wyrcð. (5) Þa nolde Basilla brydguman geceosan nænne butan Crist þe heo gecoren hæfde. (6) He geseah on his gesihðe swylce feower nytenu; an þæra feower nytena wæs gesewen swilce mannes ansyn.

langeslag.uni-goettingen.de

Works Cited

Campbell, Alistair. Old English Grammar. Oxford: Clarendon, 1959. Mitchell, Bruce, and Fred C. Robinson. A Guide to Old English. 8th ed. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.