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”) Table 3: Mann (“person, man”) Singular Plural Singular Plural Nom. fōt fēt Nom. mann menn Acc. fōt fēt Acc. mann menn Gen. fōtes fōta Gen. mannes manna Dat. fēt fōtum Dat. menn mannum PG *fōts , ds *fōti , nap *fōtiz 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”) Table 5: Mann (“person, man”) Singular Plural Singular Plural Nom. fōt fēt Nom. mann menn Acc. fōt fēt Acc. mann menn Gen. fōtes fōta Gen. mannes manna Dat. fēt fōtum Dat. menn mannum PG *fōts , ds *fōti , nap *fōtiz PG *mann , ds *manni , nap *manniz

▶ 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 .)

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 Table 8: treten Proto-Germanic German Proto-Germanic German 1sg *farō fahre 1sg *trudō trete 2sg *farizi fährst 2sg *trudizi trittst 3sg *faridi fährt 3sg *trudidi tritt NB the stem vowel became e in PWG.

i -Mutation in Old English Strong Verbs Table 9: faran (“go, travel”) Table 10: tredan (“step”) Proto-Germanic Old English Proto-Germanic Old English 1sg *farō fare 1sg *trudō trede 2sg *farizi færst 2sg *trudizi tritst 3sg *faridi færþ 3sg *trudidi tritt NB the stem vowel became e in PWG.

Front Mutation in Old English Weak Verbs Proto-Germanic Old English Table 11: Proto-Germanic *satjaną (“set”) Table 12: Old English settan (“set”) Singular Plural Singular Plural 1 *satjō satjamaz 1 *sette settaþ 2 *satisi satiþ 2 *setst settaþ 3 *satiþi satjanþi 3 *sett settaþ (Cf. German setzen , MnE set .)

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

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)

▶ 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 ▶ Short æ becomes ea if followed by ▶ h ▶ h ▶ r + consonant ▶ r + consonant ▶ l + consonant

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 ▶ Short æ becomes ea if followed by ▶ h ▶ h ▶ r + consonant ▶ r + consonant ▶ l + consonant ▶ PG *werką > OE weorc (“work”; cf. German Werk ) ▶ PG *aldaz > Proto-English *æld > OE eald (“old”; cf. German alt )

Breaking ▶ Short e becomes eo if followed by ▶ Short æ becomes ea if followed by ▶ h ▶ h ▶ r + consonant ▶ 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 Voiced Voiceless Voiceless Stops Stops Stops Fricatives b h b p b d h d t d g h 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.