Sievers Eduard. Grammar of Old English

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THE

CONSONANTS.

107

(255.

3),

*bfd<y,

etc.

The

spelling

is at

times conformed

the

etymology,

as in

l$itjow,

lddtow,

and

such

forms

are

the

regular

ones

when the

t, d,

and

<3F

belong

different

words.

NOTE

5. The

assimilation of initials and

finals is

not

carried

out

with

entire

consistency

until the date of

the

Ormulum.

See

article

F. A. Blackburn in

American Journal

Philology,

III.

46-58.

ftd

(with

sonant 3

201.

mostly preserved,

and

does not

pass

into dd till

late

period

(4O5.

;

retained,

except

when

simplified

(225).

s3F

becomes

st,

though

the

etymological

spelling

often holds

its

ground

as s9":

so in

the verbs

cfest,

wiext,

side

with

cfesflF,

\viex9"

(359.

6);

abstract

nouns

ending

~ffu,

m^telfestu,

lack

offood

;

r6ce-

Ifestu,

recklessness

;

also

when final s and

initial

come

together

in the

sing,

of the

verb,

hilpestu,

hafastu

(from

liilpes

ffu,

hafas

<Tu),

from

which

the

later and

usual

forms of the

sing,

-st

are

then

deduced

(357).

NOTE

For WS.

sff

from

older

st see

196. 1.

ffs is often

retained:

bHffs,

bliss;

blffisian,

rejoice;

liars,

mildness

(perhaps only etymological

spelling)

;

but

usually

passes

into

ss :

bliss, blissian,

liss

(with

short

vowel?);

also

cwist

(cwist),

from

cwiflFest,

cwiarst.

203. s

one

the

commonest sounds of

OE.,

may

occupy any

position

in the

word,

and is

also

subject

gemination

sunu,

son

; sittan,

sit

;

sceal,

shall

;

sprecan,

speak

;

stqndan,

stand

;

sl&pan,

sleep

;

sinael,

small;

snottor,

wise;

sweltan,

die;

medially

and

finally:

c^osan,

choose;

wesan,

be;

flsc,

fish;

giest,

108

PHONOLOGY.

guest

;

cosp,

fetter

; cyssan,

kiss

;

assa,

ass,

etc.

Com-

bined with

preceding

it becomes

(209;

221.

2).

204.

The

sound

Germ,

was

that of

surd dental

spirant

;

and in like

manner

OE. s was

first,

all

probability,

surd,

as Germ,

sonant

z had

either

become

or been

entirely

lost

(181

ff.).

However,

it is not

impossible

that

the

modern

Eng. change

a sonant

spirant

did

already

take

place

between

voiced

sounds

OE.,

preterits

Ifesde,

rsfesde,

from

Ifesan,

rsfesan,

contrasted

with

such as

cyste

from

cyssan

(405.

and

201

;

but also

198.

4).

205.

Concerning

the

s it is

especially

to be observed

There is

grammatical change

between

s and r

(234).

For

the combinations

st and

ss from dental

see

232

;

for st

from S3

202.

;

s<y

from

st,

196

;

ss from

sr,

180,

from

9"s,

202.

;

for

scl, sen,

sciii,

instead

si,

sn.

sin.

210. 1.

The

combinations sc and

sp,

especially

later

WS. and

when

medial,

often

undergo

metathesis

(hs,

but

usually

and

thus

ascitui,

ask

;

wascan,

wash;

asce, ashes;

fiscas,

fishes;

ttiscas,

tusks;

often

assume

the forms csian

(ahsian,

tixian),

waxan,

axe,

fixas,

ttixas.

So also

betwux,

between

(329)

; muxle,

mussel,

etc.;

cosp

and

cops,

fetter;

cirpsian,

crisp

(cf. 179).

NOTE 1.

The sound

ts is

sometimes,

but

very

rarely,

denoted

the

letter z :

bezt,

best

;

mil/.,

yrace

;

draconze,

Lat. draeontea

;

North,

baezere

(baedzere,

bezera),

Baptist.

In North,

it is sometimes

represented

c :

plaice,

Lat.

platea.

Otherwise ts

retained,

(ge)bryt8ena,y>a<7men

the

foreign

name

Atsur,

^rEtsur

(ON.

Qzurr)

;

palentse,

palativm

;

dracentse,

draeontea

;

yntse,

nnc.ia

;

though

Adsur

(Adzurus), dragense,

yndse

(ynse),

occasionally

occur.

THE

CONSONANTS.

109

NOTE

After

there is

frequent

loss

of t

from

ts,

especially

LWS.:

ynse,

blnst,

etc.

(198.

359.

2).

Crutturah

and

Palatals.

206.

general.

The

letters c

(k,

q), g,

(x)

repre-

sent in

OE.

both

gutturals

arid

palatals.

The

latter

seem to

have been

unknown

Germanic,

which

pos-

sessed

only

smooth

guttural

surd

spirant

(the

German ch in

ach),

sonant

spirant

and

perhaps

certain

cases a

sonant

stop

These sounds

were

transferred to

primitive

OE. with-

out

change

;

medial

was still

guttural,

since

was

capable

causing breaking

(82

ff.)

;

and

neither

nor

hinders

the

occurrence

u-umlaut

(106.

;

107.

;

162.

l),

as would

probably

have been the case

were

they

pro-

nounced

palatals.

the

course of time the

original

gutturals

became

palatals

certain

situations,

and

these

again

affected the sounds

in their

vicinity

particular

manner. The more

important

these results

may

be summed

as follows :

Initial

became

palatal

before the

primary

palatal

vowels

ae, (=

Germ.

Lat.

older

eo,

o, i, f,

and their

i-umlauts,

but

remained

guttural

be-

fore the

guttural

vowels

(short

and

long

and

u),

their

i-umlauts

(7.

note),

and

consonants

;

hence their

effect

upon

the

primary palatal

vowels

and their um-

lauts,

but

not

upon

the

other

vowels

(74-76. 1).

Initial sc

shows

tendency

palatalization

with-

out

regard

the

following

vowel

(76).

Initial

became

mere

breathing,

and underwent

other marked

change.

final,

and in

the combinations

hh,

ht,

and

(=lis)

usually

became

palatal

in the

Ps.

and

North.,

as the

palatal

umlaut

proves

(162).

Palatal

influence

110

PHONOLOGY.

extends

in WS.

only

to the

hh, ht,

and

which fol-

low

(lOl),

rarely

to those which follow ea

(thus

hliehhan,

nieht, mieht,

though

these

words

are

also

affected

i-umlaut).

Medial

c and

likewise tend

palatal pronuncia-

tion.

Consequently

they prevent

WS. the occurrence

the

u-umlaut

of a

and

(I05*ff.),

and

cause

palatal

umlaut

io to

(101

;

107)

;

for their

influence

the

Ps.

and

North,

see

162.

This

tendency,

however,

is not

to be

regarded

as coincident

with full

palatalization,

for

the

simple

medial

c and

are

distinguished

from the

fully

palatalized

c, g,

due

older

i, j,

well

OE.

orthography

the

subsequent phonetic

develop-

ment

of the

language.

Medial

and

inclusive

the

geminates

and

(207

;

216)

are

changed

real

palatals

before older

(like

initial

c, g,

above),

and retain this

character

even after

the

has

disappeared

(177).

indicate the

palatal pronunciation

there

frequently

insertion

of e

(rarely

before

o :

mceas,

me'cea

(246),

se'cean,

r^ccean, ff^ncean

(407)

;

fylgean

(416.

note

5),

licgean

(372),

s^cgean

(415),

along

with

me'cas, m6ca,

s<V;m,

r^ccan,

ff^ncan,

fylgan, licgan,

s^cgan;

me.nigeo,

str^ngeo, gefylceo,

-cio

(246),

andf^ngeost,

beside

me.nigo,

str^ngo,

gefylco, andf^ngost.

In a similar

manner,

sometimes inserted before

u :

cium,

dr^n-

cium,

dr^ggium,

side

with

6cum,

dr^ncum,

drygum,

etc.

This

insertion

rarely

takes

place

after sc.

NOTE.

The most

trustworthy

criterion for the

complete

palataliza-

tion

c is the

subsequent change

c' to

ch. For

palatal

c in

the

initial

position

cf.

Eng.

chaff, cheese,

cheap,

churl, chew, child,

chill

OE.

ceaf, ceese, ceap,

ceorl,

ce"owan, cild,

ciele

(cyle)

;

but

key,

keel,

keen,

kin,

king,

kiss

OE.

caeg,

celan,

ce"ne, cyn,

THE

CONSONANTS.

Ill

cyning, cyssan,

etc.;

for

the

medial

position

(with palatalization

J).

rich,

reach,

teach,

fetch

rfce,

rsecean,

tsecean,

feccean;

after

rare,

as in

which,

such,

ME.

ich,

adv.

-lich,

etc.

Less

evident

the

palatalization

the case of

;

yet

it must

observed that

Eng. dge

regularly

corresponds

to OE.

from

(216

;

227)

bridge,

hedge

OE.

brycg,

hecg,

etc.

(k,

x).

207. c

is the

character for

the surd

guttural

stop

and

the

surd

palatal stop.

stands

before all

vowels,

even

casere,

emperor,

cosp,

fetter,

cliff,

known,

well

cefer,

beetle,

ceald,

cold,

ce^osan, choose, cild,

child,

cynn,

kin

;

medially,

sacan,

quarrel,

swicol,

decep-

tive,

sacu,

quarrel,

aecer,

field,

hdciht, curved;

also

gemmated,

saec,

saecces, sack, 3>e.ccan,

cover,

etc.

NOTE 1. For

see

208

;

for

instead

ht,

221.

note

;

for

ce, ci,

denoting

the

palatal

206. 6.

NOTE

Now

and

then the Mss. write k for

kennan, ke*ne,

kneo,

folkes,

aeker,

giok

;

and likewise

for

cc :

fficke.

WS.

this k is found

somewhat

frequently

before

the

which has

sprung

from

(31)

kynn, kyning,

kyne-

compound

words

(like-

wise

kining,

king)

for

cynn,

etc.

Perhaps

the k

intended to

denote

the

guttural

sound

(206.

1).

208. The sound of the Latin

generally

denoted

cw,

or,

the

older

texts,

cu:

cweflFan, cwic,

cwdmon,

older

cueffan, cuic,

cudmun.

Only

isolated

examples

is the

Latin

employed

as a

substitute,

quidu,

quiffa, quicae,

Ep.

;

Quoen8>ry?)F,

Cod.

Dipl.,

A.D.

811

;

que"mde,

Blickling

Glosses,

and

not

in-

frequently

the

Corpus

Glosses.

209. For

(originally

due

the

syncope

vowel,

metathesis

sc)

usually

found :

rfxian,

reign;

aex, axe; sixian,

ask;

axe,

ashes

(205.3);

betweox,

between

(329);

for

rfcsian

(OHG.

rfcliisdn),

112 PHONOLOGY.

etc.

The

latter

forms,

however,

sometimes

occur.

NOTE 1. Instead

of this

x the scribes

now

and then write hs:

tihsiiin,

betweohs(n)

(221. 2).

NOTE

2. The sound

variously

represented,

not

only by

and

hs,

above,

but

also

ex, hx,

xs, cxs, hxs,

gs.

210.

The

following irregularities

regard

are

still

to be noted

c is

occasionally

inserted

the combinations

si,

sm,

scleacnes,

asclacad,

Kent. Gl.

694,

696

;

scm4g-

ende,

Ps. 118.

129;

scnlcendan,

Cura Past. 155.

17;

srla t

carpebat

Corp.

433

; scluncon,

Ep.

Alex.

320,

etc.

the

North,

dialect

final c

often

passes

into

(written

ch,

and even

g),

especially

the

conjunction

ah, but,

and

the

pronouns

(as

an enclitic likewise

ig,

saegdig, forgeldig,

for

saegde ic, forgeldo

ic),

meh

(mech),

STeh,

tisih

(tisich,

tisig),

iuih

(iuh),

332;

ah instead

is also found in

the other

dialects.

Medial

c in North, is

often

written ch

folches,

werches,

wlgnches, swindle, stanches,

Rush.

NOTE. For

place

see 215.

LWS.

sometimes

becomes

before inflectional

st and 9.

S-

211

The letter

not

only

denotes the

semi-vowel

(175.

2),

but is also

the

symbol

of a

guttural,

corre-

sponding

etymologically

with

the Goth.

From

the

fact that

this sound

alliterates

with OE.

and

that

occasionally

interchanges

with

and

we are

justified

inferring

that it is to

regarded

on the

whole as a

spirant,

and

not as

sonant

stop.

212.

Initially,

guttural spirant

in the cases

designated

under

206. l:

galan,

sing

;

gdst,

ghost;

gold,

THE

CONSONANTS.

113

gold

; guma,

man

;

gylden,

golden

;

glaed,

glad

;

gnorn,

sorrow

;

grafan,

grave;

probably

also

before

ae,

as in

setgaedere,

together.

the other

hand,

it is

palatal

spirant

before

ea, eo, i,

ie:

geldan,

gieldan,

yield;

geaf,

gave;

ge'afoii,

(they)

gave

;

ge"otan,

pour

;

gift,

etc.

NOTE.

Change

is shown

iarwan,

Rush.

WS.

glerwan,

North,

gearwla

(408. 1)

;

likewise

Kent.

Aethiliaeardl,

Cod.

Dipl.,

A.D.

732;

Eaniardi,

A.D.

778;

-."ESVlieard,

A.D.

805,

for

-geard,

etc.

213.

Medially

and

finally

after

vowels

and

r, 1,

the

pronunciation

varies between

guttural

and

palatal

spi-

rant,

according

to the

principles

laid

down in 206.

regn,

rain

;

rignan,

rain

;

daeges,

day

;

lagu,

sea

;

drtfg,

drew

;

beorgan,

conceal;

belgan,

grow

angry.

For

as the

representative

palatal

see

206.

NOTE.

For

after

r, 1,

the

digraph

is not

infrequently employed

when'the combination is

preceded

y, e,

ori:

byrlg

(284), gfebyllgff,

anger

;

myrigff,

mirigff, mirth;

fyligan,

fylga.n,folloiv,

etc.

The

frequently dropped

from

this

combination,

according

214.

fyliaff,

fyliende, wyrlaff,

etc.

u is sometimes

introduced, though

but

seldom,

when u

precedes:

burug

for

burg

(284).

214. That

is a

spirant

the

positions

named

above

will be manifest

upon

consideration

the

following

changes

the

later

documents

final

passes

more or less

regularly

into

after a

long guttural

vowel

and

after

any long

vowel when followed

a surd consonant

which has been

conjoined

with it as a result

syncope

g<noli,

enough,

bah,

ring,

st&h,

ascended, stibst,

climbst,

stfhff,

climbs,

for

gendg, bag, stdg,

stfgst,

stfgQ

;

beorh, mountain,

burh,

borough,

sorh, care,

yrharo,

cowardice,

for

beorg,

burg, sorg,

iergfru

;

less

frequently

when

it ends a

syllable

and

is followed

a voiced

con-

sonant

: dhlaeca

and

tiglaeca,

dfohla

from

dfogol,

gloomy.

114

PHONOLOGY.

Occasionally,

too,

passes

into

after short vowels:

after

palatal

vowels

awseh

(aweh),

weighed;

after

short a in the

foreign

word

utlali,

outlaw

;

after short

getoh,

spasm,

hohful,

careful;

and before

consonants,

as in

fuhlas, birds, falmodon,

rejoiced,

oferwrolme

(for

oferwrogenne),

clothed,

etc.

the

North, dialect

this

change

occurs most

frequently

in an unaccentuated

syllable,

arrftih, sextih, suinnib,

for

ftrftig,

sextig,

synnig.

This

interchange

and

is not to be confound-

with

the

grammatical change

these

two sounds

(233

ff.).

Further

proofs

that

OE.

spirant

are

afforded

the

following

equivalences.

It is

sometimes

represented

btfgh,

shoulder

;

daghian,

dye

;

ffwtfgh,

washed;

sltigb,

slew;

imdernagh

(for

underlmagh),

underwent

;

br^gh,

eyelid

;

^aghffyrl,

window

;

hg:

ffwtfbg,

ivashed

;

gestdbg,

ascended; ge-

wehgen,

proceeded

;

wihga,

warrior

;

onwrihgnes,

rev-

elation

;

brbg,

eyelid;

dfligol, secret;

wdhg,

crooked;

after

onwealhg,

whole

;

after

burhg,

city

;

beorhgan,

defend;

hearhg,

temple

;

sorlig,

sorrow;

sorh-

giende,

sorrowing;

morhgen,

morning;

fearnbeorhging.

assimilation of

lib,

hch, ch,

takes

place

n6h(c)bebtir,

-byrin,

neighbor;

North,

the combina-

tion

represented

by simple

n^hebrir.

NOTE

Occasionally,

later

documents,

h stands for

when

medial

between

vowels

h^retoha,

dahum, mahan,

for

h^retoga,

dagum, magan.

NOTE 2.

F.or

final

as a

substitute for h

see

223.

note 1.

When

following

palatal

vowel

the

end of

syllable,

sometimes

passes

into i. This

phenomenon

peculiar

Kentish,

and

chief criterion

of this

THE

CONSONANTS.

115

dialect. So

already

Ep.

gri,

bodei;

m&banda,

Cod.

Dipl.,

A.D. 831

;

6ihwelc,

Deimund,

A.D. 832

;

del,

A.D.

837;

meiOTidd,

Kent.

Gl., etc.,

for

bodeg,

mV,

6ghwelc, deg,

megffhdd.

LWS. has

-ig

for

-g.

often

disappears

after a

palatal

vowel,

and

when

followed

one

the

voiced

consonants

Of,

the

preceding

vowel

being simultaneously

lengthened

mseden, maiden, ssfede,

gessfed

(416.

note

3), lde,

gel^d

(40l),

br^dan, brandish, str^dan,

dissipate

(389),

-h^dig,

minded,

for

saegde,

l^gde,

bregdan,

stregdan, -hygdig,

etc.

;

tfSlan,

grant,

for

tigffian ;

ffnian, serve, SInen,

handmaid, frinan,

inquire,

rfnan,

rain, ongan,

against,

for

ffegnian,

ffignen,

frignan,

rignan,

onge(a)gn.

Syn-

cope

likewise

takes

place

before

originally

syllabic

n :

wsfen,

wain, r6n, rain,

3ten, thane,

for

wsegn,

regn,

ffegn

(though

these

forms are

perhaps

due to

the

analogy

polysyllables

wsfcnes, rnes,

atenes).

Not

till a

later

period

do we now

and

then encounter

syncope

before

as in

siuOl

for

sn&gl,

snail.

NOTE 3.

is lost after a

guttural

vowel,

fr&n, frftnnii,

ge-

frfineii,

from

frinan,

and

brudon,

broden, strodeii,

from

bredan,

stredau

(389),

but

probably through

the influence

the

present

forms with

palatal

vowels.

NOTE

Ecthlipsis

between consonants

takes

place

monies,

inoriie

(m^rne),

gen.

dat.

sing,

from

iiiorgen,

morn.

NOTE

5. In LWS.

frequently

lost

before ea

and

eo,

and

again

prefixed

to an

ea,

eo,

which do

not

require

it. This would

indicate

shifting

of the stress to the

second

element

of the

diphthong.

ige

(from

igi)

often

contracted to

f :

fl,

porcupine

;

sflhearwan,

Ethiopians;

list,

liest

;

litf, lies;

gelire,

adultery,

for

igel,

sigel-,

ligest,

ligeff,

geligere.

The

ending

-ig

often loses its

most

frequently

when

medial,

as in

syndrie,

b^fle, bungrie,

for

syndrige,

116

PHONOLOGY.

h^fige,

hungrige;

m$nio

for

m^nigo,

multitude;

but

also

when

final:

sfcni,

manifold,

dysi

(frequent

later

texts)

The

of a

stressed

syllable

occasionally

undergoes

similar

loss

drfe,

dry,

fan,

put

flight,

for

dryge, aflfgan.

manner,

frequently

contracted

(i)

when

the first member

compound

word:

stirdp,

stirrup,

stlwita,

stiward, steward,

from

stfgrap,

stig-

wita, stigweard.

LWS. sometimes

has uw for

ug:

adruwiau,

dry

;

suwian,

be silent,

215.

The combination

retains

its

unaltered,

except

that it is

often

replaced,

when

final,

-nc, -ncg,

-ngc

Unihtherinc,

Cod.

Dipl.,

A.D.

811

;

Cymesinc,

A.D. 822

;

Th4odningc,

A.D.

779

;

Casincg, CUlincg,

A.D. 814

;

S^leberhtincg,

A.D.

814. This

etc.,

even

forces

itself

into

the medial

position

cynincges,

A.D.

814

;

swuluncga,

ges<?mnuncgse,Cod.

Dipl.,

A.D. 805-831.

Even

egg

occurs :

Geddincggum,

A.D.

825;

TJuigincgga,

A.D.

805-831.

similar

change

medial

nc,

when the com-

bination is

immediately

followed

surd,

is not

un-

common

when the

juxtaposition

the result of vowel

syncope

sprinc<V

springs

;

bryncKJ

brings

;

str^ncff,

strength

;

H^ncstes,

beside

H^ngestes ;

cf.

l^ncten

(l^nten)

for

l^ngten,

spring

;

geancsumian,

vex

;

anxumnysse,

anxiety.

That

the

pronunciation

was

such

cases,

even

when

was

written,

appears

from

the

occasional

substitution

for

original

dringar,

drinks;

31ngJ>,

seems,

etc.

Originally

medial

often

written as c after the

surd

craeftca

for

craeftiga

(even

craefca,

crseftica).

Hence

we must

conclude that

the

the combination

denoted

the

surd

guttural

stop.