202
INFLECTION.
NOTE.
In
respect
to the use
of
umlaut,
WS. takes the lead.
Its
earliest
documents,
like the
Cura
Past.,
exhibit
umlaut of
every
vowel
capable
of
undergoing
it,
especially
in the
syncopated
forms
(359)
:
helpan,
hilpff ;
beran,
bired,
biereff
(370.
note);
weorpan,
wierpft ;
faran,
fereS
1
; weaxan,
wiexff
;
feallan,
fielS
1
;
stqndan,
stejit;
cnawan,
cnsfewff
;
hatan, h&t;
flowan,
flewS
1
; Ifican,
lycff;
I n t ; i
n
,
lyt
;
heawan,
hiewff
;
<'
osaii,
ciesff,
etc.
The
same
manu-
scripts,
however,
likewise
have forms
without umlaut
;
in
particular,
the verbs
containing
a in the
radical
syllable,
like
faran,
generally
have
ae instead
of
3:
fserest,
faereff.
In certain later
documents
the
umlaut
is the
rule
only
in verbs whose radical
syllable
contains
e,
co:
helpan,
hilpeff; beran,
blreff,
byreff;
weorpan, wyrpeff;
while
in the
other
classes of verbs the
prevalent
forms are those
with-
out
umlaut
(and
with fuller
ending,
358.
note)
:
weax
eff, fealleff,
st
<m<l'<v.
cnaweff,
hdteff,
floweff,
buge8F,
heaweS
1
, coseff,
etc.
Kentish
is
very
irregular
in
respect
to this
umlaut,
the
verbs of
the
II. and
III. ablaut classes often
remaining unchanged.
On the
whole,
it inclines
to follow
the
WS. rule.
The Psalter takes
cognizance
only
of the variation
between
e
and i
(92)
:
helpan,
hilpeff
; beran,
bireS
1
;
stregdan, strigdes;
(so
also
feolan, flleff,
for the
ecthlipsis
of
h,
(218);
but
weorpan, weorpeft; fearan,
fereff
(151.
1);
fiillan,
fa
1 1
a
.V
;
stqndan, stQndeff
;
cnawan,
cnawefr
;
fl6wan,
fldweQ
1
;
I uca
n. lAceff
; ceosan, ceoseff,
etc.
Notwithstanding
what
has been
said above
regarding
verbs with radical
e,
this vowel is not seldom
retained,
especially
where the stem ends in a
single
consonant.
Verbs
with
radical
ea
(breaking)
often exhibit
syncope
in
the
later texts
with-
out umlaut
change
:
fealst,
weaxt.
Verbs of the VI.
ablaut class
frequently
retain radical
a
in the
imp. sing.
:
far, wiffsac,
etc.
(cf. 49).
In
North, the true i-umlaut
is
wanting
;
yet
original
e
appears
as
e
unobscured
by
the u-umlaut of the
remaining
forms
(370)
: cf.
helpa,
helpeff
;
beara,
bereff,
in
contrast with
cearfa,
cearfeff
;
worpa,
worpeff ;
fara,
faereff
;
stQnda, st^ndeff
;
hata,
hateff,
etc.
In
like
manner
the i
of
nioma
(390.
note
2)
remains
as i :
uioma,
nimeff.
Verbs in
-jo-.
372.
Like
biddan
are
inflected
the
verbs
sittan,
fricg(e)an,
licg(e)an (391.
3), h^bban,
hliehhan,
sciep-
pan,
staeppan,
sc^iararan
(392.
4),
which
form their
present
in
Germ,
with
jo.
The
discrepancies
are
confined
to