Sievers Eduard. Grammar of Old English
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THE
VOWELS.
27
subsequently
to
nfol
or
niwol,
niowol)
;
twfefold,
two-
fold;
Grfmbold;
Oswold; Qndsworu,
answer;
hhiford,
lord
(for
*
hlafword
;
thus
in
Ps.
toword,
future,
erfeword,
heir)
;
likewise
h^repoKJ
1
beside
h^repaS
1
(49.
note
1).
NOTK. In
WS.,
ot
has been almost
entirely
supplanted
by
aet
;
there
is,
besides,
an
extremely
rare
form,
at.
In
some
texts,
unstressed
on
tends
toward
an
;
for this
and certain similar
phenomena,
see
65.
note
2.
52.
The
changes
undergone
by
original
a in
cases
not
included under
the
foregoing
are as follows
:
1)
before nasals
it
becomes
<?
(65)
;
i-umlaut
of the
latter is
(89.
2)
;
in
consequence
of
the
loss
of
the nasal
before
a
surd
spirant,
<?
becomes
6
(66)
;
i-umlaut
of
the
latter is
6
(e)
(94).
2)
it
undergoes
breaking
to ea
before
r-,
1-,
and
h-combinations,
and before
final
h
(79 ff.)
;
the
i-umlaut
of
this
ea
is
ie, i,
y
(97
ff.).
3)
it
is
changed
to
ea
through
the influence
of
a
pre-
ceding
palatal
(74 ff.)
;
and in this case also
the i-umlaut
is
ie, i,
y
(97
ff.).
4)
it
undergoes
u-umlaut to ea
(105).
5)
it becomes
ea
by
contraction with a
following
o,
u
(ill).
6)
i-umlaut
changes
it to
3
(89)
in
all
cases
not in-
cluded under
heads
1-5.
e.
53.
West
Germanic
e
often remains
unchanged
:
helan,
conceal;
beran,
bear;
helm,
helmet;
helpan,
help;
wefan,
weave;
sprecan,
speak;
cweffau,
say
;
cf.
OS. OHG.
helan,
beran, helm,
etc. The
occurrence
of
the
older
e
is
limited
28
PHONOLOGY.
1)
by
its
passage
into
i
before
nasals
(69)
;
2)
by
the
breaking
to
eo,
io
before
r-,
1-,
and h-com-
binations
and before
final
li
(79
ff.)
;
the
i-uinlaut
of
this
eo
is
then
ie, i,
y
(100)
;
3)
by
u-umlaut
to
eo
(106)
;
4)
by
the
change
to
ie after
palatals
(75.
3)
;
5)
by
lengthening
to
e",
accompanied by
ecthlipsis
(214.
3)
;
6)
by
contraction
with
guttural
vowels,
producing
e"o
(113)
;
7)
by
the
change
of
weo into
wo and
wu
(72).
i.
54.
West Germanic
i
often
remains
a)
standing
for
Indo-European
i,
as
in
bite,
bite;
wlite,
face;
witan, know,
pret.
wisse;
again,
in the
2d
sing,
and the whole
plur.
ind.,
as
well
as
in
the
pret.
opt.
of
the
strong
verbs
of
the First
Ablaut
Class,
like
stige,
plnr.
stigum,
opt.
stige,
plur.
stigen
(382)
;
b)
as
Germ,
i
from
e,
a)
before nasal
+
consonant,
as
in
the verbs
bindan,
bind,
etc.
(386)
;
blind, blind,
etc.
;
P)
often before the
i,
j
which
originally
followed
in
the
2d
and
3d
sing.
pres.
ind. of
strong
verbs
of
the
Third, Fourth,
and
Fifth
Ablaut
Classes,
as
hilpff,
bired*,
itetJ
1
;
likewise
in
biddan,
request,
sittan, sit,
licgan, lie,
Slogan,
take
(391.
3),
and
in
many
other words.
The
occurrence
of
the
i
is
limited
1)
by
the
breaking
to io
(eo,
ie,
y) before,
r-, 1-,
and
h-combinations,
and
before final
h
(79 ff.)
;
the
i-umlaut
of
these
sounds is ie
(i,
y) (100)
;
2)
by
u-umlaut
to
io
(eo,
ie,
y) (107)
;
THE
VOWELS.
29
3)
by
the
change
of
wio
to
wu
(71)
;
4)
by
lengthening
to
i,
accompanied
by ecthlipsis
(185
;
214.
3)
;
5)
by
contraction with
guttural
vowels
(114).
NOTE.
Latin 1 is converted into
e
in the
borrowed word
peru,
pear,
and
Latin i to
the
same in
segn,
from
sfgnuin.
O.
55.
As a
rule,
West Germanic
o
is
retained
:
boda,
messenger;
god,
Crod;
gold,
gold;
oxa,
ox;
word,
word.
It
is
very
common
in
the
past
part,
of
strong
verbs of
the
Second, Third,
and
Fourth Ablaut
Classes
(384
ff.).
Without
any
assignable
cause,
an
u
is
found
instead
of
o in
full,
full;
wulle, wool;
hulc,
hulk;
wulf,
wolf;
fugol,
fowl
;_
bucca,
buck;
rust,
rust
;
ufan,
above;
ufor,
higher;
ufera,
the
upper;
lufu,
In
Man,
love;
f
ur9or,
further
;
f
uraFum,
indeed
;
inurnan,
mourn
;
spuruan
(also
spornaii),
spurn;
spura,
spur;
murcniaii,
murmur; cnucian,
knock,
etc.
Moreover,
the domain of
the West Germanic
o
is
regularly
contracted
1)
by
its
passage
into
u
before nasals
(70)
;
the i-um-
laut
of
this
u
is
y
(95)
;
2)
by
i-umlaut
to
(e),
$
(93).
NOTE.
For
6,
o in broden
for
brogden,
see 214.
3.
note
3.
Latin
8 is
lengthened
in
scol,
from
schola.
U.
56. West Germ,
u
often occurs
unchanged
:
burg,
town,
lust,
pleasure,
sunu,
son, huiid,
dog,
etc.
;
very
often
in
the
preterits
of
strong
verbs of
the Second
and
Third
Ablaut
Classes
(384 ff.),
etc. It
passes
into
o
in
30
PHONOLOGY.
or-,
Goth,
us-,
OHG.
ur-,
as
in
orsorg,
careless,
cleverness.
NOTE
1. The WS.
Kent,
ffurh,
through,
is
replaced
in
Mercian
(Ps.)
by
fforh,
and
in North,
by
Serb.
The
negative prefix
un-
sometimes
becomes
on-
in late
Mss.,
and
occasionally
un- is substituted for
on-,
as
in unbindan
for
on
bindan. loose.
NOTE
2.
Latin u becomes
o
in
copor,
copper,
box,
box.
Other
restrictions
of the
u
are :
1)
the
i-umlaut
to
y
(95)
;
2)
the
lengthening
to
u,
accompanied by
ecthlipsis
(185;
214.
3.
note
8)
;
the
i-umlaut
of
the latter is
y'
(96);
3)
its
conversion
into
eo,
io
after
palatals
(74)
;
the
i-umlaut
of the
latter is
ie
(i, y) (100).
A.
57.
West Germ, si
is of
threefold
origin
:
1)
Older
a,
as
in
the
Lat.
strata,
becomes
sfe in WS.
strtfet
;
its
i-umlaut is
again
sfe,
in
Isfeden,
Latinus
(LWS.
also
lyden).
NOTE 1.
Of
doubtful
origin
is the & of
g&n,
go,
which
unaccountably
remains
unchanged
before
nasals
(68).
2)
West Germ,
a,
from Germ.
(Goth.)
6
(45.
6),
regu-
larly
becomes sfe
in WS.
:
rsfed,
counsel
;
r&dan,
advise
;
(but
sometimes
slapan),
sleep;
swsfes,
own;
,
breath;
sfcfen,
evening;
and
very
often
in
the
pret.
plur.
of
the
strong
verbs
of
the Fourth
and
Fifth
Ablaut
Classes
(390
ff.).
NOTE
2. The
vowel
of
the final
syllable
is
probably
short
(43.
note
4)
in
hi(e)red, family (Angl.
hiorod,
OHG.
hfr&t),
daegred,
diiwn
(OHG.
tagarod),
and
the adverbs
(n)&wer,
(n)6wer
(from
Ahwsfer, 6hwa?r,
321.
note
2),
as
well as in
proper
names
ending
in
-red,
like
^Clfred,
since
long
se
is
distinctly
retained
in certain
proper
nouns
ending
in
-flsed,
like
Kanfhi>d.
Some
scholars,
however,
are
of
opinion
that
West
Germ,
a
in
slurred or unstressed
syllables
THE VOWELS. 31
regularly
becomes
6,
and hence write
hired, daegrexl,
awer,
etc.
For
the
normal
ge
in
stressed
syllables
we
occasionally
find
e,
but
not
in
genuine
WS.
texts;
thus,
redan,
slepan,
etc.
The i-umlaut
of
this
&
is identical
with it
(91).
On
the
other
hand,
the occurrence of the
&
is
subject
to
the
following
limitations:
a)
d is retained
before
w in
sdwe,
2d
sing.
ind.
;
sd
won,
plur.
ind.
;
sdwe, sdwen,
pret. subj.
of
son,
see
(Goth.
s<''h\\
uin.
etc.;
OS..sdwi,
sdwun,
etc.)
;
getdwe,
equipment;
tdwian,
prepare
(cf.
Goth.
twa,
order);
si
wul,
awl;
cldwu,
claw;
strdwb^rige,
strawberry;
(Ti
\van,
thaw
;
and
in
the
foreign
word
pdwa,
peacock.
Oil
the
other
hand,
d seems
to
stand
for at in the
verbs
bid
wan, sdwan,
etc.
(62),
and
perhaps
in
a
few others.
The
i-umlaut
of this d is
regularly
gfe:
Isfewaii,
betray
(Goth.
16wjan)
;
aeltsewe,
complete
(Goth.
twa).
NOTE
3.
In the
following
instances,
West
Germ.
a,
in an
open syl-
lable
followed
by
a
guttural
vowel,
is retained in
WS.
as
&
: in
the
preterits
lagon,
ffagon, wagon
(beside
laegou,
fftegon,
wsegon),
from
licg(e)an,
Sicg(e)an,
\vegan
;
tlie
plur.
m&gas
(beside mgfegas),
and the fern,
mage
(beside
msege),
from
meeg.
k-nsmun;
the
words
hraca,
spittle,
w&t
(beside
\vsfet),
wet,
and
wag
(beside wjfeg),
wave;
the verb
slapan,
sleep,
and its
derivatives
(beside
slsepan)
;
and in
the
words swar
(beside
s'^vsfer),
heavy,
trag,
lazy,
tal
(beside tsfel), calumny,
lacnian,
heal
(beside
laecnian,
which
may
be more
directly
related
to
lece,
physician,
in
which i-umlaut
appears),
acnmba
(rarely
ffeeumba),
oakum.
To
these
must be
added numerous
compounds
beginning
with
A,
and
perhaps
certain
other words
(Kluge,
in
Anglia,
Anzeiger
V.
82).
5)
Before
nasals
West Germ.
& is
converted
into
6
(68)
;
the i-umlaut
of
the latter
is
cfe,
6
(94).
c)
After
a
preceding
palatal
it
becomes
a
(74;
75.
2;
76.
2).
d)
Instead
of
gfe there occurs
an
a in
nah,
nigh,
Goth.
ne"hw. In this
word
the 6&
may
have
been
intro-
32
PHONOLOGY.
duced
in
conformity
with
nar,
iilnn,
etc.,
in
which
the
a
is
the result
of contraction
(112).
3)
Nasalized
Germ,
d
from an
(45.
5)
becomes
6
(67)
;
the
i-umlaut of the
latter is
oe,
6
(94)
.
58.
The
West Germ.
6 maintains itself
in
WS.
un-
altered
:
h6r,
here
;
cn,
torch
;
m6d,
meed
; 16f,
feeble
;
W^land.
Here
belong
also the
6's of the
reduplicated
preterits
like
ht,
s!6p
(395.
A).
NOTE. To
the OHG.
adj.
zfcri,
ziarl,
corresponds
OE.
tir,
glory
(OS.
tir,
ON.
tirr).
For
Creas, Greeks,
there
appears
also
Creacas,
the form of which
has
not
yet
been accounted
for.
f.
59.
Older
i
occurs almost
invariably unchanged:
hwfl,
while
;
mm,
mine
;
3Fi
n,
thine
;
sin,
his
;
wif
,
wife
;
rice,
kingdom;
cf. also
the
strong
verbs of the First
Ablaut
Class
(382).
The
i
is
only
restricted
in
its occurrence
by
contrac-
tion with a
following
vowel
(114),
as
well
as occasional
shortening
and
breaking
(84.
note
1).
6.
60.
West Germ. 6
remains
throughout:
b<5c,
book;
gdd,
good;
f6r,
journeyed
;
sldg, struck^
etc.
Its i-um-
laut
is
oe,
6
(94).
H.
61.
West
Germ, u
is
regularly represented by
WS.
ti :
bus,
house
;
tun,
town
;
brucan,
use
;
lucan,
lock
;
and
even
where
the
Gothic
has au
before a
following
vowel
:
brian,
build;
trVkwian,
trust
(Goth,
ha
mm,
trauan).
The
i-umlaut
of u
is
stable
$
(96).
THE
VOWELS. 33
ai.
62.
West
Germ,
ai
becomes d: d.9
1
, oath;
sttfii,
stone;
hdt,
hot;
sdr,
uound
; hiltaii,
6e
called;
wat,
woiy
the
1st and
3d
pret.
sing,
of
the
verbs of the
First Ablaut
Class,
as
stag
(382),
etc.
The i-umlaut
of this
;i
is
gfe
(SO).
NOTE.
Individual
exceptions
are :
6,
always,
together
with
its com-
pounds (owiht,
owlSfer, etc.,
346
ff.),
for and beside
a
(Goth.
&iw,
OHG.
eo)
;
and
w6a,
harm
(OHG.
w6wo).
With these
exceptions,
ai(\v)
passes regularly
into
&(w)
:
snaw, snow; sldw,
slow;
sawol,
soul;
w&wa,
woe;
cf.
also the verbs
blawan,
cn;i
\van.
iiui
\\aii.
sawan,
\vdwan
(396.
d~),
where the Goth, has
sai(j)an,
waian
(cf.
57. 2.
a).
Sorig
for
sdrig,
Cura Past.
227.
8
H,
may
be
a
clerical
blunder.
au.
63.
The
regular
equivalent
of West
Germ, au
is
WS. a:
ac, eke;
6aca,
increase;
bag,
ring;
h^afod,
head
; gel^afa,
belief,
etc.
;
the 1st
and 3d
pret.
sing,
of
the verbs
of
the Second Ablaut
Class,
as cas
(384
if.)
;
likewise
before
following
w,
where
the Goth, has
g'gw,
and the ON.
gg(v)
:
glaw,
wise
;
li^awan,
hew
;
lmaw,
stingy
(cf.
Goth,
glaggwus,
ON.
li^ggva,
hiiQggr).
The i-nmlaut of a
is
fe
(1,
^)
(99)
;
its
palatal
umlaut
is 6
(101;
102).
eu.
64.
West Germ,
eu
occurs
regularly
as
fo,
^o :
bfod, b^od,
table
; diop,
dop,
deep
;
dfor,
dor,
animal
;
i^fod,
people;
Hof, dear;
sfoc,
sick;
in the
present
forms
of
verbs
of
the
Second Ablaut
Class,
like
cfosan,
cosan,
etc.
(384) ;
before
w,
in
cases
where the Goth, has
iggw,
ON.
ygg(v)
:
hr^owan,
rue,
getr6ow,.true, tre"ow,
faith
(ON.
hryggva, tryggr,
etc.)
;
finally,
in
foreign
words
34
PHONOLOGY.
like
Deosdedit, Leowarerius,
Eodoxe,
for
Deusdedit,
Leutherius,
Eudoxil.
The
i-umlaut
of fo
is
ie
(i,
^),
but
the
umlaut
is often
lacking,
so that the
diphthong
remains
as
fo
(iu)
o
(loo).
NOTE.
Original
eu is
occasionally
preserved
in
the oldest texts
:
ffeuw, leudgeldum,
steupfaedaer, treulesnis,
etc.
2. SURVEY
OF THE EFFECTS
PRODUCED UPON
STRESSED
VOWELS
BY ADJOINING SOUNDS.
a)
INFLUENCE OF NASALS.
65.
Germanic
a
before
nasals
undergoes change
to
open
Q
in a
prehistoric period
of
OE.
(25.
2).
As the
alphabet
has but
two
characters,
a,
o,
to
represent
the
three
sounds
a, ?,
o,
there
is
considerable
fluctuation in
the
sign
for
<?.
The
very
oldest
texts,
like
the
Epinal
Gloss.,
uniformly employ
the a:
maim,
man;
brand,
brand;
land,
land
;
hand,
hand;
nania,
name;
cainb,
comb;
gangan,
go.
In
the 9th
century
o
has
gained
the
upper
hand :
inoii,
brond,
loiid, bond,
noma,
lomb,
gongau
(so
without
exception
in
the
Ps.
and North.
;
but
cf.
386.
note
3).
From
this time
on the
a
increases
iu
frequency,
and
finally
succeeds
in
supplanting
the o.
NOTE
1. This
change
to
Q
is
older
than
the
metathesis of
r
(179).
This
accounts for
the
preterits Qrn, bgrn,
originally
*rQnn,
*brQim
(389).
NOTE 2.
Peculiar
are
the accusatives
ffone,
the, hwone,
whom
;
the
instrumentals
ffon,
h
won
(337.
note
1;
341);
the adverbs
ffonne,<Aen,
hwonne,
when.
These have
uniformly
o,
which must
probably
be
regarded
as
close
o.
So,
too,
the
preposition
on
(not
the stressed
adverb,
which
conforms
to the
general
rule)
only
now and then
appears
as
an,
most
frequently
in
compound
words.
Only
occasionally
do
the
most
ancient
texts
have
ftanne,
but
in
LWS.
ffaenne
and hwsenne
are
THE
VOWELS. 35
very
common.
At a
subsequent period
ffane.
hwane,
and
ffaene,
hwaene,
occur
very frequently
;
they
are
perhaps
formed
by analogy
with the
datives
9am,
li
\viiiii,
and
tfscm,
hwgfcm,
and on
that
account
to be
written
with
a,
&.
In
LWS.
ma-nig
(m$nig)
regularly
takes
the
place
of the
older
monig,
manig.
66. When
the
following
nasal is lost before
a surd
spirant,
this
o
is
regularly
lengthened
to 6
(185)
:
gds,
goose;
lids,
band;
<Ss-,
G-od;
sdflF,
true;
t6ff,
tooth; offer,
other
; sdfte,
softly
;
these stand
for
*
gons,
*
lions,
etc.
(cf.
Goth,
liansa,
anj'ar.
OHG.
gans, saufto, etc.).
67. In like
manner,
OE. 6
corresponds
to
the
Ger-
manic riasalized
d,
from an
(45.
5)
in Goth, faliaii.
seize;
hdhan,
hang;
bralita,
brought;
J'jihta,
thought;
J?dh<S,
clay;
-wdlis,
blameworthy;
OHG.
alita,
persecution;
zahi,
tough
;
OE.
fdn,
hdn, brdhte,
ffdhte,
Stf
(Epijial
thohae),
\r6h,
6ht,
tdh.
68.
Similarly
West
Germ,
si
from Germ.
(45.
6
;
46),
is
changed
before
nasals
into 6. Thus
to Goth,
im-na.
moon, m^iiops,
month, iie'muii,
they
took,
qmiiu,
they
came,
correspond
mtfiia,
induaar,
udiiiuii,
cwdmuii.
To
the same
source
must be referred
the
6 in
sdiia,
soon
;
spdii,
sliver; geddn,
done; brdni, broom; wdin, \v6ina,
uproar;
6m,
rust;
g^omor,
grief
(74).
NOTE
1.
Here
belong
the
following,
which have
undergone
I-umlaut
according
to
94
:
cvven,
woman,
Goth.
qns
; wn,
ho/ie,
Gotli. \v6ns
;
gecw6me,
convenient,
OHG.
biquami
;
getSine,
suitable,
OHG.
gixamt
;
hela,
heel
;
ged6n,
done
(beside
ged6n)
; brme,
famous,
etc.
(cf.
the
dialectic forms
cwsen,
wsen,
gecwafeme,
etc.).
OE. e
is,
therefore,
on no account to
be considered identical
with Germanic
e.
NOTE 2. On LWS.
namon
for
ndmon,
and
ewamon
for
c(\v)6-
mon,
see 39O. note
2.
For
older
s6m-, half
(cf.
Gr.
rj(tC),
there
is a
regular
LWS.
sain-.
Irregular
umlaut is
found
in
beiia-nian,
deprive;
nydna.me,
violence.
86
PHONOLOGY.
69.
West
Germ,
e
before
nasals
becomes
i in
the
verb
iiiman, take,
OHG.
neman. The same
holds of
the
e
in
foreign
words
incorporated
into the
language
at
an
early
date
:
gim,
gem,
mint, mint, pinsian,
con-
sider,
from
Latin
gemma,
mentha, pensare;
cf.
also
pfn,
torture,
from
poena
(pronounced
pena),
and
dfnor,
from denarius.
NOTE.
Exceptions
are
:
cwene,
woman,
OHG,
quena ;
denn,
valley
;
and
the
e
preceding
inn
from
fn,
as
in
einn,
stemn,
from
efn,
stefn
(193.
2).
70. West Germ,
o
before
nasals becomes
u
:
cuman,
come;
genumen,
took;
-niima, receiver; wunian,
dwell;
3Fiinor, thunder;
OHG.
coman,
ginoman,
-nomo,
\von<)ii,
donar.
So the
o in
the
early
borrowings
from
Latin :
munuc,
munt,
pund, cumpaeder,
from Latin
monachus,
montem, poiidus, compater;
with subse-
quent
i-umlaut
:
mynet, mynster,
from Latin
moneta,
monasterium.
An
exception
is
f<jnt, fant,
from Latin
fontem.
NOTE. As
nasal
+
consonant
had
already changed
preceding
e
to
i
and o to
u,
in
the
Germanic
period
(45.
2,
3),
the rules of
paragraphs
69, 70,
apply only
to a
simple
nasal in
the case of
native
words.
b)
INFLUENCE OF w.
71. The
combination wio
arising
from
Germanic wi
by
breaking
(79
if.),
or
through
the
agency
of u-
and
o-umlaut
(107),
usually
becomes
wu;
yet
older
forms
with
the
diphthong
io
(eo,
38),
and
even snch as
have
simple
i,
now
and
then
occur :
the
interjection
wuton
;
wudu,
wood;
wuduwe,
widow
;
swutol,
clear;
wucu,
week;
c(w)ucu,
living;
wuht,
thing
(so
also
ndwuht,
ndulit,
nothing);
betwuh,
foetwux,
between;
beside