DOCSLIB.ORG

What Old Frisian Can Tell Us About the History of I-Umlaut Across West Germanic

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
What Old Frisian Can Tell Us About the History of I-Umlaut Across West Germanic What Old Frisian Can Tell Us about the History of i-Umlaut across West Germanic Joseph C. Salmons INTRODUCTION In Germanic historical linguistics, and perhaps in historical linguistics gene- rally, there is a clear and longstanding bias toward the oldest data, and per- haps even toward data from ancestors of the languages with the most widely spoken modern descendants.1 As a result, relevant data from languages like Old Frisian have at times been ignored by scholars making far-reaching claims about Germanic. While Old Frisian is robustly attested only much later than Old High German, Old Saxon and Old English, it can nonetheless fill in critical pieces of broader West Germanic linguistic history, as Smith shows in her comparison of Old Frisian ‘vowel balance’ to patterns of syncope and apocope in Old Saxon, Old English and Old High German.2 When it comes to i-umlaut, Germanic historical linguists might expect to find virtually nothing, given the salient and early general fronting of /a/ in Frisian, as well as the early unrounding of the reflexes of mid and high umlaut outputs.3 In this paper, I argue that Old Frisian data can provide decisive support for one of two competing views about the unfolding of West Germanic i- umlaut. One view sees umlaut as having arisen extremely early, well before 1 This paper grows out of years of work and discussion with Greg Iverson, as well as Rob Howell, Dave Holsinger and Laura Catharine Smith, among others. Additional comments and discussions directly on this paper came from Greg Iverson, Monica Macaulay, and I happily acknowledge that help. The comments of an anonymous reviewer were greatly helpful as well. 2 L. C. Smith, Cross-Level Interactions in West Germanic Phonology and Morphology. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2004. 3 C. V. J. Russ, ‘Umlaut in Frisian and the Germanic Languages: Some Thoughts on its Genesis and Development’, NOWELE 28–29 [= Festschrift Nils Århammar] (1996), 501–12, provides an excellent general overview of how Frisian umlaut fits into the broader picture ofGermanic, but that paper was written before the post-Twaddellian view (as defined below) was widely known, and thus he does not focus on the core issues treated here. 368 Salmons the dawn of directly recorded Germanic linguistic history, even Proto-Ger- manic, while the other view dates umlaut back to the dialectal period, ca. 7–8th century C.E., just before the emergence of our earlier extensive written documents in Germanic. I aim to show that Old Frisian evidence underpins the latter view, namely that umlaut was an emphatically dialectal pheno- menon, in line with its traditional dating in Old Frisian and across West Germanic. Umlaut cannot date back to earliest Germanic, as argued bymany in the classic American Structuralist tradition (Antonsen, Penzl, others). This paper thus brings the chronology of Old Frisian sound changes to bear on Germanic umlaut, following conservative and virtually theory indepen- dent assumptions about Frisian linguistic history. More importantly, it adds a distinct new type of argument to the debates over Germanic i-umlaut, namely from relative chronology, and does so in a theory-neutral way. After a brief sketch of the two just-noted and fundamentally opposed views of umlaut (§1), I recapitulate some generally accepted points of Frisian phonological history(§2), showing that Frisian palatalization of velar stops had to pre-date the rise of even allophonic umlaut. In §3, I briefly out- line arguments that changes in low vowels must have preceded umlaut, and that monophthongization of West Germanic *ai and *au almost surely did as well. §4 concludes. While what follows may be largely a case of stating the obvious to Frisia- nists, the evidence reviewed here and its implications for a widespread view of umlaut across Germanic seem remarkably unknown among the broader community of Germanic linguists, at least on the topic of umlaut, and this, I hope, shows how Old Frisian data can be directly important for Germanic comparative linguistics. 1. TWO COMPETING VIEWS OF UMLAUT For present purposes, let us distinguish three approaches to how umlaut unfolded, with Twaddell’s structuralist view chronologically in the center, flanked by earlier traditional or pre-Twaddellian views on one side and post- Twaddellian views on the other. I will focus on the Twaddellian or American Structuralist view of umlaut, and how it compares to a newer post- Twaddellian or ‘Wisconsin School’ view. The turning point at b, Twaddell’s note of 1938,4 anchors an analysis of Old High German umlaut firmly in classic phonemic theory, rigorously distinguishing the behaviour of condi- tioned or allophonic variants from the behaviour of independent phonemes. Whereas many earlier views had assumed that umlaut had unfolded gradually, one very direct implication of Twaddell’s groundbreaking article 4 W. Freeman Twaddell, ‘A Note on Old High German Umlaut’, Monatshefte für deutschsprachige Literatur und Kultur 30 (1938), 177–81..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Putting Frisian Names on the Map
    GEGN.2/2021/68/CRP.68 15 March 2021 English United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names Second session New York, 3 – 7 May 2021 Item 12 of the provisional agenda * Geographical names as culture, heritage and identity, including indigenous, minority and regional languages and multilingual issues Putting Frisian names on the map Submitted by the Netherlands** * GEGN.2/2021/1 ** Prepared by Jasper Hogerwerf, Kadaster GEGN.2/2021/68/CRP.68 Introduction Dutch is the national language of the Netherlands. It has official status throughout the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In addition, there are several other recognized languages. Papiamentu (or Papiamento) and English are formally used in the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom, while Low-Saxon and Limburgish are recognized as non-standardized regional languages, and Yiddish and Sinte Romani as non-territorial minority languages in the European part of the Kingdom. The Dutch Sign Language is formally recognized as well. The largest minority language is (West) Frisian or Frysk, an official language in the province of Friesland (Fryslân). Frisian is a West Germanic language closely related to the Saterland Frisian and North Frisian languages spoken in Germany. The Frisian languages as a group are closer related to English than to Dutch or German. Frisian is spoken as a mother tongue by about 55% of the population in the province of Friesland, which translates to some 350,000 native speakers. In many rural areas a large majority speaks Frisian, while most cities have a Dutch-speaking majority. A standardized Frisian orthography was established in 1879 and reformed in 1945, 1980 and 2015.
    [Show full text]
  • AN INTRODUCTORY GRAMMAR of OLD ENGLISH Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies
    AN INTRODUCTORY GRAMMAR OF OLD ENGLISH MEDievaL AND Renaissance Texts anD STUDies VOLUME 463 MRTS TEXTS FOR TEACHING VOLUme 8 An Introductory Grammar of Old English with an Anthology of Readings by R. D. Fulk Tempe, Arizona 2014 © Copyright 2020 R. D. Fulk This book was originally published in 2014 by the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Arizona State University, Tempe Arizona. When the book went out of print, the press kindly allowed the copyright to revert to the author, so that this corrected reprint could be made freely available as an Open Access book. TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE viii ABBREVIATIONS ix WORKS CITED xi I. GRAMMAR INTRODUCTION (§§1–8) 3 CHAP. I (§§9–24) Phonology and Orthography 8 CHAP. II (§§25–31) Grammatical Gender • Case Functions • Masculine a-Stems • Anglo-Frisian Brightening and Restoration of a 16 CHAP. III (§§32–8) Neuter a-Stems • Uses of Demonstratives • Dual-Case Prepositions • Strong and Weak Verbs • First and Second Person Pronouns 21 CHAP. IV (§§39–45) ō-Stems • Third Person and Reflexive Pronouns • Verbal Rection • Subjunctive Mood 26 CHAP. V (§§46–53) Weak Nouns • Tense and Aspect • Forms of bēon 31 CHAP. VI (§§54–8) Strong and Weak Adjectives • Infinitives 35 CHAP. VII (§§59–66) Numerals • Demonstrative þēs • Breaking • Final Fricatives • Degemination • Impersonal Verbs 40 CHAP. VIII (§§67–72) West Germanic Consonant Gemination and Loss of j • wa-, wō-, ja-, and jō-Stem Nouns • Dipthongization by Initial Palatal Consonants 44 CHAP. IX (§§73–8) Proto-Germanic e before i and j • Front Mutation • hwā • Verb-Second Syntax 48 CHAP.
    [Show full text]
  • H Kontakt \H 11' /F R Ve Gl Ich 1' UL-, Vanatlon Festschrift Fi.Ir Gottfried
    kontakt ve gl�ich \h 11'/f r h � S1' UL-, vanatlon Festschrift fi.ir Gottfried Kolde zum 65. Geburtstag Herausgegeben von Kirsten Adamzik und Helen Christen Sonderdruck ISBN 3-484-73055-2 Max Niemeyer Verlag Tubingen 2001 l l_·-- Inhaltsverzeichnis Werner Abraham Negativ-polare Zeitangaben im Westgermanischen und die perfektive Kohasionsstrategie .. .. .. .. .. .. .. l Peter Blumenthal Deixis im literarisehen Text. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 11 BernhardBasebenstein Nominaldetermination im Deutschen und Franzosischen. Beobachtungen an zwei Gedichten und ihren modemen Obersetzungen (Rimbauds Bateauivre in Celans Fassung und Holderlins Ister in du Bouchets Version) .. .. .. ..... ..... ..... 31 Renate Basebenstein Lorenzos Wunde. Sprachgebung und psychologische Problematik in Thomas Manns Drama Fiorenza......................... ........... 39 Helen Christen l Anton Naf Trausers, shoues und Eis - Englisches im Deutsch von Franzosischsprachigen .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 61 Erika Diehl Wie sag ich's meinem Kinde? Modelle des Fremdsprachenunterrichts in der Primarschule am Beispiel Deutsch im Wallis und in Genf . .. .. 99 Jiirgen Dittmann Zum Zusammenhangvon Grammatik und Arbeitsgedachtnis. .. .. .. 123 Verena Ehrich-Haefeli Die Syntax des Begehrens. Zum Spntchwandel am Beginn der burgerliehen Moderne. Sophie La Roche: Geschichte des Frauleins von Sternheim, Goethe: Die Leiden desjungen Werther .......... ... 139 Karl-Ernst Geith Der lfp wandelt sich nach dem muot Zur nonverbalen Kommunikation im 'Rolandslied'.... ... ....... ... 171
    [Show full text]
  • Old Frisian, an Introduction To
    An Introduction to Old Frisian An Introduction to Old Frisian History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary Rolf H. Bremmer, Jr. University of Leiden John Benjamins Publishing Company Amsterdam / Philadelphia TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of 8 American National Standard for Information Sciences — Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bremmer, Rolf H. (Rolf Hendrik), 1950- An introduction to Old Frisian : history, grammar, reader, glossary / Rolf H. Bremmer, Jr. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Frisian language--To 1500--Grammar. 2. Frisian language--To 1500--History. 3. Frisian language--To 1550--Texts. I. Title. PF1421.B74 2009 439’.2--dc22 2008045390 isbn 978 90 272 3255 7 (Hb; alk. paper) isbn 978 90 272 3256 4 (Pb; alk. paper) © 2009 – John Benjamins B.V. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publisher. John Benjamins Publishing Co. · P.O. Box 36224 · 1020 me Amsterdam · The Netherlands John Benjamins North America · P.O. Box 27519 · Philadelphia pa 19118-0519 · usa Table of contents Preface ix chapter i History: The when, where and what of Old Frisian 1 The Frisians. A short history (§§1–8); Texts and manuscripts (§§9–14); Language (§§15–18); The scope of Old Frisian studies (§§19–21) chapter ii Phonology: The sounds of Old Frisian 21 A. Introductory remarks (§§22–27): Spelling and pronunciation (§§22–23); Axioms and method (§§24–25); West Germanic vowel inventory (§26); A common West Germanic sound-change: gemination (§27) B.
    [Show full text]
  • (In)Declinable Relative Pronoun and Its Syntactic Functions
    It Beaken jiergong 77 – 2015 nr 3/4 165-174 A historical note on the (in)declinable relative pronoun and its syntactic functions Eric Hoekstra Summary The indeclinable relative particle of Old Germanic could be used for at least 3 syntactic functions: for the relativisation of (1) subjects, (2) objects and (3) preposi- tional complements, for example in Old English and Old Frisian. This is no longer the case in Modern English, Modern Dutch, Modern German or Modern Frisian. It is pointed out that the indeclinable relative particle retained all three functions in Frisian until around 1900, when it stopped being used for the relativisation of subjects and objects. All three functions were retained at least until the middle of the 20th century in the Dutch dialects of Marken and Volendam, which both border on the lake IJsselmeer as does the province of Fryslân. The indeclinable relative particle has been pushed back in Frisian by the declinable relative particle, a process which has its roots in Old Frisian. It is shown that the declinable relative particle (dy, dat in Frisian) has gradually taken over the function of subject and ob- ject relativisation. Historically, the indeclinable relative particle developed into the R-pronoun (Frisian dêr), and it is still used to relativize prepositional complements in Modern Frisian, thus retaining its third syntactic function. 1. Two types of relative pronouns It is the purpose of this article to establish that, for centuries now, Frisian distinguishes between two types of relative pronouns. One type of pronoun does not decline for gender, the other type does.
    [Show full text]
  • For the Official Published Version, See Lingua 133 (Sept. 2013), Pp. 73–83. Link
    For the official published version, see Lingua 133 (Sept. 2013), pp. 73–83. Link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00243841 External Influences on English: From its Beginnings to the Renaissance, D. Gary Miller, Oxford University Press (2012), xxxi + 317 pp., Price: £65.00, ISBN 9780199654260 Lexical borrowing aside, external influences are not the main concern of most histories of the English language. It is therefore timely, and novel, to have a history of English (albeit only up to the Renaissance period) that looks at English purely from the perspective of external influences. Miller assembles his book around five strands of influence: (1) Celtic, (2) Latin and Greek, (3) Scandinavian, (4) French, (5) later Latin and Greek input, and he focuses on influences that left their mark on contemporary mainstream English rather than on regional or international varieties. This review looks at all chapters, but priority is given to Miller’s discussions of structural influence, especially on English syntax, morphology and phonology, which often raise a number of theoretical issues. Loanwords from various sources, which are also covered extensively in the book, will receive slightly less attention. Chapter 1 introduces the Indo-European and Germanic background of English and gives short descriptions of the languages with which English came into contact. This is a good way to start the book, but the copious lists of loanwords from Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, Low German, Afrikaans etc., most of which appear in English long after the Renaissance stop-off point, were not central to its aims. It would have been better to use this space to expand upon the theoretical framework employed throughout the book.
    [Show full text]
  • Language and Space
    Language and Space An International Handbook o Linguistic Variation Volume 2: Language Mapping Edited by Alred Lameli Roland Kehrein Stean Rabanus Oprint De Gruyter Mouton 180 II. Traditions 9. Mapping Dutch and Flemish 1. Introduction 2. Prescientific linguistic maps or dialect data covering the entire Dutch language area 3. Dialect surveys 4. Linguistic atlases of the entire Dutch language area 5. Linguistic atlases or maps covering a Dutch region (regional atlases) 6. Special linguistic atlases or linguistic maps 7. Conclusion 8. Atlases 9. References 1. Introduction The beginnings and growth of dialectology in the Netherlands and Flanders can only be discussed against the background of the situation in neighboring countries. In reaction to the Enlightenment, the Romantic period brought with it an interest in and apprecia- tion of prescientific culture and nostalgia for the past. More attention came to be paid to art, myths, fairy tales and the language of ordinary people past and present, as op- posed to the Enlightenment period interest in cultured standard language. The new focus was imported from the France of Rousseau and the Germany of Schiller. But later devel- opments in the Netherlands and Flanders did not take place in isolation either. Thus, the German linguist Georg Wenker and his French colleague Jules Gillie´ron were the unmistakable precursors of Dutch linguistic atlas projects, while the work of Jean Se´guy and of Hans Goebl served as models for dialectometry in our region. In section 2 of this chapter, we take a brief look at prescientific linguistic maps and dialect collections. In section 3, dialect surveys that have not been developed into linguis- tic atlases are discussed.
    [Show full text]
  • New World Mennonite Low German an Investigating of Changes in Progress
    New World Mennonite Low German An Investigating of Changes in Progress By Roslyn Cherie Burns A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate in Philosophy in Linguistics in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in Charge: Gary B. Holland Keith Johnson Thomas F. Shannon Spring 2016 1 Abstract This dissertation explores dialect diversification in the long-distance New World Plautdietsch speech community. Plautdietsch dialects are traditionally classified as belonging to one of two types: either Chortitza or Molotschna. The traditional dialect classification has recently come under scrutiny because speakers rarely use features exclusive to either type. I propose that variation in vowel production is an alternative way of classifying dialect affiliation. In this project, I analyze both the production of vowels and the production of traditional dialect features used by native Plautdietsch speakers living in North America. This work finds that both the traditional dialect features and the innovations in the vowel system are linked to information about a community's migration history, but the two systems represent different aspects of a community's history. i Table of Contents Chapter 1: Problem and Definition 1 1.1 Plautdietsch Background 2 1.1.1 The History of Low German 2 Plautdietsch as a Written Language 10 1.1.2 Plautdietsch Speaking Populations in North America 11 1.2 Defining Mennonites 13 1.2.1 Prussian Mennonites 14 1.3 North America Data Collection
    [Show full text]
  • A Case for the Danish Element in Northern
    A CASE FOR THE DANISH ELEMENT IN NORTHERN AMERICAN by HOWARD BRUCE WOODS B. Sc:. Miami University (Ohio) , 1961 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the Department of Classics Division of Linguistics We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA April, 1969 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and Study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of Classics Division of Linguistics The University of British Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada Date April 30, 1969 11 ABSTRACT Less than four decades ago it was thought that there was no substratum influence on the English language spoken in America. It had been noted that the Indians gave a few words to English and that there were small "pocket" colonies formed by the Germans in south-eastern Pennsylvania, the French in south-eastern Louisiana, the Spaniards in the Southwest, and ethnic groups in the large cities.^" Only more recently have scholars begun to see the important role that the speakers of continental Germanic languages have had in forming the speech patterns of American English. More than fifteen million immigrants whose mother tongue was a Germanic language other than.English have settled in what is now the North American Mid• land, Northern, and Canadian dialectal regions.
    [Show full text]
  • Examples of Old Middle and Modern English
    Examples Of Old Middle And Modern English Isocheimal Blake overcropped that Margot maun eligibly and imbuing uncommonly. Ensuing Andy localizing very orthographically while Fred remains self-constituted and circumspective. Chautauqua and pelvic Moshe accents her larder madden while Garwood jellies some Ennius molecularly. Pa and english of old middle and modern With her to Early Modern English, finally, the analysis reveals that there for ongoing changes in morphology also pursue this period. The progressive is used to breast a continuing action. Some verbs ceased to function as modals during this Early Modern period. During workshop time period, with vocabulary of Old English was based on the Anglo Saxon words with borrowed words from the Scandinavian languages of Danish and Norse in addition means the Latin. As a result, words enter the satellite of common speech through the familiarity that literature had struck them, once before literature tended rather the base ten vocabulary on the resources of common speech. Tyndale however, uses the ending: frute. Depending on your local tongue, the languages that you wiggle and the ones that everybody actually because of, every answer would vary. Christian symbolisms in turn story. In many respects, Walker was swimming against the apron of language change. Because the Germans tended to tight and forty out as native British Irish, Welsh, and Scots, Old English unfortunately has enough influence how those languages. With different database we actually able too search out constructions and random order configurations automatically, making possible investigations hitherto impracticable. Like this ability to this certainly does not and old english only public link.
    [Show full text]
  • Dutch. a Linguistic History of Holland and Belgium
    Dutch. A linguistic history of Holland and Belgium Bruce Donaldson bron Bruce Donaldson, Dutch. A linguistic history of Holland and Belgium. Uitgeverij Martinus Nijhoff, Leiden 1983 Zie voor verantwoording: http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/dona001dutc02_01/colofon.php © 2013 dbnl / Bruce Donaldson II To my mother Bruce Donaldson, Dutch. A linguistic history of Holland and Belgium VII Preface There has long been a need for a book in English about the Dutch language that presents important, interesting information in a form accessible even to those who know no Dutch and have no immediate intention of learning it. The need for such a book became all the more obvious to me, when, once employed in a position that entailed the dissemination of Dutch language and culture in an Anglo-Saxon society, I was continually amazed by the ignorance that prevails with regard to the Dutch language, even among colleagues involved in the teaching of other European languages. How often does one hear that Dutch is a dialect of German, or that Flemish and Dutch are closely related (but presumably separate) languages? To my knowledge there has never been a book in English that sets out to clarify such matters and to present other relevant issues to the general and studying public.1. Holland's contributions to European and world history, to art, to shipbuilding, hydraulic engineering, bulb growing and cheese manufacture for example, are all aspects of Dutch culture which have attracted the interest of other nations, and consequently there are numerous books in English and other languages on these subjects. But the language of the people that achieved so much in all those fields has been almost completely neglected by other nations, and to a degree even by the Dutch themselves who have long been admired for their polyglot talents but whose lack of interest in their own language seems never to have disturbed them.
    [Show full text]
  • The Grouping of the Germanic Languages: a Critical Review Michael-Christopher Todd Highlander University of South Carolina - Columbia
    University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations 2014 The Grouping of the Germanic Languages: A Critical Review Michael-Christopher Todd Highlander University of South Carolina - Columbia Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the German Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Highlander, M. T.(2014). The Grouping of the Germanic Languages: A Critical Review. (Master's thesis). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/2587 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Grouping of the Germanic Languages: A Critical Review by Michael-Christopher Todd Highlander Bachelor of Arts University of Virginia, 2012 ______________________________ Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts in German College of Arts and Sciences University of South Carolina 2014 Accepted by: Kurt Goblirsch, Director of Thesis Yvonne Ivory, Reader Lacy Ford, Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Abstract The literature regarding the grouping of the Germanic languages will be reviewed and a potential solution to the problems of the division of the Germanic languages will be proposed. Most of the Germanic languages share a great number of similarities, and individual languages often have features common to more than one which complicates the grouping. The grouping of the Germanic languages has been debated by linguists since the 19th century, and there are still dissenting views on this topic. Old English, Old Low Franconian and Old Saxon pose significant issues with regard to grouping, and the research for this thesis will attempt to clarify where these languages fit with other Germanic languages and what the best classification of the Germanic languages would be.
    [Show full text]