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Germanic languages: Difference between revisions

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*ou → au
*ou → au


=[[High German Consonant Shift]]=
==[[High German Consonant Shift]]==
This shift separates [[High German]] from other Germanic languages.
The 4 stages of the shift could be defined as follows:
The 4 stages of the shift could be defined as follows:
# Non-geminated voicless [[Stop|stops]] became [[Fricative|fricatives]],
# Non-geminated voicless [[Stop|stops]] became [[Fricative|fricatives]],
Line 31: Line 32:
The last stage was shared by [[Low German]] and [[Dutch]].
The last stage was shared by [[Low German]] and [[Dutch]].


The shift occured in the period before [[Old High German]] existed, and in fact was the marker of Old High German.
The shift occurred in the period before [[Old High German]] existed, and in fact was the marker of Old High German.


=Listing of Germanic Languages=
=Listing of Germanic Languages=

Revision as of 11:02, 6 January 2009

Sound Changes from PIE to Common Germanic

These may not be 100% accurate.

  • ḱ, ǵ, ǵʰ → k, g, gʰ

Grimm's law

  • bʰ, dʰ, gʰ, gʷʰ → β, ð, ɣ, β/ɣ
  • b, d, g, gʷ → p, t, k, kʷ/k
  • p, t, k, kʷ → f, θ, x, xʷ

Verner's law

  • f, θ, s, x, xʷ → β, ð, z, ɣ, ɣʷ (except initially or following IE stress)

Vowel changes

  • aː → oː
  • e → i
  • eː → æː
  • ei → iː
  • eːi → eː (?)
  • oi → ai
  • oːi → oː (?)
  • aːi → oː (?)
  • eu → iu
  • ou → au

High German Consonant Shift

This shift separates High German from other Germanic languages. The 4 stages of the shift could be defined as follows:

  1. Non-geminated voicless stops became fricatives,
  2. Geminated, nasal-adjacent and liquid-adjacent voiceless stops became affricates,
  3. Voiced stops became voiceless stops, and finally
  4. All interdental fricatives (/ð/ and /θ/) became the dental stop and/or Alveolar stop // and /d/.

The last stage was shared by Low German and Dutch.

The shift occurred in the period before Old High German existed, and in fact was the marker of Old High German.

Listing of Germanic Languages


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