Review: Germanic is one of the Indo-European family of languages

Main characteristics of Germanic which distinguish it from IE The First Germanic Consonant Shift Vowel gradation Nominal reduction to a 4-case system Verbal reduction to a 2-tense system Innovation: weak & strong declensions of adjectives Innovation: weak verbs with "dental" past suffix Stress fixed on the root A common distinctive vocabulary

Main characteristics of Germanic which distinguish it from IE The First Germanic Consonant Shift See 2nd-week material: Indo-European stops at http://www.hi.is/~peturk/KENNSLA/11/TOPICS/02IEstops.html The Neo-Grammarians at http://www.hi.is/~peturk/KENNSLA/11/SLIDES/02aNeogrammarians.ppt

First Germanic Consonant Shift- summary Indo-European Germanic First series p t k kw f þ h hw Second series b d g gw Third series bh dh gh ghw

Main characteristics of Germanic which distinguish it from IE The First Germanic Consonant Shift Vowel gradation Nominal reduction to a 4-case system Verbal reduction to a 2-tense system Innovation: weak & strong declensions of adjectives Innovation: weak verbs with "dental" past suffix Stress fixed on the root A common distinctive vocabulary

2 Vowel gradation ablaut, hljóðskiptaröð: a set of internal vowel changes expressing different morphological functions. In IE: e-grade or full grade o-grade zero grade. Remains today: Mostly strong verbs: ride rode ridden sing sang sung freeze froze frozen fly flew flown

Main characteristics of Germanic which distinguish it from IE The First Germanic Consonant Shift Vowel gradation Nominal reduction to a 4-case system Verbal reduction to a 2-tense system Innovation: weak & strong declensions of adjectives Innovation: weak verbs with "dental" past suffix Stress fixed on the root A common distinctive vocabulary

4 Nominal reduction to a 4-case system Indo-European Germanic IE had eight cases nom voc acc gen dat instr abl loc 3 numbers singular dual plural 3 genders masculine, feminine neuter Germanic 4 cases nom acc gen dat Retained 3 numbers in pronouns 3 genders masculine, feminine neuter

IE nominal cases nominative vocative accusative genitive dative instrumental ablative locative

Germanic nominal cases nominative vocative accusative genitive dative instrumental ablative locative

Germanic nominal cases nominative nefnifall accusative þolfall genitive eignarfall dative þágufall se dæg cymð – sá dagur kemur that day will come ic geman þone dæg - ég man þann dag I remember that day se nama þæs dæges– dagsins nafn the name of the day – the day’s name on þæm dæge – á þeim degi on that day

Seo læfdige geaf þære cwene þæs cyninges hring Frúin gaf drottningunni hring konungsins The lady gave the queen the king’s ring NOMINATIVE subject DATIVE indirect object given to whom? GENITIVE possession ACCUSATIVE direct object what was given

Main characteristics of Germanic which distinguish it from IE The First Germanic Consonant Shift Vowel gradation Nominal reduction to a 4-case system Verbal reduction to a 2-tense system Innovation: weak & strong declensions of adjectives Innovation: weak verbs with "dental" past suffix Stress fixed on the root A common distinctive vocabulary

Other tenses are periphrastic: 4 Verbs: 2 tenses only Present non-time specified Past time orientated it rains, old women are wise it rained, Mary knew the answer Other tenses are periphrastic: it has rained, is raining, will rain, has been raining, etc

Main characteristics of Germanic which distinguish it from IE The First Germanic Consonant Shift Vowel gradation Nominal reduction to a 4-case system Verbal reduction to a 2-tense system Innovation: weak & strong declensions of adjectives Innovation: weak verbs with "dental" past suffix Stress fixed on the root A common distinctive vocabulary

5 Innovation: weak & strong declensions of adjectives ein guter Mann – der gute Mann góður maður – góði maðurinn án gód man – se góda man See more on: http://www.hi.is/~peturk/KENNSLA/11/TOPICS/04WeakStrongAdj.htm

Main characteristics of Germanic which distinguish it from IE The First Germanic Consonant Shift Vowel gradation Nominal reduction to a 4-case system Verbal reduction to a 2-tense system Innovation: weak & strong declensions of adjectives Innovation: weak verbs with "dental" past suffix Stress fixed on the root A common distinctive vocabulary

6 Innovation: weak verbs with "dental" past suffix "weak" = regular verbs (bake baked) "strong" = irregular verbs (sing sang sung) development of a weak class of verbs with dental suffix (d/t) in past tense hear heard, bake baked heyra heyrði, baka bakaði

Main characteristics of Germanic which distinguish it from IE The First Germanic Consonant Shift Vowel gradation Nominal reduction to a 4-case system Verbal reduction to a 2-tense system Innovation: weak & strong declensions of adjectives Innovation: weak verbs with "dental" past suffix Stress fixed on the root A common distinctive vocabulary

7 Stress fixed on the root pitar bhratar fæder bróðor weakening of endings: hringas > ringes > rings > lufian > lufien > luvie >luve > we lufodon > we lufeden > we luvede >

Vowel weakening – further Table base on Strang, p. 415 SINGULAR IE Gmc Go Ice OE ModE nominative dhogos ðagas gads dagr dæg day accusative dhoghom ðagan dag genitive dhogheso ðagesa dagis dags dæges day’s dative dhogoai ðagai daga degi dæge PLURAL dhogoes ðagoz dagos dagar dagas days dhogoms ðaganz dagans dhogeom ðagon dage dhoghomos ðagomoz dagam dögum dagum

Main characteristics of Germanic which distinguish it from IE The First Germanic Consonant Shift Vowel gradation Nominal reduction to a 4-case system Verbal reduction to a 2-tense system Innovation: weak & strong declensions of adjectives Innovation: weak verbs with "dental" past suffix Stress fixed on the root A common distinctive vocabulary

8 A common distinctive vocabulary Examples of words only found in Germanic: busk- > bush dreug- > drýge > dry, drought tap- > top, tap, tip (typpi) wepnam > wæpen, vopn, weapon Found in Germanic and Celtic: brák- > OE bróc, plural bréc > breeches Ice. brók