The Palatal Mutation

Mutation, or umlaut, is a kind of regressive (or leftward) assimilation: a vowel is influenced by another vowel or vowel-like sound to its right. Mutation brings about a complete change in vowel quality: one phoneme is replaced by another.

The most important of these regressive processes is the palatal mutation (or i-mutation, i-umlaut), because of the number of vowels affected, the creation of entirely new vowel types, and its profound morphological effects. This change was caused by suffixal [i, j]; and these sounds occurred in a large number of inflections and derivational suffixes.

In the Gothic texts of the 4^th century there is yet no sign of the palatal mutation. In the earliest documents of the other Germanic languages, it has either been completed, as in Old English (OE), or it has at least started, as in Old High German (OHG).

In OE, i-mutation affects practically all vowels, both monophthongs and diphthongs. Only short e and i have no connection with it. Under the influence of [i] or [j] the vowels of the preceding syllable move to a higher front position:

a > e Gth. sandjan OE. sendan (to send)

a > æ > e Gth. badi OE. bedd (<*bæddi) (bed)

ā > OE. *hālian > (to heal)

o > Ø > e OE. *ofstian > efstan (to hurry)

ō > Ø > ē Gth. dōms, dōmjan, OE. dōm, dēman (doom, to deem)

OE. fōt (sg) – (*fōtiz>) fēt (pl) (foot – feet)

u > y Gth. fulljan OE. *fullian > fyllan (to fill)

ū > OE. *cūþian > cỹþan (to announce)

ea OE. eald, but ieldra (<*ealdira) (old – elder)

ie *hleahian > hliehhan (to laugh)

eo *afeorrian > afierran (to remove)

OE. *hēarian > hīeran (to hear)

ēa hēah, but hīehra (< *hēahira) (high)

īe *getrēowi > getrīewe (true)

ēo cēosan – cīesþ (< *cēosiþ) (to choose –(he) chooses).

Notes: 1. The ie/īe often become i/ī or y/ӯ:

afirran, afyrran; getrīwe, getrӯwe.

2. After the sounds [i] and [j] had produced the mutation, they were frequently lost.

3. The i-mutation has left many traces in Modern English:

(a) different parts of speech: long – length, doom – to deem, food – to feed, full – to fill, Angles – English, etc.

(b) different forms of a word: tooth – teeth, foot – feet, old – elder, etc.

Unit 6

Date: 2014-12-22; view: 1436