Stress in Germanic languages

The most important distinguishing feature of the Germanic languages was their word-stress. In Germanic, like in other Indo-European languages, it was free, that is it might fall on any part of a word. Later it has been replaced by a fixed stress falling regularly on the first syllable. The effect of this fixed stress was considerable for English: many important changes have taken place in unstressed syllables. They tended to become weakened and gradually were lost. All this led to crucial simplification in the system of English paradigm

Periodization of the english language history

OLD ENGLISH from 7^th down to 1050 - the period of “full endings”

Transition Period from 1050 to 1150

MIDDLE ENGLISH from 1150 to 1500 – the period of “levelled endings”

EARLY MODERN ENGLISH from 1500 to 1660

MODERN ENGLISH from 1700 till the present – the period of “lost endings” (H.Sweet)

Old english vowel system

Front short vowels: i, e, y, æ Back short vowels: a, o, u Short diphthongs: ea, eo, ie, io

Front long vowels: ī, ē, y, æ Back long vowels: ā, ō, ū, å Long diphthongs: ēa, ēo, īe, īo

Front mutation (I-umlaut)

a > e (*framian > fremman виконувати)

æ > e (*tælian > telan говорити)

ā > æ (*lārian > læran вчити)

o > e (*ofstian > efstan поспішати)

ō > ē (*dōmian > dēman припускати, думати)

u > y (*fullian > fyllan заповнювати)

ū > y (cūþian > cyþan повідомляти)

Diphthongs:

ea > ie (*hleahian > hliehhan сміятися)

ēa > īe (*hēarian > hīeran слухати)

eo > ie (*āfeorrian > āfierran знищувати, прибирати)

ēo > īe (*3etrēowi > 3etrīewe вірний)

Back mutation (u-umlaut)

i > io (hira > hiora їхній, silufr > siolufr срібло)

e > eo (herot > heorot олень, hefon > heofon небеса)

a > ea (saru > searu лати)

Breaking (fracture)

e > ea before “r+cons.”, “l+cons.”, “h+cons.”, “h” in the final syllable (*ærm > earm, * æld > eald, * æhta > eahta)

e > eo before “r+cons.”, “h+cons.”, “lc, lh,”, “h” in the final syllable (*herte > heorte, *melcan > meolcan)

Contraction of vowel groups

1. “ah + vowel” > ēa (*slahan > slēan вбивати)

2. “eh + vowel”, “ih + vowel” > ēo (*sehan > sēon бачити *tihan > tēon звинувачувати)

3. “oh + vowel > ō (*fohan > fōn хапати)

4. ē and ō could absorb the following vowel (*sæē > sæ морю)

Influence of palatalization

OE front vowels could be diphthongized when preceded by palatal consonants 3, c, and other vowels – by cluster sc:

e > ie (*3efan > 3iefan давати)

æ > ea (*3æf > 3eaf дав)

æ > ēa ( *3æfon > 3ēafon дав)

a > ea (*scacan > sceacan трусити)

o > eo (*scort > sceort короткий)

.Vowel lengthening

In the 9^th century short vowels were lengthened before the clusters nd, mb, ld, rd:

OE: bindan > bīndan (to bind)

climban > clīmban (to climb)

cild > cīld (child)

If nd, mb, ld, rd were followed by a third consonant the lengthening didn’t take place:

OE: cild > cīld (child), but cildru (children)