Phonological history of Valthungian

N.B.: This article uses a phonetic feature notation shorthand in which all described features are limited to three characters. Please refer to the legend here.

Changes from Pre-Germanic through East Germanic to Griutungi & Gothic (ca. 500ʙᴄ‒300ᴀᴅ)

(This section is incomplete; I'll circle back around to it at some point and try to pry out of my notes which rules are applicable to East Germanic. I will try to include rules that are referenced in later sections.)

Spirantisation ∅

This rule was present in Proto-Germanic and persistent in various forms until approximately 1000ᴀᴅ. Some contend that this rule applied to all sonorants rather than just vowels, which would greatly simplify some of my rules below, but I do not believe that was the case, as it has some implications for the timing of Verner.

500ʙᴄ: Voiced Stops become Continuant when Intervocalic
Type:	Phonetic
Rule:	C[-snt][+vox] → [+cnt] / V___V “A voiced stop becomes continuant between two vowels.”
Exhaustive:	b,d,g → β,ð,ɣ / V___V
Examples:	‘to have’ ‘days’ ‘seven’ ‘goodness’ Pre-Gmc: *kapjonǫ [kapjɔnɔ͂] * dogās [dʱɔɡʱaːs] * sepḿ̥t [sepm̩t] * gʰedʰin [ɡʱedʱĩː] PGmc: *habjaną [habjanã] * dagōz [daɣoːz] *sebun [seβun] *gōdį̄ [ɡoːðĩː] Goth: habān [haβaːn] dagōs [daɣoːs] sibun [sɪβʊn] gōdei [ɡoːðiː] Griut: *habān [haβaːn] *dagōs [daɣoːs] *sibun [sɪβʊn] *gōdī [goːðiː] OldVal: *habvaan [haβaːn] dagyous [daɣoʊ̯s] sibvun [sɪβʊn] geoudvij [ɡøʏ̯ðiː] MidVal: havɴ [havn̩] dagos [daɡos] sivun~sivɴ [sɪvʊn~sɪvn̩] gœyðî [ɡøʏ̯ðiː] Valth: havna [havna] dagas [daɡas] sivun~sivna [sivun~sivna] gœuði [ɡœy̑ði]
Limit:	300ᴀᴅ
Persistence:	Expanded into Spirantisation I

Changes from Griutungi & Gothic to Old Valthungian (ca. 300ᴀᴅ‒950ᴀᴅ)

Spirantisation I

This is an expansion (or possibly merely a clarification) of the persistent inherited Spirantisation rule present in Proto-Germanic. The Proto-Germanic rule (“Spirantisation ∅”) holds that voiced stops become spirantised when intervocalic. It is unclear whether spirantisation also occurred in the presence of other sonorants in Proto-Germanic, Gothic, or Griutungi. This rule cements the expansion to include liquids in the environment.

300ᴀᴅ: Voiced Stops become Continuant when Liquid-Adjacent
Type:	Phonetic
Rule:	C[-snt][+vox] → [+cnt] / V,L}___{V,L “A voiced stop becomes continuant after a vowel or liquid when followed by a vowel or liquid.”
Exhaustive:	b,d,g → β,ð,ɣ / V,r,l}___{V,r,l
Notes:	Already present in pre-Gothic and even Proto-Germanic (“Spirantisation 0”), but may not have included liquids in the environment. Allophonic at this stage.
Examples:	‘to have’ ‘terrible’ ‘bed’ ‘wonder’ ‘days’ ‘nice’ PGmc: *habjaną [ha{b/β}janã] *abrō [a{b/β}roː] *badją [ba{d/ð}ją] *seldō [sel{d/ð}oː] * dagōz [daɣoːz] *fagrō [ɸa{ɡ/ɣ}roː] Goth: habān [haβaːn] abra [a{b/β}ra] badi [baði] silda [sil{d/ð}a] dagōs [daɣoːs] fagra [ɸa{ɡ/ɣ}ra] Griut: *habān [haβaːn] *abra [a{b/β}ra] *badi [baði] *silda [sil{d/ð}a] *dagōs [daɣoːs] *fagra [ɸa{ɡ/ɣ}ra] Spir.I: *habān [haβaːn] *abra [aβra] *badi [baði] * silda [silða] *dagōs [daɣoːs] *fagra [ɸaɣra] OldVal: *habvaan [haβaːn] abvra [aβra] *badvi [baði] *slidva [sliða] dagyous [daɣoʊ̯s] fagyra [ɸaɣra] MidVal: havɴ [havn̩] avʀ [avr̩] baði [baði] sliða [sliðə] dagos [daɡos] fagʀ [faɡr̩] Valth: havna [havna] avra [avra] baðe [baðe̞] sliða [sliða] dagas [daɡas] fagra [faɡra]
Limit:	450ᴀᴅ
Persistence:	Expanded into Spirantisation II
Phonemic Inventory:	(unchanged) Consonants ⟨ p t k kw b d g gw hw f þ s z h m n l r j w ⟩ / p t k kw b d ɡ ɡw hw ɸ θ s z h m n l r j w / [ p~pʰ t~tʰ k~kʰ kw~kʷ b~β d~ð ɡ~ɣ ɡw~ɡʷ hw~hʷ~ʍ ɸ θ s z h~x m n~ŋ l r~ɾ j w ] Vowels ⟨ i e a o u ī ē ǣ ā ǭ ō ū iu ⟩ / i e a o u iː eː ɛː ɑː ɔː oː uː iw / [ ɪ ɛ a ɔ ʊ iː eː ɛː ɑː ɔː oː uː ɪʊ̯ ]

Pre-Liquid Stop Insertion

This is a persistent phonological rule that operated optionally in the Gothic period, but became mandatory sometime before Old Valthungian metathesis, affecting all of the resulting /NL/ and /sr/ clusters. Later, in the Middle Valthungian period, stop insertion is able to cross morpheme boundaries, occurring after prefixes like in‑, an‑, or un‑. This remains a persistent rule in the phonotactics of the language to the present.

350ᴀᴅ: Stops Inserted before Liquids in Clusters
Type:	Phonemic
Rule:	∅ → b,d / N___L ∅ → t / s___r “A homorganic stop is inserted between a nasal consonant or /s/ and a following liquid (!s_l).”
Exhaustive:	ml → mbl mr → mbr nl → ndl nr → ndr sr → str
Notes:	Already present (optional) in Gothic (cf timrjan/timbrjan)
Examples:	‘to build’ ‘spring’ ‘north’ PGmc: *temrijaną [temrijanã] *wazrą [wazrã] *nurþą [nurθã] Goth: timrjan~timbrjan [tɪm(b)rjan] *wasr [wasr̩] naurþ [nɔrθ] Griut: *timbrjan [tɪmbrjan] *wasr [wasr̩] *norþ [nɔrθ] Meta: *timbrjan [tɪmbrjan] *wasr [wasr̩] *nroþ [nrɔθ] Stop Ins.: *timbrjan [tɪmbrjan] *wastr [wastr̩] *ndroþ [ndrɔθ] OldVal: *timbrjan [tɪmbrjan] vastr [wastr̩] nroþ¹ [ndrɔθ] MidVal: timbrjen [tɪmbrjən] wastʀ [wastr̩] droðþ [drɔθ] Valth: timbrin [timbrin] wastra [ʋastra] droþ [dro̞θ] ¹ It is assumed that this sound shift was completed immediately after metathesis, but Old Valthungian spelling conventions usually do not show it when word-initial (e.g. nroþ ‘north’, mrogins ‘morning’, nravgz ‘anxious’
Persistence:	persistent until Middle Valthungian Expansion.
Chronological Considerations:	Occurs optionally in Gothic. Must become mandatory before metathesis. Remains persistent until Middle Valthungian Expansion of Stop Insertion change allowing the rule to cross morpheme boundaries.
Phonemic Inventory:	(Unchanged, but phonotactics change; /NL/ and /sr/ clusters no longer allowed.) Consonants ⟨ p t k kw b d g gw hw f þ s z h m n l r j w ⟩ / p t k kw b d ɡ ɡw hw ɸ θ s z h m n l r j w / [ p~pʰ t~tʰ k~kʰ kw~kʷ b~β d~ð ɡ~ɣ ɡw~ɡʷ hw~hʷ~ʍ ɸ θ s z h~x m n~ŋ l r~ɾ j w ] Vowels ⟨ i e a o u ī ē ǣ ā ǭ ō ū iu ⟩ / i e a o u iː eː ɛː ɑː ɔː oː uː iw / [ ɪ ɛ a ɔ ʊ iː eː ɛː ɑː ɔː oː uː ɪʊ̯ ]

Geminate Collapse I

This is an expansion of the earlier Germanic Geminate Simplification rule inherited from Proto-Germanic and persistent through the Gothic era.

400ᴀᴅ: Sonorant Degemination before C,#
Type:	Phonetic
Rule:	CC[+son] → C / ___{C,# “A geminate sonorant is degeminated before another consonant or when word-final.”
Notes:	Already occurred optionally in some instances in Gothic.
Examples:	‘I swam’ ‘to fill’ ‘you can’ ‘I could’ ‘to make known’ PGmc: *(ek) swamm [swamm] *fullijaną [ɸullijanã] *(þū) kannt [kannt] *(ek) kunnþǭ→ kunþǭ [ kʊnθõː] *kannijaną' [ kannijanã] Goth: swamm [swamm] fulljan [ɸulljan] kannt~kant [ kannt] kunþa [kʊnθa] kannjan [kannjan] Griut: *swamm [swamm] *fulljan [ɸulljan] *kannt [kannt] *kunþa [kʊnθa] *kannjan [kannjan] Gem.I: *swam [swam] *fuljan [ɸuljan] *kant [kant] *kunþa [kʊnθa] *kanjan [kanjan] OldVal: *svam [swam] feuljan [fʏljan] kant [kant] kunþa [kʊnθa] *keanjan [kɛnjan] MidVal: swam [swam] fyljen [fʏljən] kant [kant] kunþa [kʊnθa] kenjen [kɛnjən] Valth: suam [swam] fylin [fylin] kant [kant] kunþa [kunθa] kenin [kenin] Note the diachronic differences in the three examples on the right, which are all derived from the same verb.
Persistence:	None
Phonemic Inventory:	(unchanged) Consonants ⟨ p t k kw b d g gw hw f þ s z h m n l r j w ⟩ / p t k kw b d ɡ ɡw hw ɸ θ s z h m n l r j w / [ p~pʰ t~tʰ k~kʰ kw~kʷ b~β d~ð ɡ~ɣ ɡw~ɡʷ hw~hʷ~ʍ ɸ θ s z h~x m n~ŋ l r~ɾ j w ] Vowels ⟨ i e a o u ī ē ǣ ā ǭ ō ū iu ⟩ / i e a o u iː eː ɛː ɑː ɔː oː uː iw / [ ɪ ɛ a ɔ ʊ iː eː ɛː ɑː ɔː oː uː ɪʊ̯ ]

→ 410ᴀᴅ. This stage of the language is approximately what was spoken by the Ostrogoths who sacked Rome.

Spirantisation II

This is the second expansion of the Germanic Spirantisatrion Rule inherited from Proto-Germanic. The rule is unchanged, but the environment expands to include a following nasal.

450ᴀᴅ: Voiced Stops become Continuant before Nasals
Type:	Phonetic
Rule:	C[-snt][+vox] → [+cnt] / V,L}___{V,L,N “A voiced stop becomes continuant after a vowel or liquid when followed by a vowel, a liquid, or a nasal.”
Exhaustive:	b,d,g → β,ð,ɣ / V,r,l}___{V,r,l,m,n
Notes:	Allophonic at this stage.
Examples:	‘voice’ ‘to become separated’ ‘tree’ PGmc: *stebnō [stebnoː] *gaskaidnaną [ɡaskaidnanã] *bagmaz [baɡmaz] Goth: stibna [stɪbna] gaskaidnan [ɡaskɛːdnan] bagms [baɡm̩s] Griut: *stibna [stɪbna] *gaskǣdnan [ɡaskɛːdnan] *bagms [baɡm̩s] Spir.II: *stibna [stɪβna] *gaskǣdnan [ɡaskɛːðnan] *bagms [baɣm̩s] OldVal: stibvna [stɪβna] *gaskaedvnan [ɡaskɛːðnan] bagyms [baɣm̩s] MidVal: stivna [stɪvnə] gaskêðnɴ [gəskɛːðnn̩] bagᴍs [baɡm̩s] Valth: stivna [stivna] gaskǣðnan [ɡaske̞ːðnan] bagᴍs [baɡmas]
Limit:	550ᴀᴅ
Persistence:	Expanded into Spirantisation III
Phonemic Inventory:	(unchanged) Consonants ⟨ p t k kw b d g gw hw f þ s z h m n l r j w ⟩ / p t k kw b d ɡ ɡw hw ɸ θ s z h m n l r j w / [ p~pʰ t~tʰ k~kʰ kw~kʷ b~β d~ð ɡ~ɣ ɡw~ɡʷ hw~hʷ~ʍ ɸ θ s z h~x m n~ŋ l r~ɾ j w ] Vowels ⟨ i e a o u ī ē ǣ ā ǭ ō ū iu ⟩ / i e a o u iː eː ɛː ɑː ɔː oː uː iw / [ ɪ ɛ a ɔ ʊ iː eː ɛː ɑː ɔː oː uː ɪʊ̯ ]

Deletion of Interconsonantal h

An optional rule in Gothic, now no longer optional.

500ᴀᴅ: Interconsonantal /h/ is Deleted
Type:	Phonetic
Rule:	h → ∅ / C___C “/h/ is deleted between two consonants.”
Notes:	This change likely began much earlier and is persistent. It already appears in Gothic: gawaurhtai ~ gawaurtai. Cannot cross morpheme boundaries.
Examples:	‘cloud’ ‘deed’ ‘bright’ PGmc: *melhmô [melxmoːˑ] *wurhstwą [wurxstwã] *berhtaz [berxtaz] Goth: milhma [mɪlhma] waurhstw~waurstw [wɔr(h)stw]] bairhts [bɛrhts] Griut: *milhma [mɪlhma] *worhstw [wɔrhstw] *berhts [bɛrhts] H-Deletion: *milma [mɪlma] *worstw [wɔrstw] †berhts [bɛrhts] OldVal: *milma [mɪlma] *vrostv [wrɔstw] brehts [brɛhts] MidVal: milma [mɪlma] wrostu [wrɔstʊ] brêts [brɛːts] Valth: milma [milma] wrosto [ʋro̞sto̞] brǣts [bre̞ːts]]
Limit:	1200ᴀᴅ
Persistence:	Until all word-internal instances of /h/ have disappeared except in words with unstressed prefixes as of the ~1200ᴀᴅ Palatalisation of h before j.
Chronological Considerations:	Probably intermittent from Gothic times; not a full rule until the "H Changes" around 1100, accounting for the counter-example of berhts→brǣts, above, where we would normally expect Valthungian **brets.
Phonemic Inventory:	(unchanged) Consonants ⟨ p t k kw b d g gw hw f þ s z h m n l r j w ⟩ / p t k kw b d ɡ ɡw hw ɸ θ s z h m n l r j w / [ p~pʰ t~tʰ k~kʰ kw~kʷ b~β d~ð ɡ~ɣ ɡw~ɡʷ hw~hʷ~ʍ ɸ θ s z h~x m n~ŋ l r~ɾ j w ] Vowels ⟨ i e a o u ī ē ǣ ā ǭ ō ū iu ⟩ / i e a o u iː eː ɛː ɑː ɔː oː uː iw / [ ɪ ɛ a ɔ ʊ iː eː ɛː ɑː ɔː oː uː ɪʊ̯ ]

Spirantisation III

This is the third expansion of the Germanic Spirantisatrion Rule inherited from Proto-Germanic. In this instance, the environment remains the same while the rule changes.

450ᴀᴅ: Unvoiced Spirants become Voiced between Sonorants
Type:	Phonetic
Rule:	C[-snt][-cnt][-sib] → [+vox] / V,L}___{V,L,N “In the same environment as Spirantisation II, unvoiced, non-sibilant fricatives become voiced.”
Exhaustive:	f,þ,h(opt) → β,ð,ɣ / V,r,l}___{V,r,l,m,n
Notes:	Expansion of scope of earlier Spirantisation Rules. This rule effectively reverses Thurneysen’s Law.
Examples:	‘violence’ ‘forest’ ‘childishly’ PGmc: *waldumnijō [waldumnijoː] *walþuz [walθuz] *neuknagô' [neu̯knaɣoːˑ] Goth: waldufni [walduɸni] walþus [walθus] *niuklahō [niu̯klahoː] Griut: *waldufni [walduɸni] *walþus [walθus] *niuklahō [niu̯klahoː] Spir.III: *walðuβni [walðuβni] *walðus [walðus] *niuklaɣō [niu̯klaɣoː] OldVal: *vladyufvni [wlaðuβni] vladyus [wlaðus] *nivklagyou [niu̯klaɣoʊ̯] MidVal: wlaðuvni [wlaðuvni] wlaðus [wlaðus] njuklaga(swô) [njuklaɡaswoʊ̯] Valth: vlaðuvne [ʋlaðuvne] vlaðus [ʋlaðus] njuklaga(so) [njuklaɡaso]
Limit:	1100ᴀᴅ
Persistence:	Persistent (along with Spirantisation II) until the H-Changes of Late Old Valthungian
Phonemic Inventory:	(unchanged) Consonants ⟨ p t k kw b d g gw hw f þ s z h m n l r j w ⟩ / p t k kw b d ɡ ɡw hw ɸ θ s z h m n l r j w / [ p~pʰ t~tʰ k~kʰ kw~kʷ b~β d~ð ɡ~ɣ ɡw~ɡʷ hw~hʷ~ʍ ɸ θ s z h~x m n~ŋ l r~ɾ j w ] Vowels ⟨ i e a o u ī ē ǣ ā ǭ ō ū iu ⟩ / i e a o u iː eː ɛː ɑː ɔː oː uː iw / [ ɪ ɛ a ɔ ʊ iː eː ɛː ɑː ɔː oː uː ɪʊ̯ ]

Expansion of [fl]→[θl], [hL]

A set of rules, actually, which address the treatment of certain word-initial consonants followed by liquids.

550ᴀᴅ: Changes to initial fl, hl, hr
Type:	Phonemic & Phonetic
Rule:	f → þ / #___l; h→ x / #___L “All remaining occurrences of word-initial fl inherited from Gothic become þl. Word-initial h becomes [x] before a liquid (phonetic only).”
Exhaustive:	fl → þl hl → [xl] hr → [xr]
Notes:	Expansion of earlier rule to include all word-initial environments. The second part of the rule later expands causing word-initial hl and hr to become þl and þr, respectively, in Middle Valthungian. For a brief period, following metathesis, [xL] and [hL] coexist, and they are not differentiated in Old Valthungian orthography, but [hL] does not later evolve into [θL].
Examples:	‘river’ ‘to braid’ ‘field’ ‘bread’ ‘preference’ ‘corpse’ ‘horn’ PGmc: *flōduz [ɸloːðuz] *flehtaną [ɸlextanã] *fulþą [ɸulθã] *hlaibaz [hlaiβaz] *halþį̄ [halθĩː] *hraiwą ['hrai̯wã] *hurną [hurnã] Goth: flōdus [ɸloːðʊs] flaihtan [ɸlɛhtan] fulþ [ɸʊlθ] hlaifs [hlɛːɸs] halþei [halθiː] hraiw [hrɛːw] haurn [hɔrn] Griut: *flōdus [ɸloːðʊs] *flehtan [ɸlɛhtan] *fulþ [ɸʊlθ] *hlǣfs [hlɛːɸs] *halþī [halθiː] *hrǣw [hrɛːw] *horn [hɔrn] fl to þl: *þlōðus [θloːðʊs] *þlehtan [θlɛhtan] *fulþ [ɸʊlθ] *hlǣfs [xlɛːɸs] *halðī [halθiː] *hrǣw [xrɛːw] *horn [hɔrn] Metathesis: *þlōðus [θloːðʊs] *þlehtan [θlɛhtan] *fluþ [ɸlʊθ] *hlǣfs [xlɛːɸs] *hlaðī [hlaθiː] *hrǣw [xrɛːw] *hron [hrɔn] OldVal: þloudyus [θloʊ̯ðʊs] *þlehtan [θlɛhtan] fluþ [ɸlʊθ] hlaefs [xlɛːɸs] *hleadyij [hlɛðiː] *hraejv [xrɛːju] hron [hrɔn] MidVal: þlouðus [θləʊ̯ðʊs] þlǣtɴ [θlɛːtn̩] fluðþ [flʊθ] þlǣfs [θlɛːfs] hleðî [xlɛðiː] þrǣju [θrɛːjʊ] hron [xrɔn] Valth: þlōðus [θlau̯ðus] þlǣtna [θle̞ːtna] fluþ [fluθ] þlǣfs [θle̞ːfs] hleði [xle̞ði] þrǣjo [θre̞ːjo̞] hron [xrɔn]
Limit:	600ᴀᴅ
Persistence:	This rule is not persistent. It has to end before Metathesis.
Phonemic Inventory:	/h/ and /x/ are now distinct phonemes before a liquid. Consonants ⟨ p t k kw b d g gw hw f þ s z x h m n l r j w ⟩ / p t k kw b d ɡ ɡw hw ɸ θ s z x h m n l r j w / [ p~pʰ t~tʰ k~kʰ kw~kʷ b~β d~ð ɡ~ɣ ɡw~ɡʷ hw~hʷ~ʍ ɸ θ s z x h m n~ŋ l r~ɾ j w ] Vowels ⟨ i e a o u ī ē ǣ ā ǭ ō ū iu ⟩ / i e a o u iː eː ɛː ɑː ɔː oː uː iw / [ ɪ ɛ a ɔ ʊ iː eː ɛː ɑː ɔː oː uː ɪʊ̯ ]

Changes from Old Valthungian to Middle Valthungian (ca. 950ᴀᴅ‒1350ᴀᴅ)

j/z Merger

→ 1066ᴀᴅ. The Norman Invasion of England triggers the dawn of Middle English. No East Germanic languages are affected by this.