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|name = Niemish
|name = Niemish
|nativename = Nimsk
|nativename = Nimsk
|pronunciation = /nʲimsk/
|pronunciation = nʲimsk
|creator = [[User:Tardigrade]]
|creator = User:Tardigrade
 
</small>
|created = 2015
|created = 2015
|setting =  
|setting =  
|familycolor = Indo-European
|familycolor = Indo-European
|fam1 = [[w:Indo-European_languages|Indo-European]]
|fam2 = [[w:Germanic_languages|Germanic]]
|fam2 = [[w:Germanic_languages|Germanic]]
|fam3 = [[w:East_Germanic_languages|East Germanic]]
|fam3 = [[w:East_Germanic_languages|East Germanic]]
|fam4 = [[w:Gothic_language|Gothic]]
|fam4 = [[w:Gothic_language|Gothic]]
|fam5 = [[Post-Gothic]]
|fam5 = [[Post-Gothic]]
|script = [[w:Latin script|Latin]] ([[Niemish#Alphabet and Pronunciation|Niemish alphabet]])<br />[[w:Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] ([[Niemish#Cyrillic script|Niemish Cyrillic alphabet]], abolished)
|script = [[w:Latin script|Latin]] ([[Niemish#Alphabet|Niemish alphabet]])<br />[[w:Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] ([[Niemish#Cyrillic script|Niemish Cyrillic alphabet]], abolished)
|-
|-
| nation =Niemgard
| nation =Niemgard
Line 32: Line 29:


Niemish (''[[Contionary:Nimsk|Nimsk]]'') is an [[w:East_Germanic_languages|East Germanic language]] descended from Wulfilan [[w:Gothic_language|Gothic]], the oldest [[w:Germanic_languages|Germanic language]] with a sizeable text corpus. The name originated from [[w:Proto-Slavic_language|Proto-Slavic]] ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/němьcь|*němĭcĭ]]'', an exonym given by speakers of [[w:Slavic_languages|Slavic languages]] to Germanic speakers. Niemish has undergone extensive influence by Slavic languages and is a member of the [[w:Balkan_sprachbund|Balkan sprachbund]], having such features as suffixed definite articles and deriving the future tense from present subjunctive. There is also considerable influence from languages such as [[w:Turkish_language|Turkish]], [[w:Hungarian_language|Hungarian]], [[w:Greek_language|Greek]], [[w:Latin_language|Latin]] and [[w:Romance_languages|Romance languages]].
Niemish (''[[Contionary:Nimsk|Nimsk]]'') is an [[w:East_Germanic_languages|East Germanic language]] descended from Wulfilan [[w:Gothic_language|Gothic]], the oldest [[w:Germanic_languages|Germanic language]] with a sizeable text corpus. The name originated from [[w:Proto-Slavic_language|Proto-Slavic]] ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/němьcь|*němĭcĭ]]'', an exonym given by speakers of [[w:Slavic_languages|Slavic languages]] to Germanic speakers. Niemish has undergone extensive influence by Slavic languages and is a member of the [[w:Balkan_sprachbund|Balkan sprachbund]], having such features as suffixed definite articles and deriving the future tense from present subjunctive. There is also considerable influence from languages such as [[w:Turkish_language|Turkish]], [[w:Hungarian_language|Hungarian]], [[w:Greek_language|Greek]], [[w:Latin_language|Latin]] and [[w:Romance_languages|Romance languages]].
==Phonology==
===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | [[w:Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[w:Denti-alveolar_consonant|Denti-alveolar]]
! colspan="1" | [[w:Postalveolar consonant|Postalveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[w:Velar consonant|Velar]]
! colspan="1" | [[w:Glottal_consonant|Glottal]]
|- style="font-size: small;"
! hard
! soft
! hard ([[w:Dental_consonant|Dental]])
! soft ([[w:Alveolar_consonant|Alveolar]])
! neutral
! soft
! hard
! neutral
|-
! colspan="2" | [[w:Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| [[w:Voiced_bilabial_nasal|m]] ⟨m⟩ || mʲ ⟨mj⟩
| [[w:Voiced_dental,_alveolar_and_postalveolar_nasals#Dental_or_denti-alveolar|n̪]] ⟨n⟩ || [[w:Voiced_dental,_alveolar_and_postalveolar_nasals#Alveolar|nʲ]] ⟨nj⟩
| rowspan="3" |
| ŋʲ ⟨ngj⟩ || [[w:Voiced_velar_nasal|ŋ]] ⟨ng⟩
| rowspan="3" |
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[w:Stop consonant|Plosive]]
! {{small|voiceless}}
| [[w:Voiceless_bilabial_plosive|p]] ⟨p⟩ || pʲ ⟨pj⟩
| [[w:Voiceless_dental_plosive|t̪]] ⟨t⟩ || [[w:Voiceless_alveolar_plosive|tʲ]] ⟨tj⟩
| kʲ ⟨kj⟩ || [[w:Voiceless_velar_plosive|k]] ⟨k⟩
|-
! {{small|voiced}}
| [[w:Voiced_bilabial_plosive|b]] ⟨b⟩ || bʲ ⟨bj⟩
| [[w:Voiced_dental_plosive|d̪]] ⟨d⟩ || [[w:Voiced_alveolar_plosive|dʲ]] ⟨dj⟩
| ɡʲ ⟨gj⟩ || [[w:Voiced_velar_plosive|ɡ]] ⟨g⟩
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[w:Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
! {{small|voiceless}}
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
| [[w:Voiceless_dental_affricate|t̪͡s̪]] ⟨tz⟩ || [[w:Voiceless_dental_affricate|t͡sʲ]] ⟨tzj⟩
| [[w:Voiceless postalveolar affricate|t͡ʃ]] ⟨cz⟩
| colspan="3" rowspan="2" |
|-
! {{small|voiced}}
| ([[w:Voiceless_dental_affricate|d̪͡z̪]]) ⟨dz⟩ || ([[w:Voiceless_dental_affricate|d͡zʲ]]) ⟨dzj⟩
| ([[w:Voiced postalveolar affricate|d͡ʒ]]) ⟨dsz⟩
|-
! rowspan="3" | [[w:Fricative consonant|Spirant]]
! rowspan=2 | {{small|voiceless}}
| rowspan=2 | [[w:Voiceless_labiodental_fricative|f]] ⟨f⟩ || rowspan=2 | fʲ ⟨fj⟩
| [[w:Voiceless_dental_sibilant|θ]] ⟨th⟩ || [[w:Voiceless dental sibilant|θʲ]] ⟨thj⟩
| rowspan=2 | [[w:Voiced_postalveolar_fricative|ʃ]] ⟨sz⟩
| rowspan=2 | xʲ ⟨chj⟩ || rowspan=2 | [[w:/x/|x]] ⟨ch⟩
| rowspan=2 | [[w:/h/|h]] ⟨h⟩
|-
| [[w:Voiceless_dental_sibilant|s̪]] ⟨s⟩ || [[w:Voiceless dental sibilant|sʲ]] ⟨sj⟩
|-
! {{small|voiced}}
| [[w:Voiced_labiodental_fricative|v]] ⟨v, w⟩ || rowspan="2" | vʲ ⟨wj, vj⟩
| [[w:Voiced dental sibilant|z̪]] ⟨z⟩ || [[w:Voiced dental sibilant|zʲ]] ⟨zj⟩
| [[w:Voiced_postalveolar_fricative|ʒ]] ⟨zsz⟩
|  colspan="3" rowspan="2" style="border-bottom:0;" |
|-
! colspan="2" | [[w:Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| [[w:/w/|w]] ⟨w⟩
| [[w:Velarized_dental_lateral_approximant|ɫ̪]] ⟨l⟩
| [[w:Alveolar_lateral_approximant|lʲ]] ⟨lj⟩ 
| [[w:/j/|j]] ⟨j⟩
|-
! colspan="2" | [[w:Trill_consonant|Trill]]
| colspan=2 |
| [[w:Voiced_dental,_alveolar_and_postalveolar_trills#Dental|r̪]] ⟨r⟩ || rʲ ⟨rj⟩
| colspan="4" style="border-top:0;" |
|}
===Vowels===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Vowels in stressed syllables
|-
! rowspan=2|
! colspan=2|[[w:Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan=2|[[w:Central vowel|Central]]
! colspan=2|[[w:Back vowel|Back]]
|- class=small
! [[w:Long vowel|Long]]
! [[w:Short vowel|Short]]
! [[w:Short vowel|Long]]
! [[w:Long vowel|Short]]
! [[w:Short vowel|Short]]
! [[w:Long vowel|Long]]
|- align=center
![[w:Close vowel|Close]]
| /iː/ ⟨í⟩ || /ɪ/ ⟨ì⟩ || style="border-right:0;" | /ɨː/ ⟨ý⟩ || style="border-left:0;" | || /ʊ/ ⟨ù⟩ || /uː/ ⟨ú⟩
|- align=center
! rowspan=2| [[w:Mid vowel|Mid]]
| /eː/ ⟨é⟩ || rowspan=2| /ɛ/<br/>⟨è, ä̀⟩ || rowspan=2 style="border-right:0;" | || rowspan=2 style="border-left:0;" | /ə/ ⟨ỳ⟩ || rowspan=2 | /ɔ/ ⟨ò⟩ || rowspan=2 | /oː/ ⟨ó⟩
|- align=center
| /ɛː/ ⟨ä́⟩
|- align=center
![[w:Open vowel|Open]]
| colspan=2| || /aː/ ⟨á⟩ || /a/ ⟨à⟩ || colspan=2|
|}
⟨a, ä, o, u, y⟩ occur after plain consonants and ⟨e, i⟩ occur after palatalised.
The acute and grave accents are often used in dictionaries and pedagogical material to mark stressed long vowels and stressed short vowels respectively, but they are not usually used in other situations.
This does not usually present problems, as:
* most (but not quite all) words in Niemish are stressed on the first syllable of the root
* long vowels can only occur in open syllables and short vowels in closed syllables or open syllables followed by a voiceless plosive
So stressed vowels and their length can be predicted with a high degree of accuracy. See [[Niemish#Orthography|here]] for notable exceptions.
Other than /ɛː/ open vowels are short while close vowels are long or occur in diphthongs. In most dialects /ɛː/ has merged with /eː/, making the distinction between ⟨é⟩ and ⟨ä́⟩ purely a matter of whether or not the preceding consonant is palatalised.
The diphthongs in Niemish are all falling, ending on /j/, /w/ or a liquid consonant /l, lʲ, m, mʲ, n, nʲ, r, rʲ/:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan=2 | Initial<br/>segment !! colspan=3 | Final segment
|-
! /_j/ !! /_w/ !! liquid consonant<br/>using /r/ as example
|-
| /a/ || ⟨aj⟩ || ⟨aw⟩ || ⟨ar⟩
|-
| /ɛ/ || ⟨äj⟩ || ⟨äw⟩ || ⟨är⟩
|-
| /e/ || ⟨ej⟩ || ⟨ew⟩ || ⟨er⟩
|-
| /i/ || ⟨ij⟩<ref name="ijuw">⟨ij, uw⟩ are properly long vowels, only represented with this spelling where morphologically motivated,<br>as in ''frij'' /fʲrʲiː/, ''frije'' /fʲrʲiːjə/<br>and ''triuw'' /tʲrʲuː/, ''triuwe'' /tʲrʲuːvʲə/.</ref> || ⟨iw⟩ || ⟨ir⟩
|-
| /ɨ/
!
| ⟨yw⟩ || ⟨yr⟩
|-
| /o/ || ⟨oj⟩ || ⟨ow⟩ || ⟨or⟩
|-
| /u/ || ⟨uj⟩ || ⟨uw⟩<ref name="ijuw"/> || ⟨ur⟩
|}
The realisation of ⟨y⟩ varies considerably by dialect; many, including the Capitoline dialect, simply merge it with ⟨i⟩, making the distinction between ⟨y⟩ and ⟨i⟩ purely a matter of whether or not the preceding consonant is palatalised. Other possible realisations include:
* [ɪ̈] or [ɨ] for the short ⟨y⟩
* [ɤ, ɯː]
* [ɘ, eː]
The stressed vowels are represented in Niemish orthography thus:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan=2 | Vowel !! colspan=5 | Niemish orthography
|-
! After a plain consonant<br/>using /b/ as example !! After a palatalised consonant<br/>using /bʲ/ as example !! After a postalveolar consonant<br/>using /j/ as example  !! After /h/ !! Word-initially
|-
| /a, aː/ || ⟨ba⟩ || ⟨bia⟩ || ⟨ja⟩ || ⟨ha⟩ || ⟨a⟩
|-
| /ɛ, ɛː/ || ⟨bä⟩ || ⟨biä⟩ || ⟨jä⟩ || ⟨hä⟩ || ⟨ä⟩
|-
| /ɛ, eː/
!
| ⟨be⟩ || ⟨je⟩ || ⟨he⟩ || ⟨e⟩
|-
| /ə, ɨː/ || ⟨by⟩
!
| ⟨jy⟩ || ⟨hy⟩
! 
|-
| /ɪ, iː/
!
| ⟨bi⟩
!
| ⟨hi⟩ || ⟨i⟩
|-
| /ɔ, oː/ || ⟨bo⟩ || ⟨bio⟩ || ⟨jo⟩ || ⟨ho⟩ || ⟨o⟩
|-
| /ʊ, uː/ || ⟨bu⟩ || ⟨biu⟩ || ⟨ju⟩ || ⟨hu⟩ || ⟨u⟩
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Vowels in unstressed syllables
|-
! |
! [[w:Front vowel|Front]]
! [[w:Central vowel|Central]]
! [[w:Back vowel|Back]]
|- align=center
![[w:Close vowel|Close]]
| /ɪ/ ⟨i, e¹⟩ || rowspan=2 | /ə/ ⟨y, e²⟩ || /ʊ/ ⟨u, o⟩
|- align=center
! [[w:Mid vowel|Mid]]
| rowspan=2| || rowspan=2|
|- align=center
![[w:Open vowel|Open]]
| /ɐ/ ⟨a⟩
|}
# <small>Unstressed ⟨e⟩ when not absolutely final, e.g. ⟨gomen⟩ /ˈgoːmʲɪn/</small>
# <small>Unstressed ⟨e⟩ when absolutely final, e.g. ⟨grune⟩ /ˈgruːnʲə/</small>
A sequence of a hard consonant followed by a front vowel is realised with a velar offglide inserted (or a labiovelar offglide after labial consonants):
*dächs /dɛːxs/ [dɰɛːxs], dialectally [dɰeːxs]
*bärs /bɛrs/ [bwɛrs], dialectally [bwers]
This also holds in dialects where /ə, ɨː/ have merged with /ɪ, i/ or [ɘ, eː]ː
*kyna /ˈkɨːnɐ/ Standard: [ˈkɨːnɐ], Dialectal: [ˈkɰiːnɐ], [ˈkɰeːnɐ]
*ęfynund /ɪ̃ˈfɨːnʊnd/ Standard: [ɪ̃ˈfɨːnʊnd], Dialectal: [ɪ̃ˈfwiːnʊnd], [ɪ̃ˈfweːnʊnd]
Glide insertion is not phonemic and thus not indicated in most IPA transcriptions.


==Scripts==
==Scripts==
Line 44: Line 250:
!'''[[w:International_Phonetic_Alphabet|IPA]]'''
!'''[[w:International_Phonetic_Alphabet|IPA]]'''
|-
|-
|A||a||/a~aː/
|A||a||/a, aː/
|-
|-
|Ą||ą||/ã~ãː/
|Ą||ą||/ã, ãː/
|-
|-
|Ä||ä||/ɛ~eː/
|Ä||ä||/ɛ~ɛː/
|-
|-
|Ą̈||ą̈||/ɛ̃~ẽː/
|Ą̈||ą̈||/ɛ̃, ɛ̃ː/
|-
|-
|B||b||/b~bʲ/
|B||b||/b, bʲ/
|-
|-
|C||c||/k~ʦʲ/
|C||c||/k, ʦʲ/
|-
|-
|D||d||/d~dʲ/
|D||d||/d, dʲ/
|-
|-
|E||e||/ɛ~eː/
|E||e||/ɛ, eː/
|-
|-
|Ę||ę||/ɛ̃~ẽː/
|Ę||ę||/ɛ̃, ẽː/
|-
|-
|F||f||/f~fʲ/
|F||f||/f, fʲ/
|-
|-
|G||g||/g~gʲ/
|G||g||/g, gʲ/
|}
|}
|
|
Line 74: Line 280:
|H||h||/h/
|H||h||/h/
|-
|-
|I||i||/ɪ~iː/
|I||i||/ɪ, iː/
|-
|-
|Į||į||/ɪ̃~ĩː/
|Į||į||/ɪ̃, ĩː/
|-
|-
|J||j||/j/
|J||j||/j/
|-
|-
|K||k||/k~kʲ/
|K||k||/k, kʲ/
|-
|-
|L||l||/l~lʲ/
|L||l||/l, lʲ/
|-
|-
|M||m||/m~mʲ/
|M||m||/m, mʲ/
|-
|-
|N||n||/n~nʲ/
|N||n||/n, nʲ/
|-
|-
|O||o||/ɔ~oː/
|O||o||/ɔ, oː/
|-
|-
|Ǫ||ǫ||/ɔ̃~õː/
|Ǫ||ǫ||/ɔ̃, õː/
|-
|-
|P||p||/p~pʲ/
|P||p||/p, pʲ/
|}
|}
|
|
Line 100: Line 306:
!'''[[w:International_Phonetic_Alphabet|IPA]]'''
!'''[[w:International_Phonetic_Alphabet|IPA]]'''
|-
|-
|(Q)||(q)||/k~kʲ/
|(Q)||(q)||/k, kʲ/
|-
|-
|R||r||/ɾ~ɾʲ/
|R||r||/r, rʲ/
|-
|-
|S||s||/s~sʲ/
|S||s||/s, sʲ/
|-
|-
|T||t||/t~tʲ/
|T||t||/t, tʲ/
|-
|-
|U||u||/ʊ~uː/
|U||u||/ʊ, uː/
|-
|-
|Ų||ų||/ʊ̃~ũ/
|Ų||ų||/ʊ̃, ũ/
|-
|-
|(V)||(v)||/v~vʲ/
|(V)||(v)||/v, vʲ/
|-
|-
|W||w||/w~vʲ/
|W||w||/w, vʲ/
|-
|-
|X||x||/ks~kʲsʲ/
|X||x||/ks, kʲsʲ/
|-
|-
|Y||y||/ɪ̈~ɨː/
|Y||y||/ə, ɨː/
|-
|-
|Z||z||/z~zʲ/
|Z||z||/z, zʲ/
|}
|}
|}
|}
Line 132: Line 338:
Outside digraphs, the letters ⟨C, Q, V⟩ only appear in loanwords, as do the digraphs ⟨Ph, Th⟩ and the trigraph ⟨Dsz⟩.
Outside digraphs, the letters ⟨C, Q, V⟩ only appear in loanwords, as do the digraphs ⟨Ph, Th⟩ and the trigraph ⟨Dsz⟩.


===Phonology===
===Orthography===
 
===Cyrillic script===
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Letter
! [[w:Cyrillic numerals|Numerical<br />value]]
! Niemish<br />Latin<br />equivalent
! Phoneme
! Name
! Name in<br/>Latin letters
|-
| [[w:A (Cyrillic)|А а]] || 1 || A a || /a, aː/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Be (Cyrillic)|Б б]] || || B b || /b, bʲ/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Ve (Cyrillic)|В в]] || 2 || W w, V v || /w, vʲ/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Ge (Cyrillic)|Г г]] || 3 || G g || /ɡ/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:De (Cyrillic)|Д д]] || 4 || D d || /d/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Ukrainian Ye|Є є]], [[w:Ye (Cyrillic)|Е e]]<ref name="Initial">Initial vs. non-initial shapes: Є/Е, Ѻ/О, IA/Ѧ.</ref> || 5 || E e || /e, ʲe/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Zhe (Cyrillic)|Ж ж]] || || Zsz zsz || /ʒ/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Dze|Ѕ ѕ]] || 6 || Dz dz || /ʣ/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Ze (Cyrillic)|З з]] || 7 || Z z || /z/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:I (Cyrillic)|И и]] || 8 || I i || /i/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Fita|Ѳ ѳ]] || 9 || Tz tz || /ʦ/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Dotted I (Cyrillic)|І і]]<ref name="i">In words of Greek origin, '''И''' and '''І''' correspond to ''[[w:Eta (letter)|Eta]]'' and ''[[w:Iota|Iota]]'' respectively. In the words of native origin '''И''' is used where it alternates with '''Є'''/'''Е''', otherwise '''І'''.</ref> || 10 || I i || /i/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Ka (Cyrillic)|К к]] || 20 || K k || /k/ || ||
|-
| [[w:El (Cyrillic)|Л л]] || 30 || L l || /l/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Em (Cyrillic)|М м]] || 40 || M m || /m/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:En (Cyrillic)|Н н]] || 50 || N n || /n/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:O (Cyrillic)|Ѻ ѻ, О o]]<ref name="Initial"/> || 70 || O o || /o/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Pe (Cyrillic)|П п]] || 80 || P p || /p/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Er (Cyrillic)|Р р]] || 100 || R r || /r/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Es (Cyrillic)|С с]] || 200 || S s ||| /s/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Te (Cyrillic)|Т т]] || 300 || T t || /t/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Uk (Cyrillic)|ОУ оу]]<ref name="Initial"/> || 400 || U u || /u/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Ef (Cyrillic)|Ф ф]] || 500 || F f || /f/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Kha (Cyrillic)|Х х]] || 600 || Ch ch || /x/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Omega (Cyrillic)|Ѡ ѡ]]<ref name="o">In words of Greek origin, '''О''' and '''Ѡ''' correspond to ''[[w:Omicron|Omicron]]'' and ''[[w:Omega|Omega]]'' respectively. In the words of native origin '''О''' is used where it alternates with '''ОУ''', otherwise '''Ѡ'''.</ref> || 800 || O o || /o/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Shcha|Щ щ]] || || St st || /st/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Tse (Cyrillic)|Ц ц]] || 900 || Tz tz || /ʦ/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Che (Cyrillic)|Ч ч]] || 90 || Cz cz || /ʧ/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Sha (Cyrillic)|Ш ш]] || || Sz sz || /ʃ/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Yer|Ъ ъ]] || ||  ||  ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Yery|Ꙑ ꙑ]] || || Y y || /ɨ/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Soft sign|Ь ь]] || || J j || /ʲ/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Yat|Ѣ ѣ]] || || ä || /ɛ/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Yat|Ꙓ ꙓ]] || || Jä jä, iä || /jɛ, ʲɛ/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Yu (Cyrillic)|Ю ю]] || || Jo jo, io || /jo, ʲo/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Yu (Cyrillic)|ЮУ юу]] || || Ju ju, iu || /ju, ʲu/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Iotated_A|Ꙗ ꙗ]] || || Ja ja, ia || /ja, ʲa/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Iotated_E|Ѥ ѥ]] || || Je je, ie || /je, ʲe/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Yus|Ꙙ ꙙ]] || || Ą ą || /ã/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Yus|Ꙝ ꙝ]] || || Ją ją, ią || /jã, ʲã/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Yus|Ꙛ ꙛ]] || || Ą̈, ą̈ || /ɛ̃/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Yus|IꙚ ıꙛ]] || || Ją̈ ją̈, ią̈ || /jɛ̃, ʲɛ̃/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Yus|Ѧ ѧ]] || || Ę ę || /ẽ, ʲẽ/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Yus|Ѩ ѩ]] || || Ję ję || /jẽ/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Ꙟ|Ꙟ ꙟ]] || || Į į || /ĩ, ʲĩ/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Yus|Ѫ ѫ]] || || Ǫ ǫ || /õ/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Yus|Ѭ ѭ]] || || Jǫ jǫ, iǫ || /jõ, ʲõ/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Yus|ѪУ ѫу]] || || Ų ų || /ũ/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Yus|ѬУ ѭу]] || || Jų jų, ių || /jũ, ʲũ/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Ksi (Cyrillic)|Ѯ ѯ]]<ref name="Greek">Letters '''[[Ѯ]]''', '''[[Ѱ]]''', and '''[[Ѵ]]''' are used for copying Greek spelling of loanwords (especially for names and [[toponym]]s).</ref> || 60 || Ks ks || /ks/ ||  ||
|-
| [[w:Psi (Cyrillic)|Ѱ ѱ]]<ref name="Greek"/> || 700 || Ps ps || /ps/ || ||
|-
| [[w:Izhitsa|Ѵ ѵ]]<ref name="Greek"/> || 400 || I i || /i/ || ||
|}
 
==Pronouns==
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
|-
!width=100px|  !!width=65px| Nominative !!width=65px| Accusative !!width=65px| Genitive !!width=65px| Dative
|-
!1st sg.
| i || mi || mi(n)<ref name="final nasal">The final ''-n'' is inserted before words beginning with a vowel.</ref> || mes
|-
!2nd sg.
| colspan=2 | tzu || tzu(n)<ref name="final nasal"/> || tzos
|-
!3rd sg. masc.
| colspan=2 | na/en || es || em
|-
!3rd sg. fem.
| colspan=2 | ja/ej || zas || ze
|-
!3rd refl.
!
| si || si(n)<ref name="final nasal"/> || ses
|-
!1st pl.
| wys || ųs || ǫr || ǫs
|-
!2st pl.
| colspan=2 | jus || zar || zes
|-
!3rd pl. masc.
| colspan=2 | is || ze || rowspan=2 | ę
|-
!3rd pl. fem.
| colspan=2 | jas || za
|}
 
The use of ''na'' and ''ja'' or ''en'' and ''ej'' is phonotactically motivated, not grammatically: ''na'' and ''ja'' appear before their associated verb while ''en'' and ''ej'' appear after. Consequently ''na'' and ''ja'' most often have a nominative sense, while ''en'' and ''ej'' most often have an accusative one. Note however that in verb-first constructions, such as ''ist en?'' "is he?" ''en'' and ''ej'' are used with a nominative sense.
 
==Nouns and adjectives==
 
===Nouns===
 
Niemish nouns are inflected for three cases (nominative-accusative, genitive and dative) and two numbers (singular and plural). In addition, definite nouns are marked with a suffix that evolved out of postposed Gothic definite articles, functionally giving every noun two declensions for singular and plural.
 
All nouns belong to one of three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. The neuter gender has fallen together with masculine in the Westlandic dialect, although the neuter plural still survives as an irregular plural for some formerly neuter nouns and has even become generalised to mark the plural of masculine nouns that commonly occur as a group, especially in pairs, often in parallel with a regular plural with a less specialised sense.
 
There are three classes of masculine or neuter noun:
*hard stem (may be subject to umlaut) ''[[Contionary:wich|wich]]'' ("road, way")
*soft stem ''[[Contionary:kunnj|kunnj]]'' ("tribe, race")
*mixed (may be subject to umlaut in the singular) ''[[Contionary:sun|sun]]'' ("son")
 
There are four classes of feminine noun:
*hard simple stem ''[[Contionary:blum|blum]]'' ("flower")
*soft simple stem ''[[Contionary:sullj|sullj]]'' ("sole")
*hard N-stem ''[[Contionary:trega|trega]]'' ("sadness")
*soft N-stem ''[[Contionary:snuria|snuria]]'' ("plait, braid"), ''[[Contionary:szuke|szuke]]'' ("sickness")
 
In addition, nouns with polysyllabic stems may be subject to syncopation, although this does not affect the class into which they are sorted.
 
====Masculine and neuter nouns====
 
<small>'''Hard stem nouns'''</small>
 
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width: 400px; text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="3" | Case
! colspan="4" | monosyllabic stem<br/>''[[Contionary:hub|hub]]'' "hoof"
! colspan="4" | polysyllabic stem<br/>''[[Contionary:iszar|iszar]]'' "iron"
! colspan="4" | syncopating polysyllabic stem<br/>''[[Contionary:latur|latur]]'' "laughter"
|-
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
|-
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
|-
! '''nominative'''
| hub
| huban
| hubs
| hubas
| iszar
| iszaran
| iszars
| iszaras
| latur
| latran
| laturs
| latras
|-
! '''genitive'''
| hubs
| hubes
| hube
| hubse
| iszars
| iszares
| iszare
| iszarse
| laturs
| latres
| latre
| laturse
|-
! '''dative'''
| hub
| hubum
| hubą
| hubę
| iszar
| iszarum
| iszarą
| iszarę
| latur
| latrum
| latrą
| latrę
|}
 
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width: 400px; text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="3" | '''Case'''
! colspan="4" | monosyllabic stem<br/>''[[Contionary:wich|wich]]'' "way", "road"
! colspan="4" | polysyllabic stem<br/> ''[[Contionary:ziuluf|ziuluf]]'' "forelock", "ringlet"
! colspan="4" | syncopating polysyllabic stem<br/>''[[Contionary:gumin|gumin]]'' "husband"
|-
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
|-
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
|-
! '''nominative'''
| wich
| wechan
| wechs
| wechas
| ziuluf
| ziulofan
| ziulofs
| ziulofas
| gumin
| gomnan
| gomens
| gomnas
|-
! '''genitive'''
| wichs
| wiches
| wiche
| wichse
| ziulufs
| ziulufes
| ziulufe
| ziulufse
| gumins
| gumnes
| gumne
| guminse
|-
! '''dative'''
| wech
| wechum
| wechą
| wechę
| ziulof
| ziulofum
| ziulofą
| ziulofę
| gomen
| gomnum
| gomną
| gomnę
|}
 
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width: 400px; text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="3" | '''Case'''
! colspan="4" | monosyllabic stem<br/>''[[Contionary:liab|liab]]'' "bread"
! colspan="4" | polysyllabic stem<br/>
! colspan="4" | syncopating polysyllabic stem<br/>''[[Contionary:wintur|wintur]]'' "winter"
|-
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
|-
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
|-
! '''nominative'''
| liab
| liaban
| liabs
| liabas
|
|
|
|
| wíntur
| wéntran
| wéntors
| wéntras
|-
! '''genitive'''
| liäbs
| liäbes
| liäbe
| liäbse
|
|
|
|
| wínturs
| wíntres
| wíntre
| wínturse
|-
! '''dative'''
| liab
| liabum
| liabą
| liabę
|
|
|
|
| wéntor
| wéntrum
| wéntrą
| wéntrę
|}
 
<small>'''Soft stem nouns'''</small>
 
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width: 400px; text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="3" | '''Case'''
! colspan="4" | ''[[Contionary:kunnj|kunnj]]'' "kin", "tribe", "ethnicity"
|-
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
 
|-
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
|-
! '''nominative'''
| kunnj
| kunnian
| kunns
| kunnias
|-
! '''genitive'''
| kunns
| kunnes
| kunne
| kunnse
|-
! '''dative'''
| kunnj
| kunnium
| kunnią
| kunnę
|}
 
<small>'''Mixed stem nouns'''</small>
 
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width: 400px; text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="3" | '''Case'''
! colspan="4" | ''[[Contionary:aszul|aszul]]'' "donkey", "ass"
|-
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
 
|-
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
|-
! '''nominative'''
| aszol
| aszlan
| äszuls
| äszlias
|-
! '''genitive'''
| äszuls
| äszles
| äszle
| äszulse
|-
! '''dative'''
| aszol
| aszlum
| äszlią
| äszlę
|}
 
====Feminine nouns====
 
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width: 400px; text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="3" | '''Case'''
! colspan="4" | ''[[Contionary:blum|blum]]'' "flower"
|-
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
 
|-
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
|-
! '''nominative'''
| blum
| bluma
| blums
| blumas
|-
! '''genitive'''
| blums
| blumas
| bluma
| blumsa
|-
! '''dative'''
| blume
| blumse
| blumą
| blumę
|}
 
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width: 400px; text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="3" | '''Case'''
! colspan="4" | ''[[Contionary:sullj|sullj]]'' "sole", "footprint"
|-
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
 
|-
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
|-
! '''nominative'''
| sullj
| sullia
| sulls
| sullias
|-
! '''genitive'''
| sulls
| sullias
| sullia
| sullsa
|-
! '''dative'''
| sulle
| sullse
| sullią
| sullę
|}
 
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width: 400px; text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="3" | '''Case'''
! colspan="4" | simple stem<br/>''[[Contionary:trega|trega]]'' "grief"
! colspan="8" | syncopating stems<br/>''[[Contionary:uggla|uggla]]'' "owl", ''klezma'' "bell"
|-
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
|-
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
|-
! '''nominative'''
| trega
| tregna
| tregas
| tregnas
| uggla
| uggulna
| ugglas
| uggulnas
| klezma
| klezmyna
| klezmas
| klezmynas
|-
! '''genitive'''
| tregas
| tregnas
| tregna
| tregsa
| ugglas
| uggulnas
| uggulna
| uggulsa
| klezmas
| klezmynas
| klezmyna
| klezmysa
|-
! '''dative'''
| tregą
| tregse
| tregę
| tregnę
| ugglą
| uggulse
| ugglę
| uggulnę
| klezmą
| klezmyse
| klezmę
| klezmynę
|}
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width: 400px; text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="3" | '''Case'''
! colspan="4" | simple stem<br/>''[[Contionary:snuria|snuria]]'' "plait", "braid"
! colspan="4" | syncopating stem<br/>
|-
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
 
|-
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
|-
! '''nominative'''
| snuria
| snurna
| snurias
| snurnas
| -ia
| -na
| -ias
| -as
|-
! '''genitive'''
| snurias
| snurnas
| snurna
| snursa
| -ias
| -as
| -na
| -sa
|-
! '''dative'''
| snurią
| snurse
| snurę
| snurnę
| -ią
| -se
| -ę
| -nę
|}
 
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width: 400px; text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="3" | '''Case'''
! colspan="4" | simple stem<br/>''[[Contionary:szuke|szuke]]'' "disease"
! colspan="4" | syncopating stem<br/>
|-
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
! colspan="2" | singular
! colspan="2" | plural
 
|-
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
|-
! '''nominative'''
| szuke
| szukna
| szukes
| szuknas
| -e
| -na
| -es
| -as
|-
! '''genitive'''
| szukes
| szuknas
| szukna
| szuksa
| -es
| -as
| -na
| -sa
|-
! '''dative'''
| szukę
| szukse
| szukę
| szuknę
| -ę
| -se
| -ę
| -nę
|}
 
===Adjectives===
 
Adjectives have been radically simplified since Gothic. All adjectives have hard stems and inflectional endings are retained only in predicative plural.
 
.Attributive adjectives are only marked for gender, case, number and definiteness insofar as these distinctions are marked by umlaut alternations, so attributive feminine adjectives are indeclinable. Predicative adjectives are inflected for number but not gender.
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan=3 | Case !! colspan=3 | masculine !! colspan=2 | feminine
|-
! colspan=2 | singular !! rowspan=2 | plural !! rowspan=2 | singular !! rowspan=2 | plural
|-
! indefinite !! definite
|-
! Nominative
| style="border-bottom:0;" | blind || colspan=2 | blend ||  rowspan=3 colspan=2 style="border-bottom:0;" | blend
|-
! Genitive
| colspan=3 style="border-top:0;" | blind
|-
! Dative
| colspan=3 style="border-bottom:0;" | blend
|-
! Predicative
| colspan=2 style="border-top:0;" | || blends || style="border-top:0;" | || blends
|}
 
Nominalised adjectives decline as masculine hard stem nouns:
 
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width: 400px; text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="3" | '''Case'''
! colspan="4" | '''masculine'''
! colspan="4" | '''feminine'''
|-
! colspan="2" | '''singular'''
! colspan="2" | '''plural'''
! colspan="2" | '''singular'''
! colspan="2" | '''plural'''
|-
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
! '''indefinite'''
! '''definite'''
|-
! '''nominative'''
| blind
| blendan
| blends
| blendas
| blend
| blenda
| blends
| blendas
|-
! '''genitive'''
| blinds
| blindes
| blinde
| blindse
| blends
| blendas
| blenda
| blendsa
|-
! '''dative'''
| blend
| blendum
| blendą
| blendę
| blende
| blendse
| blendą
| blendę
|}
 
==Verbs==
Niemish verbs maintain the Germanic categories of strong, weak and preterite-present. All verbs have two aspects, imperfective (bare stem) and perfective (marked by a ''gy-'' prefix if intransitive, by a ''by-'' prefix if transitive). As in Slavic languages, the morphological perfect present has a future meaning.
 
The Gothic subjunctive mood has been repurposed into two set of dependent verb forms (perfective and imperfective); these cannot occur without the subordinating particle ''i''. There is no infinitive, although the present participle is often used in situations where other European languages use an infinitive, and is often misidentified as one.
 
The conjugation of regular verbs can be seen in the table below.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Niemish verb conjugation
|-
! colspan="4" | Present participle
| colspan="5" | -(a)n
|-
! colspan="4" | Past participle (strong)
| colspan="5" | -(o)n
|-
! colspan="4" | Past participle (weak)
| colspan="5" | -(a)d
|-
! rowspan="2" | !! colspan="2"| Present !! colspan="2" | Past (strong) !! colspan="2" | Past (weak) !! rowspan="2" | Imperative
|-
! Indicative !! Subjunctive !! Indicative !! Subjunctive !! Indicative !! Subjunctive
|-
! 1S
| -Ø || -a || -Ø || -ja || -(a)d || -⟦i⟧za || rowspan=3| -Ø
|-
! 2S
| -[e]s || -es || -t || -jes || -(a)ds || -⟦i⟧zes
|-
! 3S
| -t || -e || -Ø || -j || -(a)d || -⟦e⟧z
|-
! 1P
| -ą || -em || -ą || -jem || -(y)dą || -⟦i⟧zem || rowspan=3 | -t
|-
! 2P
| -t || -et || -t || -jet || -(a)dt || -⟦i⟧zet
|-
! 3P
| -ą || -en || -ą || -jen || -(y)dą || -⟦i⟧zen
|}
'''Notes:'''
* (brackets) indicate a vowel that is dropped in verbs with a stem ending in a vowel or a liquid consonant.
* [square brackets] indicate a vowel that is inserted if the stem ends in a sibilant.
* ⟦doublestruck brackets⟧ indicate a vowel that is dropped if the stem ends in a vowel, but '''''not''''' if it ends in a liquid consonant.
* Strong verbs in the past subjunctive have the final consonant of the stem geminated, unless this consonant is already geminated, is ''r'', ''w'' or ''j'' (which do not geminate) or is ''d'', ''s'', ''t'', ''z'' (which instead become ''z'', ''sz'', ''tz'', ''zsz'' and lose palatalisation).
* Preterite-present verbs conjugate as a strong past in the present, and as a weak past in the past. The plural present has the same stem as the present participle. They often lack distinct perfective forms.
 
====Strong verbs====
Germanic language strong verbs are verbs that change the vowel in the stem to form the past and past participle, rather than add a suffix. For an English example, contrast ''fall-fell-fallen'' (strong) from ''fell-felled'' (weak).


A sequence of a plain consonant followed by a front vowel is realised with a velar offglide inserted (or a labiovelar offglide after labial consonants):
The following is a table of all the different types and subtypes of strong verbs.
*dächs /deːxs/ [dɰeːxs]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
*kyna /ˈkɨːna/ [ˈkɰɨːnə]
! colspan="2" |Strong verb classes !! colspan=4|Stem vowel
*bärs /beɾs/ [bweɾs]
|-
*ęfynund /ɪ̃ˈfwɨːnʊnd/ [ɪ̃ˈfwɨːnʊnd]
!Class!!Subclass!!General!!Past indicative!!Past subjunctive!!Past Participle
This is not phonemic and thus not indicated in most IPA transcriptions.
|-
!rowspan=2|1!!1a
|'''-í-'''<br>gríp, gríps||'''-iá-'''<br>griáp||rowspan=2|'''-ì'''<br>grìppia<br>wìppia||rowspan=2|'''-é-''', '''-í-'''<br>grépon, grípuns<br>wépon, wípuns
|-
!1b
|'''-ý-''', '''-í-'''<br>wýp, wíps||'''-á-'''<br>wáp
|-
! colspan="2" |2a
|'''-iú-'''<br>fliúg, fliúgs||'''-ió-'''<br>flióg||'''-iù-'''<br>fliùggia||'''-ió-''', '''-iú-'''<br>fliógon, fliúguns
|-
! colspan="2" |2b
|'''-ú-'''<br>búch, búchs||'''-ó-'''<br>bóch||'''-ù-'''<br>búchia||'''-ó-''', '''-ú-'''<br>bóchon, búchuns
|-
! colspan="2" |3/4
|'''-é-''', '''-í-'''<br>brék, bríks||'''-á-'''<br>brák||'''-ì-'''<br>brìkkia||'''-ó-''', '''-ú-'''<br>brókon, brúkuns
|-
! colspan="2" |5
|'''-é-''', '''-í-'''<br>wrék, wríks||'''-á-'''<br>wrák||'''-ì-'''<br>wrìkkia||'''-é-''', '''-í-'''<br>wrékon, wríkuns
|-
! colspan=2 |6
|'''-á-''', '''-ä́-'''<br>mál, mä́ls||'''-ú-'''<br>múl||'''-ù-'''<br>mùllia||'''-á-''', '''-ä́-'''<br>málon, mä́luns
|-
!rowspan=2|7b!!7ba
|'''-í-'''<br>tík, tíks||rowspan=2|'''-ú-'''<br>túk<br>wú||rowspan=2|'''-ù-'''<br>tùkkia<br>wúja||'''-í-'''<br>tíkun, tíkuns
|-
!7bb
|'''-ý-''', '''-í-'''<br>wý, wís||'''-ý-''', '''-í-'''<br>wýn, wíns
|}
The "general" stem is used for the present tense, present participle and imperative. The "past indicative", "past subjunctive" and "past participle" stems are used for their named forms. Where two possible stem vowels are shown, they form a low-high pair that alternate according to umlaut.
 
All past indicative stems assimilated to the Gothic first past stem, while class 3 verbs assimilated to class 4 in the past subjunctive. As a result class 3 and class 4a verbs merged. As there were only a very small number of class 4b verbs (which had identical past and past participle stems to classes 3 and 4a), these too merged with class 3.
 
The reduplicated consonant prefix in class 7 verbs was lost. As a result, class 7a verbs were lost, becoming weak verbs or, if they had past stem vowel ''u'', becoming class 7b instead.


===Orthography===
Class 1 and class 7b verbs with stems affected by [[Niemish#Depalatalisation_of_labials_and_.2Fr.2F|depalatalisation]] (beginning with a labial, a rhotic or a labial+rhotic cluster) had the present stem vowel changed from ''i'' to ''y''. Class 1 verbs also had the past stem vowel changed from ''ia, iä'' to ''a, ä''. The new subclasses of class 1 are named 1a and 1b by analogy with the other subclasses; while they are named 7ba and 7bb for class 7b, as they arise only from Gothic 7b verbs (7a verbs having been lost).
 
As palatalisation developed in Niemish, the palatalisation in the 2a general stem spread to all other stems, splitting subclasses 2a and 2b into full strong verb classes, sharing no forms. Some 2a verbs analogically extended the unpalatalised stems instead, causing them to join the 2b class.
 
Dissimulation from the past stem caused the present stem of 2a class verbs to have an invariant ''u'' vowel like in the 2b class, which came from a long ''ū'' in Gothic.
 
Class 2a verbs with stems affected by [[Niemish#Depalatalisation_of_labials_and_.2Fr.2F|depalatalisation]] became 2b verbs.
 
====Example====
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Aspect
!
! Non-past
! Past
! rowspan="2" | Imperative
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="8" | [[w:Imperfective|Imperfective]]
! rowspan="2" |
! Present
! Imperfect
|-
| ''('I break')''
| ''('I was breaking')''
| ''('be breaking!')''
|-
! 1 sg.
| brek || brak  || rowspan="3" | brik
|-
! 2 sg.
| briks || brakt
|-
! 3 sg.
| brikt || brak
|-
! 1 pl.
| breką || braką || rowspan="3" | brikt
|-
! 2 pl.
| brikt  || brakt
|-
! 3 pl.
| breką  || braką
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="8" | [[w:Perfective|Perfective]]
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="8" |
! Past
! Imperative
|-
| ''('I broke')''
| ''('break!')''
|-
! 1 sg.
| gybrak  || rowspan="3" | gybrik
|-
! 2 sg.
| gybrakt
|-
! 3 sg.
| gybrak
|-
! 1 pl.
| gybraką  || rowspan="3" | gybrikt
|-
! 2 pl.
| gybrakt
|-
! 3 pl.
| gybraką
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="8" | [[w:Perfect (grammar)|Perfect]]
! rowspan="2" |
! Present Perfect
! Past Perfect
! rowspan="8" |
|-
| ''('I have broken')''
| ''('I had broken')''
|-
! 1 sg.
| hab gybrokyn    || had gybrokyn
|-
! 2 sg.
| has gybrokyn  || hads gybrokyn
|-
! 3 sg.
| hat gybrokyn  || had gybrokyn
|-
! 1 pl.
| ham gybrokyn || hadą gybrokyn
|-
! 2 pl.
| hat gybrokyn  || hadt gybrokyn
|-
! 3 pl.
| han gybrokyn  || hadą gybrokyn
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="7" | Imperfective<br/>[[w:Dependent_and_independent_verb_forms|Dependent]]
!
! Present<br/>perfective dependent
! Past<br/>perfective dependent
! rowspan="7" |
|-
! 1 sg.
| breka    || brikkia
|-
! 2 sg.
| brekes  || brikes
|-
! 3 sg.
| breke  || brikkj
|-
! 1 pl.
| brekem || brikem
|-
! 2 pl.
| breket  || briket
|-
! 3 pl.
| breken  ||briken
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="7" | Perfective<br/>[[w:Dependent_and_independent_verb_forms|Dependent]]
!
! Present<br/>perfective dependent
! Past<br/>perfective dependent
! rowspan="7" |
|-
! 1 sg.
| gybreka    || gybrikkia
|-
! 2 sg.
| gybrekes  || gybrikes
|-
! 3 sg.
| gybreke  || gybrikkj
|-
! 1 pl.
| gybrekem || gybrikem
|-
! 2 pl.
| gybreket  || gybriket
|-
! 3 pl.
| gybreken  || gybriken
|}


===Cyrillic script===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="4" | With subordinating preposition ''i''
! colspan="4" | With future construction ''williund i''
|-
! colspan="2" | Present
! colspan="2" | Past
! colspan="2" | Present
! colspan="2" | Past
|-
! Imperfective
| i na breke
| '(that) he be breaking', 'to be breaking'
| i na brikkj
| '(that) he was breaking, 'to have been breaking'
| na willt i breke
| 'he will be breaking'
| na willt i brikkj
| 'he would break'
|-
! Perfective
| i na gybreke
| '(that) he break', 'to break'
| i na gybrikkj
| '(that) he broke', 'to have broken'
| i na gybreke
| 'he will break'
| i na gybrikkj
| 'he probably broke'
|}


==Historical changes==
==Historical changes==
Line 149: Line 1,389:
===Wulfilan Gothic to Post-Gothic===
===Wulfilan Gothic to Post-Gothic===
====Vowels====
====Vowels====
Wulfilan Gothic had three (in some analyses five) short vowels and seven long vowels. The short vowels were maintained in Post-Gothic and the long vowels reduced to five; Wulfilan Gothic already showed signs of merging close-mid vowels with close ones:
Wulfilan Gothic had five (in some analyses three) short vowels and seven long vowels. The short vowels were maintained in Post-Gothic and ''ē'' merged with ''ei'':
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌼𐌴𐍃#Gothic|mēs]]'' /eː/ → Post-Got. ''meis'' /iː/
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌼𐌴𐍃#Gothic|mēs]]'' /eː/ → Post-Got. ''meis'' /iː/
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌱𐌻𐍉𐌼𐌰#Gothic|blōma]]'' /oː/ → Post-Got. ''blūma'' /uː/
Wulfilan Gothic may have already started to merge ''ē'' with ''ei'', suggested by variant spellings such as ''[[wikt:𐌰𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍄#Gothic|akeit]]'' for ''[[wikt:𐌰𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍄#Gothic|akēt]]'' and ''[[wikt:𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍃#Gothic|leikeis]]'' for ''[[wikt:𐌻𐌴𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍃#Gothic|lēkeis]]''. In Post-Gothic this merger was complete.
This is attested in variant spellings such as ''[[wikt:𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍃#Gothic|leikeis]]'' for ''[[wikt:𐌻𐌴𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍃#Gothic|lēkeis]]''. In Post-Gothic this merger was complete.


The most important sound change with respect to short vowels was loss of syllable-final ''h'' /h/ with compensatory lengthening:
Syllable-final ''h'' /h/ was lost with compensatory lengthening of the previous vowel:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌼𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃#Gothic|mahts]]'' /mahts/ → Post-Got. ''māts'' /maːts/
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌼𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃#Gothic|mahts]]'' /mahts/ → Post-Got. ''māts'' /maːts/
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐍃#Gothic|raíhts]]'' /rɛhts/ → Post-Got. ''ráits'' /rɛːts/
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐍃#Gothic|raíhts]]'' /rɛhts/ → Post-Got. ''ráits'' /rɛːts/
Line 162: Line 1,401:
====Consonants====
====Consonants====
The proposed [[w:Thurneysen's law|Thurneysen's law]] became fully operational in Post-Gothic, although it was modified:
The proposed [[w:Thurneysen's law|Thurneysen's law]] became fully operational in Post-Gothic, although it was modified:
#Spirants gained or lost voice in dissimilation with the consonant beginning the previous syllable. This occurred in ''all'' syllables, not only unstressed ones.
#Spirants gained or lost voice in dissimilation with the consonant beginning the previous syllable. This occurred after ''all'' syllables, not only unstressed ones.
#The condition for the law depended only on the voicing of the consonant beginning the previous syllable, and the effect of consonant clusters beginning that previous syllable did not differ from simple consonants.
#Voicedness of the consonant beginning the preceding syllable became the only criterion driving dissimulation; clusters ceased to behave differently from simple consonants.
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌷𐌻𐌹𐍆𐌰𐌽#Gothic|hlifan]]'' → Post-Got. ''hliban''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌷𐌻𐌹𐍆𐌰𐌽#Gothic|hlifan]]'' → Post-Got. ''hliban''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌿𐍃#Gothic|qiþus]]'' → Post-Got. ''qidus''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌿𐍃#Gothic|qiþus]]'' → Post-Got. ''qidus''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌰𐌹𐌺𐌺𐌻𐌴𐍃𐌾𐍉#Gothic|áikklēsjō]]'' → Post-Got. ''áikkleizjū''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌰𐌹𐌺𐌺𐌻𐌴𐍃𐌾𐍉#Gothic|áikklēsjō]]'' → Post-Got. ''áikkleizjō''


*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌲𐌹𐌱𐌰#Gothic|giba]]'' → Post-Got. ''gifa''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌲𐌹𐌱𐌰#Gothic|giba]]'' → Post-Got. ''gifa''
Line 178: Line 1,417:


''g'' devoiced to a velar fricative [x], transcribed here as ''χ''.
''g'' devoiced to a velar fricative [x], transcribed here as ''χ''.
As a result of Thurneysen's law being extended, [[wikt:Grammatischer_Wechsel|Verner alternation]] in verbs was totally eliminated.


Between a nasal and a following liquid consonant, a voiced plosive was inserted:
Between a nasal and a following liquid consonant, a voiced plosive was inserted:
*Got. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/𐍄𐌹𐌼𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽|timrjan]]'' → Post-Got. ''timbrjan'' (note that ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/𐍄𐌹𐌼𐌱𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽|timbrjan]]'' already existed as a variant in Gothic)
*Got. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/𐍄𐌹𐌼𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽|timrjan]]'' → Post-Got. ''timbrjan'' (note that ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/𐍄𐌹𐌼𐌱𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽|timbrjan]]'' already existed as a variant in Wulfilan Gothic)
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/þunraz#Proto-Germanic|*þunraz]]'' → Got. ''*þundrs'' → Post-Got. ''þundars''
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/þunraz#Proto-Germanic|*þunraz]]'' → Got. ''*þunr'' → Post-Got. ''þundr''
Prefixes such as ''in-'' and ''un-'' were unaffected however.
Prefixes such as ''in-'' and ''un-'' were unaffected however.


Line 187: Line 1,428:


====Prepalatal gemination====
====Prepalatal gemination====
With the exception of ''h'', ''w'', consonants followed by ''j'' were geminated in a similar process to that seen in [[w:West_Germanic_gemination|West and East Germanic]] but much more extensive, as in Italo-Romance. [[w:Sievers's_law|Sievers's law]] was no longer operational at this time, as the change also occurred after long vowels (which were subsequently shortened):
With the exception of ''h'', ''ƕ'' ''w'', consonants followed by ''j'' were geminated in a similar process to that seen in [[w:West_Germanic_gemination|West and North Germanic]] but much more extensive, as in Italo-Romance. [[w:Sievers's_law|Sievers's law]] was no longer operational at this time, as the change also occurred after long vowels (which were subsequently shortened):


Coronal consonants were palatalised during this gemination, and the voiced affricate /dz/ converted to /z/. It is thought that voiced sibilants degeminated before compensatory lengthening occurred, but it is also possible that - as with ''h'', ''w'' - geminated voiced fricatives were simply disallowed at all stages (this also accounts for why ''b'', ''d'', ''g'' ceased to be fricatives with gemination).
Coronal consonants were palatalised during this gemination, and the voiced affricate /dz/ converted to /z/. It is thought that voiced sibilants degeminated before compensatory shortening occurred, but it is also possible that - as with ''h'', ''w'' - geminated voiced fricatives were simply disallowed at all stages (this also accounts for why ''b'', ''d'', ''g'' ceased to be fricatives with gemination).


''tj, dj, sj, zj'' → /tts, ddz, ʃʃ, ʒʒ/ → /tts, z, ʃʃ, ʒ/
''tj, dj, þj, sj, zj'' → /tts, ddz, þþj, ʃʃ, ʒʒ/ → /tts, z, ttj, ʃʃ, ʒ/ → /tt͡s, z, tt͡ʃ, ʃʃ, ʒ/


*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍀𐌻𐌰𐍀𐌾𐌰#Gothic|*platja]]'' → ''*plattsa'' → ''platz''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍀𐌻𐌰𐍀𐌾𐌰#Gothic|*platja]]'' → ''*plattsa'' → ''[[Contionary:platz#Niemish|plàtz]]''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌳𐌰𐌳𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽#Gothic|daddjan]]'' → ''*daddzan'' → ''dazond''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌸𐌾𐌰𐌽#Gothic|skaþjan]]'' → Post-Got. ''skadjan'' → ''*skaddzan'' → ''skazond''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽#Gothic|báidjan]]'' → Post-Got. ''báiþjan'' → ''*bēþþjan'' → ''*bēttjan'' → ''beczond''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌻𐌰𐌹𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽#Gothic|láisjan]]'' → ''*lēʃʃan'' → ''leszond''
*Post-Got. ''[[wikt:𐌰𐌹𐌺𐌺𐌻𐌴𐍃𐌾𐍉#Gothic|aíkkleizjō]]'' → ''*klīʒʒō'' → ''[[Contionary:klizsza#Niemish|klízsza]]''


*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌳𐌰𐌳𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽#Gothic|daddjan]]'' → ''*daddzan'' → ''dazund''
The prepalatal gemination was a very early sound change, likely beginning in late Post-Gothic itself. The coronal palatalisation is also found in early Romance and what little is attested of the closely related [[w:Vandalic_language|Vandalic language]].
 
It is thought that ''dj'' initially became */ddz/ before (after the Post-Gothic period had ceased) /z/, both because it patterns with ''tj'' → /tts/ and because Gothic ''[[wikt:𐌳𐌰𐌳𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽#Gothic|daddjan]]'' became ''dazond''. Had degeminated /z/ arisen in Post-Gothic, extended Thurneysen's law would have devoiced the consonant to give ''*dasond''. There are no examples of ''z'' arising from the coronal palatalisation being affected by extended Thurneysen's law.
 
The voiceless fricative ''þj'' was stopped to /tj/ later, during the Middle Niemish period.


*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌻𐌰𐌹𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽#Gothic|láisjan]]'' → ''*lεʃʃan'' → ''leszund''
Voiceless plosives also geminated before the syllabic liquid consonants ''l'', ''m'', ''n'', ''r'':
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/aplaz#Proto-Germanic|*aplaz]]'' → ''[[Contionary:appol#Niemish|àppol]]''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍃𐌹𐍄𐌻𐍃#Gothic|sitls]]'' → ''[[Contionary:sittil#Niemish|sìttil]]''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌺𐌽𐍃#Gothic|táikn]]'' → ''[[Contionary:tzakken#Niemish|tzàkken]]''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌰𐌺𐍂𐍃#Gothic|akrs]]'' → ''[[Contionary:akkur#Niemish|àkkur]]''


*Post-Got. ''[[wikt:𐌰𐌹𐌺𐌺𐌻𐌴𐍃𐌾𐍉#Gothic|aíkkleizjū]]'' → ''*klīʒʒū'' → ''klizsza''
Other consonants did not:
*Lat. ''[[wikt:tabla#Latin|tabla]]'' → ''tabol''<ref name="tabul">''tabol'' is no longer extant in Niemish, although the dual definite form ''{{term|Tabla#Niemish|Tabla}}'' is still used as a name for the game Backgammon.</ref>
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍆𐍉𐌳𐍂#Gothic|fōdr]]'' → ''[[Contionary:fudor#Niemish|fúdor]]''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌱𐌰𐌲𐌼𐍃#Gothic|bagms]]'' → ''[[Contionary:bachum#Niemish|báchum]]''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂#Gothic|tagr]]'' → ''[[Contionary:tagur#Niemish|tágur]]''
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/*wazrą#Proto-Germanic|*wazrą]]'' → Post-Got. ''wasr'' → ''[[Contionary:waszur#Niemish|wàszur]]''


The prepalatal gemination was a very early sound change, likely beginning in late Post-Gothic itself. The coronal palatalisation is also found in early Romance and what little is attested of the closely related [[w:Vandalic_language|Vandalic language]].
====Epenthesis====
A epenthetic vowel was inserted before syllabic consonants:
* ''i'' if the vowel in the previous syllable was ''i'' ''ē'' or ''ei'' in Gothic
**Got. ''[[wikt:𐍃𐌹𐍄𐌻𐍃#Gothic|sitls]]'' → ''[[Contionary:sittil#Niemish|sìttil]]''
* ''i'' if the final consonant was palatal or palatalised:
**Got.


It is thought that ''dj'' initially became */ddz/ before /z/, both because it patterns with ''tj'' → /tts/ and because Gothic ''[[wikt:𐌳𐌰𐌳𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽#Gothic|daddjan]]'' became ''dazund''; had degeminated /z/ arisen in the Post-Gothic period, extended Thurneysen's law would have devoiced the consonant to give ''*dasund''. There are no examples of ''z'' arising from the coronal palatalisation being affected by extended Thurneysen's law.
Otherwise:
* ''u'' before syllabic ''l'', ''m'', or ''r'' in masculine words:
**P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/aplaz#Proto-Germanic|*aplaz]]'' → ''[[Contionary:appol#Niemish|àppol]]''
** Got. ''[[wikt:𐌱𐌰𐌲𐌼𐍃#Gothic|bagms]]'' → ''[[Contionary:bachum#Niemish|báchum]]''
**Got. ''[[wikt:𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂#Gothic|tagr]]'' → ''[[Contionary:tagur#Niemish|tágur]]''


Voiceless plosives also geminated before the liquid consonants ''l'', ''r'':
* ''o'' before syllabic ''l'', ''m'', or ''r'' in feminine words:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌰𐌺𐍂𐍃#Gothic|akrs]]'' → ''akkar''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍆𐍉𐌳𐍂#Gothic|fōdr]]'' → ''[[Contionary:fudor#Niemish|fúdor]]''
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/aplaz#Proto-Germanic|*aplaz]]'' → ''appul''


Voiced ones did not:
*In all other cases, the epenthetic vowel was ''y'':
* Got. ''[[wikt:𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂#Gothic|tagr]]'' → ''tagar''
**Got. ''[[wikt:𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌺𐌽𐍃#Gothic|táikn]]'' → ''[[Contionary:tzakkyn#Niemish|tzàkkyn]]''
*Lat. ''[[wikt:tabla#Latin|tabla]]'' → ''tabul'' <sup>1</sup>


1. ''tabul'' is no longer extant in Niemish, although the dual definite form ''Tabla'' is still used as a name for the game Backgammon.
Nouns affected by epenthesis did not experience epenthesis in inflected forms that lacked syllabic consonants in the first place. This lead to the formation of syncopating nouns:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂#Gothic|tagr]]'' → ''[[Contionary:tagur#Niemish|tágur]]'' "tear"
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂𐌴#Gothic|tagrē]]'' → ''tägre'' "of tears"


====First umlaut (umlaut pattern 1. or i-umlaut)====
====First umlaut (umlaut pattern 1. or i-umlaut)====


The first umlaut only affected vowels that were short in Post-Gothic; Niemish at this stage still preserved the Post-Gothic distribution of long and short vowels, where not shortened by the prepalatal gemination.
The first umlaut only affected vowels that were short. Niemish at this stage still preserved the Post-Gothic distribution of long and short vowels, where not shortened by the prepalatal gemination.
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan=2 | Case !! colspan=2 | Post-Gothic !! colspan=2 | Medieval Niemish !! colspan=2 | Niemish
|-
! Singular !! Plural !! Singular !! Plural  !! Singular !! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| daχs || daχōs || rowspan=2 | dach || rowspan=2 | dachas || rowspan=2 | dach || rowspan=2 | dachs
|-
! Accusative
| daχ || daχans
|-
! Genitive
| daχis || daχei || <span style="color:red">dächis</span> || <span style="color:red">dächī</span> || <span style="color:red">dächs</span> || <span style="color:red">däche</span>
|-
! Dative
| daχa || daχam || dacha || dachą || dach || dachą
|}
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan=2 | Case !! colspan=2 | Post-Gothic !! colspan=2 | Medieval Niemish !! colspan=2 | Niemish
|-
! Singular !! Plural !! Singular !! Plural  !! Singular !! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| waúrts || waúrtōs || rowspan=2 | wort || rowspan=2 | wortas || rowspan=2 | wort || rowspan=2 | worts
|-
! Accusative
| waúrt || waúrtans
|-
! Genitive
| waúrtis || waúrtei || <span style="color:red">wurtis</span> || <span style="color:red">wurtī</span> || <span style="color:red">wurts</span> || <span style="color:red">wurte</span>
|-
! Dative
| waúrta || waúrtam || worta || wortą || wort || wortą
|}


====Second umlaut (umlaut pattern 2. or a-umlaut)====
====Second umlaut (umlaut pattern 2. or a-umlaut)====


The second umlaut affected both long and short vowels.
The second umlaut affected Post-Gothic short ''i'' and ''u'' and long ''ái'' and ''ei'' (the last one under [[Niemish#Emergence_of_/ɨː/|limited circumstances]]). There is debate about whether the second umlaut in fact occurred before the first umlaut, but the current names for the two umlauts are too well established now for renaming them to be practical.
 
When followed by a back vowel in the following syllable, short ''i'' and ''u'' were lowered to ''e'' and ''o'' (see Medieval Niemish in the tables). These lowered vowels persisted after apocope eliminated the original trigger of umlaut, elevating short ''e'' and ''o'' to full phonemes in their own right, with ''i''/''e'' and ''u''/''o'' alternation often accounting for the difference between nominative singular and dative singular, or genitive singular and nominative plural:
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan=2 | Case !! colspan=2 | Post-Gothic !! colspan=2 | Medieval Niemish !! colspan=2 | Niemish
|-
! Singular !! Plural !! Singular !! Plural  !! Singular !! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| hunds || hundōs || rowspan=2 | hund || rowspan=2 | <span style="color:blue">hondas</span> || rowspan=2 | hund || rowspan=2 | <span style="color:blue">honds</span>
|-
! Accusative
| hund || hundans
|-
! Genitive
| hundis || hundei || hundis || hundī || hunds || hunde
|-
! Dative
| hunda || hundam || <span style="color:blue">honda</span> || <span style="color:blue">hondą</span> || <span style="color:blue">hond</span> || <span style="color:blue">hondą</span>
|}
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan=2 | Case !! colspan=2 | Post-Gothic !! colspan=2 | Medieval Niemish !! colspan=2 | Niemish
|-
! Singular !! Plural !! Singular !! Plural  !! Singular !! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| wiχs || wiχōs || rowspan=2 | wich || rowspan=2 | <span style="color:blue">wechas</span> || rowspan=2 | wich || rowspan=2 | <span style="color:blue">wechs</span>
|-
! Accusative
| wiχ || wiχans
|-
! Genitive
| wiχis || wiχei || wichis || wichī || wichs || wiche
|-
! Dative
| wiχa || wiχam || <span style="color:blue">wecha</span> || <span style="color:blue">wechą</span> || <span style="color:blue">wech</span> || <span style="color:blue">wechą</span>
|}
 
The second umlaut affected Post-Gothic long ''ái'' and ''ei'' slightly differently. When followed by a plain consonant (or when not followed by a front vowel in the following syllable in the ''second umlaut first hypothesis'') , ''ái'' [ɛː] was broken to first [jɛ] then lowered to [ja], and ''ei'' [[Niemish#Emergence_of_/ɨː/|was lowered to /ɨː/]]:
 
Second umlaut was unable to occur in ja- or ju-stem nouns, and only occured in the singular of i- and u-stems. '''This gave rise to the three stems all Niemish masculine nouns belong to: ''hard'' (a-stems), ''soft'' (ja- and ju-stems) and ''mixed'' (i- and u-stems).'''
 
Feminine nouns either underwent the second umlaut in all inflected forms (jō-, jōn- and ein-stems) or not at all (all others). Thus as with first umlaut, vowel alternations due to second umlaut do not occur in feminine nouns. Note that ''ái'' [ɛː] is not considered a front vowel for the purposes of second umlaut; the umlaut was also predicated on vowel height and ''ái'' as a low vowel could trigger second umlaut:


The coronal palatalisation was still active when the second umlaut happened, as:
The coronal palatalisation was still active when the second umlaut happened, as:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌲𐍃#Gothic|daigs]]'' → Post-Got. ''daiχs'' → ''djach'' → ''zach''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿𐌽#Gothic|taíhun]]'' → Post-Got. ''taíhun'' → ''táin'' → ''tsjan'' → ''[[Contionary:tzan#Niemish|̀tzán]]'' ("ten")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌲𐍃#Gothic|dáigs]]'' → Post-Got. ''dáiχs'' → ''djach'' → ''[[Contionary:zach#Niemish|zách]]'' ("dough")
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/sairaz|*sairaz]]'' → Post-Got. ''sáirs'' → ''sjar'' → ''[[Contionary:szar#Niemish|szár]]'' ("sore")


The ''z'' was analogically extended to all forms of word where it arose, even those forms where no second umlaut had taken place.
The fricatives that arose from coronal palatalisation were analogically extended to all forms of word where it arose, even those forms where no second umlaut had taken place.


====Development of nasal vowels====
====Development of nasal vowels====
Wherever a nasal consonant occurred word-finally or before a spirant in Post-Gothic, it disappeared in favour of nasalisation of the previous vowel. The length of the vowel was not affected, or else any change in vowel length happened too late to affect the first umlaut and was ultimately rendered irrelevant by syllable weight neutralisation:
Wherever a nasal consonant occurred word-finally or before a spirant in Post-Gothic, it disappeared in favour of nasalisation of the previous vowel. The length of the vowel was not affected, or else any change in vowel length happened too late to affect the first umlaut and was ultimately rendered irrelevant by syllable weight neutralisation:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌳𐌰𐌲𐌰𐌼#Gothic|dagam]]'' → Post-Got. ''daχam'' → ''dachą''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌳𐌰𐌲𐌰𐌼#Gothic|dagam]]'' → Post-Got. ''daχam'' → ''{{term|dach#Niemish|dachą}}'' ("day" dat.pl.)
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌿𐌽𐍃#Gothic|uns]]'' → ''ųs''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌿𐌽𐍃#Gothic|uns]]'' → ''ųs'' ("us")
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kunstiz#Proto-Germanic|*kunstiz]]'' → ''kųst''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌹𐌽#Gothic|in]]'' → ''{{term|į#Niemish|į́}}'' ("in")
*Lat. ''[[wikt:amphora#Latin|amphora]]'' → Post-Got. ''amfaúra'' → ''ąfor'' → ''ąchor''
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kunstiz#Proto-Germanic|*kunstiz]]'' → ''{{term|kųst#Niemish|kųst}}'' ("art")
*Lat. ''[[wikt:amphora#Latin|amphora]]'' → Post-Got. ''*amfaúra'' → ''ąfor'' → ''[[Contionary:ąchor#Niemish|ą́chor]]'' ("bucket")


After syncope, /ml, nl, mr, nr/ were reintroduced into the language outside of prefixes.
After syncope, /ml, nl, mr, nr/ were reintroduced into the language outside of prefixes.


Subsequently, /n/ was lost with compensatory lengthening before liquid consonants /l, r/:
Subsequently, simple /n/ was lost before liquid consonants /l, m, r/ with compensatory gemination of the liquid consonant:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌹#Gothic|*kuni]][[wikt:-𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍃#Gothic|lig̃gs]]'' → ''kunling'' → ''kųlling''
*Post-Got. ''[[wikt:𐌻𐌰𐌿𐌽#Gothic|*láuna]][[wikt:-𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍃#Gothic|lig̃gs]]'' → ''lonling'' → ''lǫlling'' ("small change, petty cash")


There was no compensatory lengthening when the syllable with the nasal coda was unstressed, as with words prefixed with ''an-'', ''in-'', ''un-'':
This did not happen to geminated /n/:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌿𐌽𐌻𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃#Gothic|unlustus]]'' → ''unlust'' → ''ųlust''
*Post-Got. ''[[wikt:𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌹#Gothic|*kunnja]][[wikt:-𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍃#Gothic|lig̃gs]]'' → ''kunnling'' ("relation, relative")
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/unrehtaz#Proto-Germanic|*unrehtaz]]'' → ''unrjat'' → ''ųriat''


/m/ was not lost, but experienced stop insertion much as in Post-Gothic:
There was no compensatory gemination when the syllable with the nasal coda was unstressed, or in prefixes such as ''an-'', ''in-'', ''un-'':
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/sumaraz#Proto-Germanic|*sumaraz]]'' → ''somar'' → ''sumbar''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌿𐌽𐌻𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃#Gothic|unlustus]]'' → ''*unlust'' → ''{{term|ųlust#Niemish|ų̀lùst}}'' ("apathy, lethargy")
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/unrehtaz#Proto-Germanic|*unrehtaz]]'' → ''*unriat'' → ''{{term|ųrat#Niemish|ų̀rát}}'' ("crooked, wrong")
 
/m/ was not lost (except in Westlandic), but experienced stop insertion much as in Post-Gothic:
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/sumaraz#Proto-Germanic|*sumaraz]]'' → ''somar'' → ''{{term|sumbur#Niemish|súmbur}}''
Early medieval Niemish had forms such as ''somar'' and ''somor'', which developed into ''sǫwr'' in the Westlandic dialect. Presumably the /b/ was inserted into the definite form ''somran'', the /o/ lowered by the /mb/ to give ''sumbran'', and the /b/ later spread to all forms of the word by analogy. Likewise, the Westlandic form developed from ''somran'' → ''sǫwran'' in a sound change more akin to that described above for /n/ with similar analogical spreading.
Early medieval Niemish had forms such as ''somar'' and ''somor'', which developed into ''sǫwr'' in the Westlandic dialect. Presumably the /b/ was inserted into the definite form ''somran'', the /o/ lowered by the /mb/ to give ''sumbran'', and the /b/ later spread to all forms of the word by analogy. Likewise, the Westlandic form developed from ''somran'' → ''sǫwran'' in a sound change more akin to that described above for /n/ with similar analogical spreading.


Nasal vowels followed by a fricative in unstressed final syllables lost their nasalisation:
Nasal vowels followed by a fricative in unstressed final syllables lost their nasalisation:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍄𐌿𐌲𐌲𐍉𐌽𐍃#Gothic|tug̃gōns]]'' → Post-Got. ''tug̃gūns'' → ''tungą̄s'' → ''tungas''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍄𐌿𐌲𐌲𐍉𐌽𐍃#Gothic|tug̃gōns]]'' → Post-Got. ''*tug̃gūns'' → ''*tungǭs'' → ''{{term|tunga#Niemish|túngos}}'' ("tongues")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌹𐌽#Gothic|in]]'' → ''į'' → ''i'' (although note ''in'' before words beginning with a vowel)


Nasals that formed the end of a root, as in ''[[wikt:𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌼𐍃#Gothic|háims]]'' and ''[[wikt:𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽#Gothic|aljan]]'' were either not lost or more likely restored by analogy with forms with inflectional endings; the Niemish descendants of these words are ''[[Contionary:ham|ham]]'' and ''[[Contionary:ällin|ällin]]''.
Nasals that formed the end of a root, as in ''[[wikt:𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌼𐍃#Gothic|háims]]'' and ''[[wikt:𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽#Gothic|aljan]]'' were either not lost or more likely restored by analogy with forms with inflectional endings; the Niemish descendants of these words are ''[[Contionary:ham|ham]]'' and ''[[Contionary:ällin|ällin]]''.
====Loss of non-initial /f/====
When it occurred after a vowel, /f/ became /x/:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌻𐌿𐍆𐍄𐌿𐍃#Gothic|luftus]]'' → ''{{term|lucht#Niemish|lùcht}}'' ("air, atmosphere")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌲𐌹𐌱𐌰#Gothic|giba]]'' → Post-Got. ''gifa'' → ''{{term|gech#Niemish|géch}}'' ("gift")
Elison of initial vowels sometimes gave rise to initial /x/:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂#Gothic|ufar]]'' → Middle Niemish ''ochor'' → ''{{term|chor#Niemish|chór}}'' ("over")
Initial and geminated /f/ were unaffected:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍆𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃#Gothic|fisks]]'' → ''{{term|fisk#Niemish|fìsk}}'' ("fish")
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ribją#Proto-Germanic|*ribją]]'' → Post-Got. ''rifi'' → ''{{term|riff#Niemish|rìff}}'' ("rib, spoke")
====Reduction of /rn/ to /r/====
Niemish reduced /rn/ to /r/:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽#Gothic|haúrn]]'' → ''{{term|hor#Niemish|hór}}'' ("horn")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌴𐌹𐍃𐌰𐍂𐌽#Gothic|eisarn]]'' → ''{{term|iszar#Niemish|íszar}}'' ("iron")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌺𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽#Gothic|kaúrn]]'' → ''{{term|kor#Niemish|kór}}'' ("corn")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐍉#Gothic|staírnō]]'' → ''{{term|stiara#Niemish|stiára}}'' ("star")
The same sound shift also occurred in Luxembourgish ''[[wikt:Kar#Luxembourgish|Kar]]'' and [[w:Dalecarlian_language#Phonology|Dalecarlian Swedish dialects]]. A similar shift cannot be confirmed for Crimean Gothic ''[[wikt:kor#Crimean_Gothic|kor]]'' as the manuscript that records Crimean Gothic is likely riddled with typographic errors.
====Apocope====
Niemish underwent drastic apocope of vowels - less strong than in Slavic languages, but stronger than in Scandinavian. In the process it generated new instances of /rn/:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌰𐍂𐌰#Gothic|aran]]'' → ''{{term|arn#Niemish|árn}}'' ("eagle")
*Post-Got. ''[[wikt:𐌴𐌹𐍃𐌰𐍂𐌽#Gothic|*eisarn]][[wikt:-𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃#Gothic|eins]]'' → ''{{term|iszarn#Niemish|íszarn}}'' ("made of iron")
====Loss of /θ/====
Medieval Niemish had two dental fricatives /θ, θʲ/. These became affricates at the beginning of a word and when geminated:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌸𐌿#Gothic|þū]]'' → Medieval Niemish ''t͡þu'' → ''ʦu'' → ''{{term|tzu#Niemish|tzú}}'' /t͡suː/ ("you, thou")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌼𐌹𐌸#Gothic|miþ]] [[wikt:𐌸𐌰𐌼𐌼𐌰#Gothic|þamma]]'' → Medieval Niemish ''mett͡þam'' → ''meʦʦum'' → ''{{term|metzum#Niemish|mètzum}}'' /ˈmʲɛtt͡sʊm/ ("by the way")
Before /r/ they became /t, tʲ/:
*PGmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/þrūbō|*þrūbô]]'' → ''{{term|trub#Niemish|trúb}}'' /truːb/ ("grapes")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍅𐌹𐌸𐍂𐌿𐍃#Gothic|wiþrus, wiþrum]]'' → ''{{term|wittur#Niemish|wìttur, wèttrą}}'' /ˈvʲɪttʊr, ˈvʲɛttrɐ̃/ ("lamb, to the lamb")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌰𐌽𐌸𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌼𐌼𐌰#Gothic|anþar, anþaramma]]'' → ''{{term|antur#Niemish|ántur, ántrum}}'' /ˈantʊr, ˈantrʊm/ ("other, to the other")
After a liquid consonant (and not followed by /r/), they were hardened to /d, dʲ/:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍄𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃#Gothic|tunþs]]'' → ''{{term|tund#Niemish|túnd}}'' /tund/ ("tooth")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸#Gothic|waírþ]]'' → ''{{term|ward#Niemish|wárd}}'' /ward/ ("worth")


====S-palatalisation====
====S-palatalisation====
Much like Slavic and Indo-Iranian languages (and to an extent High German), Niemish changed ''s'' to ''sz'' /ʃ/ and ''z'' to ''zsz'' /ʒ/ before /w/ and after /r, uː, iː/:
Much like Slavic and Indo-Iranian languages (and to an extent High German), Niemish changed Post-Gothic /s, z, t͡s/ to /ʃ, ʒ, t͡ʃ/ before /r, w/ and after /r, uː, iː/:
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/barsaz#Proto-Germanic|*barsaz]]'' → ''barsz''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍃𐍅𐌰𐍂𐍄𐍃#Gothic|swarts]]'' → ''[[Contionary:szwart#Niemish|szwárt]]'' ("black")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍃𐍅𐌰𐍂𐍄𐍃#Gothic|swarts]]'' → ''szwart''
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wazrą#Proto-Germanic|*wazrą]]'' → Post-Got. ''wasr'' → ''{{term|waszur#Niemish|wàszur}}'' ("spring")
*P-W-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-West_Germanic/kirsijā#Proto-West_Germanic|*kirsijā]]'' → Post-Got. ''kaírsjū'' → ''kersza''
**P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/barsaz#Proto-Germanic|*barsaz]]'' → ''[[Contionary:barsz#Niemish|bársz]]'' ("perch, a type of fish")
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/mūs#Proto-Germanic|*mūs]]'' → ''musz''
***Got. ''[[wikt:𐌸𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍃𐌿𐍃|þaúrsus]]'' → Post-Got. ''þaurzus'' → ''{{term|tzorzsz#Niemish|tzórzsz}}'' ("thirsty")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌼𐌴𐍃#Gothic|mēs]]'' → Post-Got. ''meis'' → ''mysz''
****P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/skurtijǭ#Proto-Germanic|*skurtijǭ]]'' → Post-Got. ''skaúrtjō'' → ''skaúrʦō'' → ''[[Contionary:skorcza#Niemish|skórcza]]'' ("apron")
*****Lat. ''[[wikt:Martius#Latin|Martius]]'' → Post-Got. ''marti'' → ''marʦ'' → ''[[Contionary:marcz#Niemish|márcz]]'' ("March")
******Grk. ''[[wikt:χαρτί#Greek|χαρτία]]'' → Post-Got. ''hartjō'' → ''harʦō'' → ''[[Contionary:harcza#Niemish|hárcza]]'' ("paper")
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/mūs#Proto-Germanic|*mūs]]'' → ''[[Contionary:musz#Niemish|músz]]'' ("mouse")
**Got. ''[[wikt:𐌲𐌿𐌳𐌷𐌿𐍃#Gothic|*hūs]]''  → Post-Got. ''hūz'' → ''[[Contionary:huzsz#Niemish|húzsz]]'' ("house")
***Got. ''[[wikt:𐌼𐌴𐍃#Gothic|mēs]]'' → Post-Got. ''meis'' → ''[[Contionary:mysz#Niemish|mýsz]]'' ("table")


This introduced a simple /ʃ/ sound in addition to the geminated /ʃʃ/ that arose with the prepalatal gemination.
This introduced a simple /ʃ/ sound in addition to the geminated /ʃʃ/ that arose with the prepalatal gemination.
In addition, /t, d/ became /t͡s, z/ before /w/:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍄𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍆𐌻#Gothic|tweifls]]'' → Post-Got. ''tweibls'' → ''[[Contionary:tzwybol#Niemish|tzwýbol]]'' ("doubt")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌳𐍅𐌰𐌻𐍃#Gothic|dwals]]'' → ''[[Contionary:zwal#Niemish|zwál]]'' ("stupid")
Much Slavic vocabulary such as ''{{term|twarag#Niemish|twárag}}'' ("quark") was loaned after the S-palatalisation was no longer in operation. The native word ''{{term|twa#Niemish|twá}}'' ("two") was unaffected by the shift, possibly because of analogical levelling with the feminine form, ''tú''.
S-palatalisation was blocked before plosives:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍃𐍄𐍅#Gothic|waúrstw]]'' → Post-Got. ''waúrstu'' → ''{{term|worst#Niemish|wórst}}'' ("deed, act")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌱𐌴𐌹𐍃𐍄#Gothic|beist]]'' → ''{{term|byst#Niemish|bỳst}}''
Nonetheless, later /s, z/ were palatalised to /ʃ, ʒ/ in sibilant+palatalised consonant clusters:
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/spiltaz#Proto-Germanic|*spiltaz]]'' → ''{{term|spilt#Niemish|spílt}}'' /ʃpʲilt/ ("spelt, emmer")
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/strīdaz#Proto-Germanic|*strīdaz]]'' → ''{{term|strid#Niemish|stríd}}'' /ʃtrʲid/ ("battle")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍃𐍄𐍅#Gothic|waúrstwis]] [[wikt:𐌸𐌹𐍃#Gothic|þis]]'' → Post-Got. ''waúrstáus þis'' → ''{{term|worst#Niemish|wúrstes}}'' /ˈwurʃtʲɪs/ ("of the deed")
*P-Gmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/dwergaz#Proto-Germanic|*dwergaz]]'' → Post-Got. ''dwaírχs'' → ''{{term|zwiarch#Niemish|zwiárch}}'' /ʒvʲarx/ ("dwarf, gnome")


====Emergence of /ɨː/====
====Emergence of /ɨː/====
Long /iː/ (from Gothic ''ei'' and ''ē'') became ''y'' /ɨː/ when preceded by a labial or labialised consonant (/p, b, m, f, w, kʷ, gʷ, hʷ/) and not followed by a front vowel in the next syllable. Labialised velars and glottals were subsequently delabialised:
Long /iː/ (from Gothic ''ei'' and ''ē'') became ''y'' /ɨː/ when preceded by a labial or labialised consonant (/p, b, m, f, w, kʷ, gʷ, hʷ/) and not followed by a front vowel in the next syllable. Labialised velars and glottals were subsequently delabialised:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍀𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌲𐌼𐍃#Gothic|peiks]]'' → ''pyk''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍀𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌲𐌼𐍃#Gothic|peiks]]'' → ''{{term|pyk#Niemish|pýk}}''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌱𐌴𐌹𐍃𐍄#Gothic|beist]]'' → ''byst''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌱𐌴𐌹𐍃𐍄#Gothic|beist]]'' → ''{{term|byst#Niemish|bỳst}}''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌼𐌴𐍃#Gothic|mēs]]'' → Post-Got. ''meis'' → ''mysz''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌼𐌴𐍃#Gothic|mēs]]'' → Post-Got. ''meis'' → ''{{term|mysz#Niemish|mýsz}}'' ("table")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌹𐌽𐍆𐌴𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌽#Gothic|infeinan]]'' → ''ęfynund''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌹𐌽𐍆𐌴𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌽#Gothic|infeinan]]'' → ''ęfynon''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌽#Gothic|wein]]'' → ''wyn''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌽#Gothic|wein]]'' → ''{{term|wyn#Niemish|wýn}}'' ("wine")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌵𐌴𐌽𐍃#Gothic|qēns]]'' → Post-Got. ''qeinū''<sup>1</sup> → ''kʷyna'' → ''kyna''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌵𐌴𐌽𐍃#Gothic|qēns]]'' → Post-Got. ''qeinō''<sup>1</sup> → ''kʷyna'' → ''[[Contionary:kyna#Niemish|kýna]]'' ("woman, wife")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍈𐌴𐌹𐍄𐍃#Gothic|ƕeits]]'' → ''hʷyt'' → ''hyt''
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍈𐌴𐌹𐍄𐍃#Gothic|ƕeits]]'' → ''hʷyt'' → ''[[Contionary:hyt#Niemish|hýt]]'' ("white")


#At some point ''[[wikt:𐌵𐌴𐌽𐍃#Gothic|qēns]]'' and ''[[wikt:𐌵𐌹𐌽𐍉#Gothic|qinō]]'' merged into one word.
#At some point ''[[wikt:𐌵𐌴𐌽𐍃#Gothic|qēns]]'' and ''[[wikt:𐌵𐌹𐌽𐍉#Gothic|qinō]]'' merged into one word.


Rarely, ''y'' could represent a short vowel /ɪ̈/ in environments where long vowels could not occur, such as before geminate consonants:
As this sound change was blocked before palatalised consonants, all affected words gained umlaut pattern 2. (rarely umlaut pattern 1. in polysyllabic roots) if the stem alternated between hard and soft endings in flexional forms.
*P-Sl.: ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/mydlo#Proto-Slavic|mydlo]]'' → ''mỳll'' /mɪ̈lː/
 
====Labialisation====
/kʷ, gʷ, hʷ/ were labialised before back vowels to /p, b, f/:
*PGmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kwalō#Proto-Germanic|*kwalō]]'' → ''{{term|pal#Niemish|pál}}'' ("pain")
*PGmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ankwô#Proto-Germanic|*ankwô]]'' → ''{{term|amp#Niemish|ámp}}'' ("butter")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍃𐌰𐌲𐌲𐍅𐍃#Gothic|sag̃gws]]'' → ''{{term|samb#Niemish|sámb}}'' ("song")
*PGmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-West_Germanic/hauwā#Proto-West_Germanic|*hawwǭ]]'' → Got. ''*haggwō'' → ''{{term|habba#Niemish|hàbba}}'' ("mattock")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍈𐌰𐍃𐍃𐌰𐌱𐌰#Gothic|*ƕass]]'' → ''{{term|fass#Niemish|fàss}}'' ("sharp")
 
====Gemination by assimilation====
After a stressed vowel, /p/ arising from /kʷ/ geminated:
*PGmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/nakwô#Proto-Germanic|*nakwô]]'' → ''{{term|napp#Niemish|nàpp}}'' ("riverboat")
Presumably the same would have happened to /b/ arising from /gʷ/, but ungeminated /gʷ/ did not occur after vowels in Gothic.
 
WHen /w/ followed any other consonant preceded by a stressed vowel, it elided, causing the consonant to geminate in compensation (unless this consonant could not occur as a geminate in Niemish, in wich case the /w/ simply elided):
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌲𐌰𐍄𐍅𐍉#Gothic|gatwō]]'' → ''{{term|gatta#Niemish|gàtta}}'' ("street")
*PGmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/swalwǭ#Proto-Germanic|*swalwǭ]]'' → ''{{term|szwalla#Niemish|szwàlla}}'' ("swallow, a type of bird")
 
A limited form of the [[w:Boukólos_rule|''Boukulos'' rule]] came into effect, where /wɔ, wo, wu/ immediately after an initial consonant delabialised:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍄𐍅𐍉𐍃#Gothic|twōs]]'' → ''{{term|twa#Niemish|tú}}'' ("two" fem.)
 
The ''Boukolos'' rule did not apply absolutely word-initially:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍅𐌿𐌻𐍆𐍃#Gothic|wulfs]]'' → ''{{term|wulch#Niemish|wúlch}}'' ("wolf"), not ''*úlch''
 
====Depalatalisation of labials and /r/====
The phonemes /pʲ, bʲ, mʲ, rʲ/ depalatalised before stressed back vowels (which includes /ɛː/ for Niemish purposes) and at the end of a word:
*PGmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/paidō|*paidō]]'' → Medieval Niemish ''piadə'' → ''{{term|pad#Niemish|pád}}'' ("cloak, overcoat")
*PGmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/bainą|*bainą]]'' → Medieval Niemish ''bian'' → ''{{term|ban#Niemish|bán}}'' ("bone")
*PGmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/mainą#Proto-Germanic|*mainą]]'' → Medieval Niemish ''mian'' → ''{{term|man#Niemish|mán}}'' ("perjury")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐍃#Gothic|raíhts]]'' → Medieval Niemish ''riat'' → ''{{term|rat#Niemish|rát}}'' ("straight, correct")
 
*PGmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ribją#Proto-Germanic|*ribją]]'' → Post-Gothic ''*rifi'' → Medieval Niemish ''riffj'' → ''{{term|riff#Niemish|rìff}}'' ("rib, spoke")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃#Gothic|sōkāreis]]'' → Medieval Niemish ''sukarj'' → ''{{term|sukar#Niemish|súkar}}'' ("seeker")
 
The same applied to the consonant clusters /prʲ, brʲ, wrʲ/:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌱𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃#Gothic|bráiþs]]'' → Medieval Niemish ''briaþ'' → ''{{term|bras#Niemish|brás}}'' ("broad, wide")
 
But not other such consonant + /rʲ/ clusters:
*PGmc. ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kraitaz#Proto-Germanic|*kraitaz]]'' → ''{{term|kriat#Niemish|kriát}}'' ("circle, region, borough")
 
The fact that /r/ was also depalatalised at the beginnings and ends of words suggests that Medieval Niemish had a distinction between /r, rʲ/ and /ɾ, ɾʲ/ similar to Spanish and Old Irish, although such a distinction was not observed in writing.
 
The phonemes /r, rʲ/ would have occurred only at the beginnings and ends of words, while /ɾ, ɾʲ/ only occurred word-medially (unlike in Spanish where both can occur medially, and Old Irish where both can occur medially and finally). Like in Irish, /rʲ/ merged with /r/ and ultimately /r/ and /ɾ/ merged (as /ɾ/ in Irish, as /r/ in Niemish):


As this sound change was blocked before palatalised consonants, all affected words gained umlaut pattern 2. (rarely umlaut pattern 1. in polysyllabic roots) if the stem alternated between hard and soft endings in flexional forms.
Palatalisation was preserved in stem-final labials and /r/ where the flexional ending began with a vowel:
*''{{term|riff#Niemish|rìff, rìffian}}'' ("rib, the rib")
*''{{term|sukar#Niemish|súkar, súkarian}}'' ("seeker, the seeker")
 
====Deaffrication of /t͡s/====
After a vowel, ungeminated /t͡s, t͡sʲ/ became /s, sʲ/:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌱𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃#Gothic|bráiþs]]'' → Medieval Niemish ''briaþ'' → ''briaʦ'' → ''{{term|bras#Niemish|brás}}'' ("broad, wide")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌼𐌰𐌸𐌰#Gothic|maþa]]'' → Medieval Niemish ''maþę'' → ''maʦę'' → ''{{term|masen#Niemish|másen}}'' ("larva")
As a result, non-initial /t͡s/ always represents a geminated consonant in Modern Niemish:
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐍀𐌻𐌰𐍀𐌾𐌰#Gothic|*platja]]'' → Medieval Niemish'' *plaʦʦə'' → ''{{term|platz#Niemish|plàtz}}'' /platt͡s/ ("town square")
*Got. ''[[wikt:𐌼𐌹𐌸#Gothic|miþ]] [[wikt:𐌸𐌰𐌼𐌼𐌰#Gothic|þamma]]'' → Medieval Niemish ''mett͡þam'' → ''meʦʦum'' → ''{{term|metzum#Niemish|mètzum}}'' /ˈmʲɛtt͡sʊm/ ("by the way")


====Syllable weight neutralisation====
====Syllable weight neutralisation====
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The Capitoline dialect is a special case. It developed as a koiné from numerous dialects in the capital. It is thus broadly similar to the standard, other than shortening historically long vowels before voiceless plosives (this is due to spelling pronunciation and hypercorrection) and loss of geminate consonants.
The Capitoline dialect is a special case. It developed as a koiné from numerous dialects in the capital. It is thus broadly similar to the standard, other than shortening historically long vowels before voiceless plosives (this is due to spelling pronunciation and hypercorrection) and loss of geminate consonants.
===Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 1)===
'''Latin:''' Àll wárs sín gybórn frýs ja íbens į wártzą ja rátą. Ís sín ingàchts mis rázum ja gywìssę, ja tzórbą fuzántur į dúch brúturnus.
'''Cyrillic:''' Аллъ варсъ синъ гъборнъ фрꙑсъ ꙗ ибенсъ ꙟ варцꙙ ꙗ ратꙙ. Ісъ синъ інгахтъ місъ разѹмъ ꙗ гъвіссѧ, ꙗ цорбꙙ фозанторъ ꙟ духъ бруторносъ.
'''IPA:''' /all wars sʲiːn gəˈborn frɨːs jɐ ˈiːbʲɪns ɪ̃ ˈwart͡sɐ̃ jɐ ˈraːtɐ̃ || iːs sʲiːn ɪŋˈgaxts mʲɪs ˈraːzʊm jɐ gəˈvʲɪssʲə̃, jɐ ˈt͡sorbɐ̃ fʊˈzantʊr ɪ̃ duːx ˈbruːtʊrnʊs/
'''Gloss:'''
'''Translation:''' All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
==Notes==
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