Old Valthungian: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox language
[[Category: Languages]]
|name = Old Valthungian
[[Category: Conlangs]]
|nativename = Walþungiskō Rasta
[[Category: Artlangs]]
|pronunciation = /ˈwal.ðʊŋ.gɪʃ.ka  ˈras.ta
[[Category: A posteriori]]
|creator = [[User:Bpnjohnson|BenJamin P. Johnson]],<br />
[[Category: Indo-European languages]]
<small>creator of:<br />
[[Category: Germanic languages]]
<ul>
[[Category: East Germanic languages]]
<li>[[Adzaac]]</li>
[[Category: Valthungian]]
<li>[[Brooding]]</li>
[[Category: Gothic Romance]]
<li>[[Dlatci]]</li>
<li>[[Grayis]]</li>
<li>[[Maltcégj]]</li>
<li>[[Northeadish]]</li>
<li>[[Valthungian]]</li>
<ul>
<li>''[[Griutungi]]''</li>
<li>''[[Old Valthungian]]''</li>
<li>''[[Middle Valthungian]]''</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</small>
|created = 2018
|setting = Northern Italy
|familycolor = Indo-European
|fam1 = [[w:Indo-European_languages|Indo-European]]
|fam2 = [[w:Germanic_languages|Germanic]]
|fam3 = [[w:East_Germanic_languages|East Germanic]]
|fam4 = [[Griutungi]]
|script = [[Valthungian#Alphabet_.26_Pronunciation|Valthungian Alphabet]]<br />[[w:Latin script|Latin script]] (transliteration)
|iso3 = qgt
|brcl = grey
}}


[[Old Valthungian]] represents a period in the development of the [[Valthungian]] language lasting from around 800‒1200 a.d. marked mainly by changes to geminates and intervocalic consonants, as well as the introduction of Germanic ī/j-umlaut and some small but important changes to all of the vowels. Though this is a range which experienced many changes, the most representative example of “Old Valthungian” is the language as it is captured in a few surviving texts believed to date to around 950‒975 a.d.
{{Bpnjohnson.info|Old Valthungian|Sou Vladyugutanei Tungou|soʊ̯ ˈwlɑ.ðʊ.ɡʊ.ta.neɪ̯ ˈtʊŋ.ɡoʊ̯|2018|Northern Italy, ca. 800ᴀᴅ‒1200ᴀᴅ|Indo-European|Indo-European|Germanic|East Germanic||||||}}


==Major Changes from Griutungi (and Earlier) to Old Valthungian==
[[Old Valthungian]] represents a period in the development of the [[Valthungian]] language
''N.B.: This article uses a phonetic feature notation shorthand in which all described features are limited to three characters. [[User:Bpnjohnson/Features_shorthand|Please refer to the legend here.]]''
lasting from around 800‒1200<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ad</span> marked mainly
===Variation and Expansion of East Germanic Glide Insertion===
by changes to geminates and metathesis of liquids, as well as the introduction of Germanic  
Glide Insertion in East Germanic developed differently in Gothic and Griutungi. In Gothic,
ī/j-umlaut and some small but important changes to all of the vowels. Though this is a range
it applied optionally between two consecutive vowels only after a stressed vowel when one
which experienced many changes, the most representative example of “Old Valthungian” is the
of the vowels was /i(ː)/ (e.g. ''saian'' /sɛ̄an/ ‘to sow’ could have a third person singular
language as it is captured in a few surviving texts believed to date to around
of either ''saiiþ'' /sɛ̄iθ/ or ''saijiþ'' /sɛ̄jiθ/. In Griutungi, however, it applies to both
950‒975<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ad</span>.
front and back glide insertion (/j/ and /w/), is not optional, and applies to any consecutive
vowels where one of the vowels is not <code>+low</code>, so both the infinitive and third
person singular present indicative of ‘sew’ show glide insertion: ''sǣjan'', ''sǣjiþ''.


This rule remains persistent in the grammar of Griutungi through Old, Middle, and even Modern
==Phonology of Old Valthungian ca. 950<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ad</span>==
Valthungian, though the environment of the rule changes slightly as the language changes.


{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
!width=100px|
!width=65px|'''Labial'''
!width=65px|'''Dental'''
!width=65px|'''Alveolar'''
!width=65px|'''Palatal'''
!width=65px|'''Dorsal'''
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
!'''Plosive'''
| '''Ø'''
|'''p · b'''<br />/p · b/
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|'''t · d'''<br />/t · d/
| '''j'''
|
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|'''k · g'''<br />/k · ɡ/
| '''V'''
|-
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
!'''Nasal'''
| &nbsp;___&nbsp;
|''' · m'''<br />/m/
| + '''V'''
|
|''' · n'''<br />/n/
|
|''' · n'''<ref>Before '''g''' or '''k'''</ref><br />[ŋ]
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
!'''Fricative'''
| &nbsp;
|'''f · bv, fv'''<br />/ɸ · β/
| &nbsp;
|'''dv · þ'''<br />/ð · θ/
| &nbsp;
|'''s · z'''<br />/s · ʐ/
| &nbsp;
|''' · jj'''<br />/ʝ/
|style="border-left:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|'''h · gy'''<br />/h · ɣ/
| <code>-bck</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
!'''Approximant'''
| &nbsp;
|''' · v'''<br />/w/
| &nbsp;
|''' · l'''<br />/l/
| &nbsp;
|''' · r'''<br />/r/
| &nbsp;
|''' · j'''<br />/j/
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|
| <code>-low</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|}
|}


''and''
===Vowels===
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
! width=100px rowspan="2"|
| '''Ø'''
! colspan="2"| '''Short Vowels'''
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
! rowspan="6"|
| '''w'''
! colspan="2"| '''Long Vowels'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| '''V'''
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;___&nbsp;
| + '''V'''
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
! width=85px| '''Front'''
| &nbsp;
! width=65px| '''Back'''
| &nbsp;
! width=65px| '''Front'''
| &nbsp;
! width=65px| '''Back'''
| &nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>+bck</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
!'''Close'''
| &nbsp;
|'''i · eu'''<br />/ɪ · ʏ/
| &nbsp;
|'''u'''<br />/ʊ/
| &nbsp;
|'''ij · euv'''<br />/iː · yː/
| &nbsp;
|'''uv'''<br />/uː/
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>-low</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|}
 
''“A glide ('''j''') is inserted between a non-low front vowel and a following vowel.”''
 
''“A glide ('''w''') is inserted between a non-low back vowel and a following vowel.”''
 
To describe it differently, a glide must be inserted between two consecutive vowels, the value of which (front or back) is determined by the value of the first vowel.
 
===Germanic Obstruent Devoicing===
Germanic Obstruent Devoicing is a rule inherited from Proto-Germanic which remains persistent in the grammar throughout the transition to East Germanic, Griutungi, Old, Middle, and modern Valthungian.
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
!'''Mid-Close'''
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|''' · y<ref>This was likely a lax central near-close vowel, not a front vowel; i.e. [ᵿ], not [ʏ]. It later merged with /y/.</ref>'''<br />/ᵿ/
| '''C'''
|
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|'''ei · eou'''<br />/eː · øː/
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|'''ou'''<br />/oː/<ref>All of the mid-close long vowels may have been diphthongs, i.e. [eɪ̯], [œʏ̯], and [oʊ̯] – and 〈eou〉 was almost certainly [œʏ̯] – but the spelling of 〈ei〉 and 〈ou〉 is likely related to conventions borrowed from early Romance languages of the time rather than an indication of dipthongisation.</ref>
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>-vox</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
| &nbsp;___&nbsp;{&nbsp;# ''or''&nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>-vox</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
!'''Mid-Open'''
|style="border-left:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|'''e, ea<ref>In the standardised orthography, 〈e〉 occurs only where adjacent to /r/ or /h/, while 〈ea〉 is the umlaut of /a/. It is likely they represented the same sounds, though some scholars contend that 〈ea〉 wa a more open [æ].</ref> · eo'''<br />/ɛ · œ/
| <code>+vox</code>
|'''o'''<br />[ɔ]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|'''ae · eao'''<br />/ɛː · œː/
| &nbsp;
|'''ao'''<br />/ɔː/
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
!'''Open'''
|style="border-left:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|'''a'''<br />/a/
| <code>+obs</code>
|
|style="border-right:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|
| &nbsp;
|'''aa'''<br />/ɑː/<ref>All other back vowels seem to have distinguished umlaut forms, but the umlaut of 〈aa〉  is consistently written as 〈ae〉 and was presumably realized as [eː]. In an early version of the Chrysanthi Grammar, 〈eaa〉 was used for this purpose, but later versions have 〈ae〉 exclusively.</ref>
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>+ctn</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|}
|}


''“A voiced continuant obstruent (i.e. '''β''', '''ð''', or '''ɣ''') becomes devoiced ('''f''', '''þ''', or '''x''', respectively) when word-final or before an unvoiced consonant.”''
====Syllabic Sonorants====
 
In addition to the vowels, certain sonorants may act as syllable nuclei (usually word-finally).
===Geminate Simplification I===


{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
!width=100px|
!width=65px|'''Labial'''
!width=65px|'''Alveolar'''
!width=65px|'''Palatal'''
!width=65px|'''Dorsal'''
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
!'''Syllabics'''
| ''''''
|'''m'''<br />/m̩/
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|'''n'''<br />/n̩/
| '''C'''
|'''r'''<br />/r̩/
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|'''l'''<br />/l̩/
| &nbsp;___&nbsp;
| { '''C''', '''#'''
|}
|}


<span style="color:red;">'''PLEASE TELL ME: DOES THE FOLLOWING BRACKET LOOK JANKY ON YOUR BROWSER? - GREČIS'''</span>
==Orthography of Old Valthungian==
There is very little extant text in Old Valthungian, and what does exist is quite variable, but this is a “regularlised” version of the orthography used at the time around 950<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ad</span>, with notes where there are variants.


{| style="vertical-align: top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width: 1100px;"
|-
!colspan=5| Letters
|colspan=3 align="left"| The twenty-seven “official” letters of the Old Valthungian alphabet are very similar to the twenty-seven letter of the Gothic alphabet, right down to the order of their numbering. There were, however, many variants, ligatures, digraphs, trigraphs, and Latin and Greek letters thrown into the mix in the few small samples we have of definitive Old Valthungian texts.
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
!width=65px| Griutungi
| style="vertical-align: text-top;"| '''Cː'''
!width=65px| IPA
| style="vertical-align: text-top;"| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
!width=65px| Old Val.
| style="vertical-align: text-top;"| '''C'''
!width=65px| Roman.
| style="vertical-align: text-top;"| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
!width=65px| Numeric<br />Value
| style="vertical-align: text-top;"| &nbsp;___&nbsp;
!width=165px| Variants
| style="vertical-align: text-top; line-height: 1.25"| ⎰ '''C'''<br />⎱ #
!width=200px| Examples
|}
!width=540px| Notes
 
Test 2:
{| style="vertical-align: top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| a
| style="vertical-align: text-top;"| '''Cː'''
|valign="top"| ɑ
| style="vertical-align: text-top;"| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-a.png|13px|A]]
| style="vertical-align: text-top;"| '''C'''
|valign="top"| '''a'''
| style="vertical-align: text-top;"| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|valign="top"| 1
| style="vertical-align: text-top;"| &nbsp;___&nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| style="vertical-align: text-top; line-height: 17px"| '''C'''<br />⎱ #
|valign="top"| ''r'''a'''ms'' ‘poor’<br />''g'''a'''f'' ‘gave’<br />'''''a'''nþ'''a'''r'' ‘second’
|}
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
 
 
''“A geminate becomes a single consonant when it occurs before another consonant or a word boundary.”''
 
===Spirantization of Fricatives===
This is a change that had likely already started long before the division between Gothic and Griutungi, and probably happened similarly in Gothic as well. In the Griutungi lineage, it occurred in three distinct stages:
 
====Stage I ( < 400 a.d.)====
Intervocalic voiced fricatives (i.e. /b/, /d/, and /g/) became spirantized: /β/, /ð/, and /ɣ/. This likely happened quite early, perhaps already by Proto-Germanic times, and was clearly in operation in Gothic as well.
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| b
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| b
| '''C'''
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-b.png|13px|B]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''b'''
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| 2
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| <code>+ctn</code>
|valign="top"| '''''b'''radvou'' ‘axe’<br />''krah'''b'''a'' ‘crab’<br />''lam'''b''''' ‘lamb’
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;  
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
| V ___ V
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| g
|style="border-left:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ɡ
| <code>+vox</code>
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-g.png|12px|G]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''g'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 3
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''''g'''ibvan'' ‘to give’<br />'''''g'''raþs'' ‘yard’<br />''da'''g'''z'' ‘day’
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| d
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| d
| <code>-ctn</code>
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-d.png|17px|D]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''d'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 4
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''''d'''agz'' ‘day’<br />''ah'''d'''i'' ‘egg’<br />''teihun'''d''''' ‘(multiple of) ten’
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|}
 
''“A voiced non-continuant (i.e. stop) consonant becomes continuant (i.e. fricative) when intervocalic.”''
 
In more direct terms:
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| e
| '''b'''
|valign="top"| ɛ
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-e.png|13px|E]]
| '''β'''
|valign="top"| '''e'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|valign="top"| 5
| ''any vowel'' } ___ { ''any vowel''
|align="left" valign="top"| ai
|valign="top"| ''r'''e'''dva'' ‘earth’<br />''t'''e'''hsva'' ‘right-hand’<br />''b'''e'''rja'' ‘ferry’
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| kw
| '''d'''
|valign="top"| kʷ~kw
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-qv.png|23px|QV]]
| '''ð'''
|valign="top"| '''qv'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 6
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| kv, q, ku, cv, cu
|valign="top"| '''''qv'''ernu'' ‘mill’<br />''in'''qv'''is'' ‘to you both’<br />''ri'''qv'''iza'' ‘darker’
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| z
| '''g'''
|valign="top"| ʐ
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-z.png|13px|Z]]
| '''ɣ'''
|valign="top"| '''z'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 7
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| ȥ
|}
|valign="top"| ''þi'''z'''ae'' ‘to that’<br />''hvi'''z'''a'''z'''ij'' ‘whatever’<br />''i'''z'''ous'' ‘hers’
 
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
 
E.g. PGmc. ''*hlaibai'' ‘loaf.<span style="font-variant: small-caps">dat</span>’, ''*mōdēr'' ‘mother’, ''*ōganą'' ‘to fear’
→ Gothic ''hlaiba'' /hlɛ̄βa/, ''*mōdar'' /mōðar/, ''ōgan'' /ōɣan/
~ Griutungi ''hlǣba'' /“”/, ''mōdar'', ''ōgan''
→ O.V. ''hlaeva'' /“”/, ''moðar'', ''oyan''
(eventually…)
→ M.V. ''þlǣva'' /θlēva/, ''mōðr'' /mouðr̩/, ''ōgn'' /ougn̩/
→ Vlth. ''þlǣva'' /θlē̞vɑ/, ''mōðra'' /mauðrɑ/, ''ōgna'' /augnɑ/
 
====Stage II ( ~ 400 a.d.)====
The same process occurred, but in Stage II the environment changes to include /l/ and /r/ before the stop and ''any'' sonorant (i.e. /l/, /r/, /m/, or /n/) after. This likely occurred before or during the time of Griutung proper, and may have happened in a similar environment in Gothic.
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| h
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| h~x
| '''C'''
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-h.png|13px|H]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''h'''
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| 8
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| <code>+ctn</code>
|valign="top"| '''''h'''retou'' ‘heart’<br />''te'''h'''un'' ‘ten’<br />''fa'''h''''' ‘glad’
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>+son</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;  
| &nbsp;___&nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>+son</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;  
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| þ
|style="border-left:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| θ
| <code>+vox</code>
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-th.png|18px|Þ]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''þ'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 9
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| th, fh, c<ref>'''c''' for /θ/ is anomalous, only appearing in one extant instance, and is most likely the result of a transcription error, though many have used it (grossly incorrectly) to associate Old Valthungian with the Iberian Goths, positing that this somehow relates to ''ceceo'' in modern Spanish. It absolutely does not, and the Old Valthungian speakers never came within 500 miles of present-day Spain, but facts have never stood in the way of good speculation.</ref>
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''''þ'''ju'''þ''''' ‘people’<br />''frija'''þ'''vou'' ‘love’<br />''ljugyva'''þ''''' ‘light’
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| From the Gothic '''𐌸''', this letter represented [θ] in Old Valthungian as it did in Gothic, but became [v] and was replaced by [[File:OV-hw.png|11px|Þ]] for [θ] in the 11th century.
| &nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>-nas</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| i
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| i
| <code>-ctn</code>
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-i.png|4px|I]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''i'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 10
| &nbsp;
|align="left"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''''i'''gy'''i'''l'' ‘hedgehog’<br />'''''i'''zae'' ‘to her’<br />''þivgy'''i''''' ‘maid’
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|}
 
''“A voiced non-continuant (i.e. stop) consonant becomes continuant (i.e. fricative) when preceded by a vowel or a liquid and followed by any sonorant (a vowel, a liquid, or a nasal).”''
 
In more direct terms:
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| k
| '''b'''
|valign="top"| k
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-k.png|13px|K]]
| '''β'''
|valign="top"| '''k'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|valign="top"| 20
| V, l, r } ___ { V, l, r, m, n
|align="left" valign="top"| c
|valign="top"| '''''k'''rots'' ‘short’<br />''tae'''k'''ros'' ‘brother-in-law’<br />''mas'''k''''' ‘mesh, grid’
|align="left" valign="top"| Sometimes written as '''kh''' or '''ch''' when aspirated.
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| l
| '''d'''
|valign="top"| l~ɫ̩
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-l.png|13px|L]]
| '''ð'''
|valign="top"| '''l'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 30
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''''l'''angz'' ‘long’<br />''s'''l'''idva'''l'''ijks'' ‘amazing’<br />''tag'''l''''' ‘tail’
|align="left" valign="top"| (Syllabic and non-syllabic sonorants were not differentiated in Old Valthungian.)
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| m
| '''g'''
|valign="top"| m~m̩
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-m.png|13px|M]]
| '''ɣ'''
|valign="top"| '''m'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 40
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
|}
|valign="top"| '''''m'''aedv'''m'''s'' ‘gift’<br />'''''m'''ikils'' ‘great’<br />''ogvu'''m'''a'' ‘primary’
 
|align="left" valign="top"| (Syllabic and non-syllabic sonorants were not differentiated in Old Valthungian.)
====Stage III ( ~ 500 a.d.)====
In the final stage, which happened significantly after the earlier two (probably not before 900 a.d.), the unvoiced continuants /f/ and /θ/, became voiced in the same environment as stage II.
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| n
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| n~n̩
| '''C'''
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-n.png|13px|N]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''n'''
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| 50
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| <code>+vox</code>
|valign="top"| '''''n'''aoþs'' ‘need’<br />'''''n'''iv'''n'''tehu'''n''''' ‘nineteen’<br />'''''n'''ima'''n''''' ‘to take’
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| (Syllabic and non-syllabic sonorants were not differentiated in Old Valthungian.)
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>+son</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;  
| &nbsp;___&nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>+son</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| j
|style="border-left:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| j
| <code>-vox</code>
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-j.png|13px|J]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''j'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 60
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| i
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''''j'''eir'' ‘year’<br />'''''j'''ah'' ‘also’<br />'''''j'''uvs'' ‘you all’
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>-nas</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| o
|style="border-left:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ɔ
| <code>+ctn</code>
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-o.png|13px|O]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''o'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 70
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| au
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ''r'''o'''tigraþs'' ‘garden’<br />'''''o'''gyuma'' ‘chief’<br />''vr'''o'''ms'' ‘worm’
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| p
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| (
|valign="top"| p
| <code>-bck</code>
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-p.png|13px|P]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| )
|valign="top"| '''p'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 80
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''''p'''aedva'' ‘shirt’<br />'''''p'''ro'''p'''ora'' ‘purple’<br />''slei'''p'''an'' ‘to sleep’
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| Sometimes written as '''ph''' when aspirated.
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|}
 
''“An unvoiced non-back continuant (i.e. fricative other than /h/<ref>It is likely that '''h''' was actually included in this change, as evidenced by certain changes in the Expansion of East Germanic Verschärfung, but that makes our formula more complicated and really doesn't change the outcome in any measurable way.</ref>) consonant becomes voiced when preceded by any non-nasal sonorant and followed by ''any''' sonorant.”''
 
In more direct terms:
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ī
| '''f'''
|valign="top"| iː~ij
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-ij.png|10px|IJ]]
| '''β'''
|valign="top"| '''ij'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|valign="top"| 90
| V, l, r } ___ { V, l, r, m, n
|align="left" valign="top"| ī, ei, ij
|valign="top"| '''''ij'''s'' ‘ice’<br />''t'''ij'''þs ‘time’<br />''divp'''ij''''' ‘depth’
|align="left" valign="top"| There is only scant evidence that this ligature was used to represent the value of the number ‘90’, and it is disputable whether the evidence in question is actually the 〈ij〉 ligature, or a holdover of the Gothic number  𐍁.
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| r
| '''þ'''
|valign="top"| r~r̩
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-r.png|13px|R]]
| '''ð'''
|valign="top"| '''r'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 100
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
|}
|valign="top"| '''''r'''iqvus'' ‘dark’<br />''b'''r'''oudv'''r''''' ‘brother’<br />''ve'''r''''' ‘man’
 
|align="left" valign="top"| (Syllabic and non-syllabic sonorants were not differentiated in Old Valthungian.)
===Stop Insertion after Nasals===
===Change of /fl/ to /θl/===
This is an expansion of an earlier change in East Germanic in which /fl/ became /θl/ in certain questionable environments which may or may not have included back vowels and velar consonants (there are only a handful of attested words where this change appears in writings of the time). Shortly after the Griutungi split, all remaining word-initial instances of /fl/ became /θl/.
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| s
| '''f'''
|valign="top"| s
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-s.png|13px|S]]
| '''þ'''
|valign="top"| '''s'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|valign="top"| 200
| #&nbsp;___&nbsp;l
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
|}
|valign="top"| '''''s'''aovgyila'' ‘sun’<br />'''''s'''eh'''s'''tigju'''s''''' ‘sixty’<br />'''''s'''uv'''s''''' ‘sow’
 
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
''“Word-initial '''f''' becomes '''þ''' before '''l'''.”''
 
===Voicing and Devoicing of Consonant Clusters===
====Voicing of Word-Final /s/ after a Voiced Consonant====
Word-final /s/ was voiced after /b/, /d/, and /g/. (And thus I dispense with the mystery of what the phonetic and phonemic value of the /g/ of Gothic ''dags'' might have been!)
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| t
| '''s'''
|valign="top"| t
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-t.png|13px|T]]
| '''z'''
|valign="top"| '''t'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|valign="top"| 300
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| '''C'''
|valign="top"| '''''t'''ungl'' ‘star’<br />''s'''t'''ivgyi'''t'''i'' ‘patience’<br />'''''t'''rivgyijna'''t''''' ‘wooden’
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| Sometimes written as '''th''' when aspirated.
| &nbsp;___&nbsp;
| #
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| w
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| w
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-v.png|13px|V]]
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''v'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 400
|style="border-left:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| vv, uu, ƿ
| <code>+vox</code>
|valign="top"| '''''v'''lidvijs'' ‘wild’<br />''saliþ'''v'''a'' ‘guest room’<br />''s'''v'''ei'' ‘as though’
|style="border-right:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| f
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ɸ~f
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-f.png|12px|F]]
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''f'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 500
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| <code>-ctn</code>
|valign="top"| '''''f'''im'''f''''' ‘five’<br />''svum'''f'''sl'' ‘’<br />''hlae'''f''''' ‘bread’
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|}
 
''“Word-final '''s''' becomes voiced when following a voiced stop.”''
 
In more direct terms:
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| kh
| '''s'''
|valign="top"| kʰ
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-x.png|13px|KH]]
| '''z'''
|valign="top"| '''x'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|valign="top"| 600
| '''b''', '''d''', '''g''' }
|align="left" valign="top"| kh, ch, x, χ
| &nbsp;___&nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''''X'''ristus'' ‘Christ’<br />''ev'''x'''aristja'' ‘eucharist’<br />''kate'''x'''ijns'' ‘remembrance’
| #
|align="left" valign="top"| This Greek borrowing, which was incorporated into the Gothic alphabet as '''𐍇''', had merged phonologically with '''k''' by the Old Valthungian period, but was occasionally still emphasized with '''h''' or even with the Greek letter '''χ''' in positions which were not naturally aspirated. Indeed, '''h''' was sometimes added to segments which ''were'' naturally aspirated, as also happened with '''p''' and '''t'''.
|}
 
====Devoicing of Word-Internal Obstruent Clusters====
Word-internal obstruent clusters (specifically '''z''' followed by a voiced stop consonant) are devoiced.
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
| &nbsp;
| '''z'''
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| '''C'''
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>-vox</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
| V ___ V
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| hw
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| xw
|style="border-left:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-hw.png|18px|HV]]
| <code>+vox</code>
|valign="top"| '''hv'''
|style="border-right:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 700
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| hv, hw, chv, hu
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''''hv'''ilftri'' ‘curve’<br />''se'''hv'''an'' ‘to see’<br />''nei'''hv''''' ‘near’
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| The Old Valthungian letter most commonly written as [[File:OV-hw.png|11px|HV]], from Gothic '''𐍈''',  is transliterated as '''hv''', but later came to represent [θ] during the 11th century.
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| u
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| u
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-u.png|13px|U]]
| <code>-ctn</code>
|valign="top"| '''u'''
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| 800
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''''u'''lbvand'''u'''s'' ‘rhinocerus’<br />'''''u'''bvils'' ‘evil’<br />'''''u''''' ‘until’
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|}
 
''“A cluster consisting of '''z''' followed by a voiced stop becomes unvoiced when intervocalic.”''
 
In more direct terms:
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| j
| '''zb'''
|valign="top"| ʝ
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-j2.png|8px|J2]]
| '''sp'''
|valign="top"| '''jj'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|valign="top"| 900
| ''any vowel'' } ___ { ''any vowel''
|align="left" valign="top"| i, j, ʒ
|valign="top"| ''þri'''jj'''a'' ‘three’<br />''teao'''jj'''an'' ‘to do’<br />''bea'''jj'''ouþs'' ‘both’
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
!colspan=5| Ligatures & Polygraphs
| '''zd'''
|colspan=3 align="left"| Most of these represent single phonemes and might be considered letters in their own right, but were not part of the numbered Gothic alphabet.
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
| '''st'''
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
!width=65px| Griutungi
| '''zg'''
!width=65px| IPA
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
!width=65px| Old Val.
| '''sk'''
!width=65px| Roman.
| &nbsp;
!width=65px| Numeric<br />Value
| &nbsp;
!width=165px| Variants
|}
!width=200px| Examples
 
!width=540px| Notes
E.g. ''razda'' ‘language’ → ''rasta'', ''azgō'' ‘ashes’ →  ''askō'' …''aska''.
 
===Clisis and Lexicalization===
Between 600 and 850 a.d., many word boundaries were blurred in the Old Valthungian language. Several clitics became particles, while other words became inseparable.
 
====Lexicalization of East Germanic Clitics====
Several clitics that were common in earlier East Germanic languages became lexicalized, usually optionally. Often, words commonly combined with the clitics existed in two forms, leading to sometimes dramatic sound changes later on, e.g. ''þōzī'' ‘they who’ (Gothic ''þōzei'') became optionally ''þōzī'' or ''þōs ī,'' which after [[Old_Valthungian#Umlaut|Umlaut]] became ''þø̄zī'' [θøːziː] and ''þōs ī'' [θou̯s iː], and eventually modern Valthungian ''þœ̄ži'' [θø̞ːʒi] and ''þōs ī'' [θau̯s iː].
 
&nbsp;'''-ī# → #ī#'''<br />
&nbsp;'''-u- → #u#'''<br />
&nbsp;'''-uh# → #uh#'''<br />
&nbsp;'''-hun# → #hun#'''<br />
&nbsp;'''#ga- → #ga#'''
 
====Cliticization of Prepositions, Particles, and Determiners====
While these clitics were lexicalizing, other particles – mainly pronouns, prepositions, and determiners – were fusing. Particularly combinations of prepositions followed by articles or pronouns, and dative pronouns followed by accusative pronouns. (More about this later.)
 
===Changes to Geminate Consonants===
Between 500‒650 a.d. all of the geminate consonants inherited from Griutungi were condensed to a single consonant. This also put an end to a persistent rule inherited from Proto-Germanic whereby geminate consonants collapsed before and obstruent or a word-boundary, there being no more geminate consonants to encounter such an environment.
 
====Changes to Geminate Obstruents====
In geminate obstruents – that is, geminate stops and fricatives – the first obstruent of the pair is lenited to /h/. (Later, in a separate process of [[Middle_Valthungian#Compensatory_Lengthening|h-deletion]], these are eliminated completely.)
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
| &nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| '''CC'''
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
| '''hC'''
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ā
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ɑː
| <code>-son</code>
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-aa.png|28px|AA]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''aa'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| a, ā
|}
|valign="top"| ''h'''aa'''hs'' ‘shark’<br />''f'''aa'''han'' ‘to capture’<br />''andaþ'''aa'''ht'' ‘rational’
 
|align="left" valign="top"| Long vowels were sometimes indicated by doubling, sometimes with a macron or any of a half dozen other markings, or ignored completely.
To put it more simply:
 
<code>pp → hp</code><br />
<code>tt → ht</code><br />
<code>kk → hk</code><br />
<code>bb → hb</code><br />
<code>dd → hd</code><br />
<code>gg → hg</code>*<br />
<code>ff → hf</code><br />
<code>þþ → hþ</code><br />
<code>ss → hs</code>
 
====Changes to Geminate Sonorants====
In geminate sonorants – that is, geminate nasals and liquids – the first sonorant of the pair becomes <code>-son</code>, <code>-vox</code> and <code>-ctn</code>; that is, it is replaced by an unvoiced stop (in the same place of articulation).
 
=====Stage I=====
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
| &nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| '''CC'''
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| '''C'''
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| '''C'''
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ǣ
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ɛː
| <code>+son</code>
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-ae.png|28px|AE]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''ae'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
|style="border-left:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| ai, ee
| <code>-son</code>
|valign="top"| ''br'''ae'''þ'' ‘wide’<br />'''''ae'''dvij'' ‘mother’<br />''tw'''ae''''' ‘two’
|style="border-right:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ǭ
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ɔː
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-ao.png|28px|AO]]
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''ao'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
|style="border-left:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| au, oa, oo, ō
| <code>-vox</code>
|valign="top"| '''''ao'''gyou'' ‘eye’<br />''fr'''ao'''s'' ‘happy’<br />''n'''ao'''huhþan'' ‘still, yet’
|style="border-right:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
|
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| b
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| β~v
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-bv.png|26px|BV]]
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''bv'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| vv
| <code>-ctn</code>
|valign="top"| ''sil'''bv'''a'' ‘self’<br />''ar'''bv'''i'' ‘inheritance’<br />''hlae'''bv'''a'' ‘bread.<span style="font-variant: small-caps>dat</span>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|}
 
To put it more simply:
 
<code>mm → pm</code><br />
<code>nn → tn</code><br />
<code>rr → tr</code><br />
<code>ll → tl</code>
 
=====Stage II=====
Much later, perhaps as late as 750 or 800 a.d., '''pm''' shifts to '''tm''', but only in words which had previously contained geminate '''mm'''
 
<code>pm → tm</code>
 
===Vowel Changes===
====Lengthening of Word-Final Stressed Vowels====
Vowel lengthening applies mainly to monosyllabic function words such as articles, pronouns, and prepositions.
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| g
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ɣ
| '''V'''
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-gy.png|25px|GY]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''gy'''
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| y, g
| <code>+lng</code>
|valign="top"| ''ao'''gy'''ou'' ‘eye’<br />''ba'''gy'''ms'' ‘tree’<br />''i'''gy'''il'' ‘hedgehog’
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;  
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
| ___ #
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| d
|style="border-left:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ð
| <code>+str</code>
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-ð.png|20px|DY]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''dv'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| dv, δ
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ''ae'''dv'''ij'' ‘mother’<br />''dala'''dv'''a'' ‘down’<br />''þju'''dv'''ij'' ‘meaning’
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| Though '''dv''' is used here for transcription, a letter derived from the Gothic letter ''dags'' (but resembling '''ϫ''', the Coptic ''gangia'') was more often used.
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ɛ~æ
| <code>-lng</code>
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-ea.png|40px|EA]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''ea'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| e, ai, ae
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ''s'''ea'''tjan'' ‘to set’<br />''Mbr'''ea'''jja'' ‘Maria’<br />'''''ea'''kijt'' ‘vinegar’
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| This was used for the umlauted form of short '''a''' (Griutungi and Gothic '''a''').
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|}
 
''“Stressed short vowels become long when word-final.”''
 
E.g. ''bi'', ''þu'', ''sa'' '''', ''þū'', ''''
 
====Lengthening of /ij/====
 
All instances of '''ij''' become lengthened. (More accurately, '''ij''' becomes '''ī''', and then the persistent glide-insertion rule immediately restores '''j''' before a following vowel, but it's simpler to just say that '''ij''' becomes '''īj'''.)
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| '''i'''
|valign="top"| œː
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-eao.png|40px|EAO]]
| '''ī'''
|valign="top"| '''eao'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| ___ '''j'''
|align="left" valign="top"| eoa, eō, eoo
|}
|valign="top"| '''''eao'''dvijs'' ‘desert’<br />''f'''eao'''djan'' ‘to feed’<br />''h'''eao'''hij'' ‘height’
 
|align="left" valign="top"| This was used for the umlauted form of '''ao''' (Griutungi '''ǭ''', Gothic '''au''').
''“Short '''i''' is lengthened before '''j'''.”''
 
====Reversal of High Diphthong Altitude Trajectory====
 
The high rising diphthong '''iu''' becomes a falling diphthong and is reanalyzed as a glide.
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ē
| '''iu'''
|valign="top"| eː~ei̯
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-ei.png|18px|EI]]
| '''ju'''
|valign="top"| '''ei'''
|}
|valign="top"| -
 
|align="left" valign="top"| ē, ee, ej
====Umlaut====
|valign="top"| ''m'''ei'''na'' ‘moon’<br />'''''ei'''maeti'' ‘ant’<br />''sw'''ei''''' ‘such, thus’
 
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
Ī/J-Umlaut (hereafter referred to merely as “Umlaut,” as no other types of Umlaut occur in the diachrony of the Valthungian language) occurs fairly early in comparison to some of the other Germanic languages, though it has some particular quirks that other Germanic languages lacked.
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
| &nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| '''V'''
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>-bck</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;  
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
| &nbsp;___&nbsp;
| C…*{ī,j
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
|style="border-left:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| œ
| <code>+str</code>
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-eo.png|25px|EO]]
|style="border-right:solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''eo'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
|rowspan=2 colspan=6| *''Where … can only cross<br />one syllable boundary.''
|align="left" valign="top"| oe, ø
|-
|valign="top"| ''vr'''eo'''kjan'' ‘to work’<br />''r'''eo'''kjus'' ‘jug’<br />''d'''eo'''htrjus'' ‘daughters’
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| This was used for the umlauted form of '''o''' (Griutungi '''o''', Gothic '''au''').
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>+bck</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|}
 
''A stressed back vowel becomes fronted when '''ī''' or '''j''' occurs in the following syllable.''
 
This rule remains productive in the grammar at least through the change of iu to ju, because short '''i''' does not trigger umlaut. However, the vowel in '''ju''' from earlier '''iu''' is not subject to umlaut.
 
===Change of Word-Initial /j/ to /g/===
This is sometimes considered a part of Verschärfung, but I'm placing it here because it must necessarily occur contemporaneously with the <code>iu → ju</code> change above. More specifically, there are a small number of words which begin with the sequence ⟨jiu-⟩, and this sequence as a whole becomes ⟨gju-⟩.
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| '''j'''
|valign="top"| øː~øu̯
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-eou.png|40px|EOU]]
| '''g'''
|valign="top"| '''eou'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| # ___ '''iu'''
|align="left" valign="top"| eoo, eō, ooe
|}
|valign="top"| ''afm'''eou'''dvij'' ‘disagreement’<br />''m'''eou'''gyjis'' ‘girls’<br />''d'''eou'''mjan'' ‘to judge’
 
|align="left" valign="top"| This was used for the umlauted form of '''oo''' (Griutungi and Gothic '''ō''').
===Rhotacism Launch===
The phoneme /z/ begins the same process towards rhotacism seen in the other Germanic languages. This change occurs in all environments.
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| '''z'''
|valign="top"| y
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-eu.png|28px|EU]]
| '''ʐ'''
|valign="top"| '''eu'''
|}
|valign="top"| -
 
|align="left" valign="top"| y, ue
===Expansion of East Germanic Verschärfung===
|valign="top"| ''f'''eu'''tlijns'' ‘fulfillment’<br />''s'''eu'''ndij'' ‘health’<br />'''''eu'''nkja'' ‘ounce’
There are actually several changes which occurred at different time periods which have been assembled here under the banner of “Verschärfung”. All of these changes deal with the way glide consonants change in intervocalic environments between the Gothic and Old Valthungian Periods.
|align="left" valign="top"| This was used for the umlauted form of '''u'''.
 
====Change of /w/ to /wg/====
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| '''w'''
|valign="top"| yː
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-euv.png|42px|EUV]]
| '''wg'''
|valign="top"| '''euv'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| '''V'''
|align="left" valign="top"| yy, uue, euu, eeu
| &nbsp;___&nbsp;
|valign="top"| ''h'''euv'''hjan'' ‘to hoard’<br />''s'''euv'''tijs'' ‘gentle’<br />''l'''euv'''kjan'' ‘to latch’
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| This was used for the umlauted form of '''uv''' (Griutungi and Gothic '''ū''').
| '''V'''
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| iu
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| iw
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-ju.png|23px|JU]]
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''iv'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| iu, ju, jv
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''''iv'''qv'' ‘up’<br />''kn'''iv''''' ‘knee’<br />''þ'''iv'''fs'' ‘thief’
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| <code>-str</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|}
 
====Change of /j/ to /gj/====
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ng
| '''j'''
|valign="top"| ŋɡ
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-ng.png|26px|NG]]
| '''gj'''
|valign="top"| '''ng'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|valign="top"| 53
| '''V'''
|align="left" valign="top"| gg
| &nbsp;___&nbsp;
|valign="top"| ''si'''ng'''van'' ‘to sing’<br />''ga'''ng'''an'' ‘to go’<br />''wi'''ng'''z'' ‘wing’
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| Sometimes written with '''g''' instead of '''n''' in a reflection of the Gothic.
| '''V'''
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| nk
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ŋk
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-nk.png|27px|NK]]
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''nk'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| gk, gc
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ''dri'''nk'''an'' ‘to drink’<br />''a'''nk'''e'' ‘lower leg’<br />''u'''nk'''is'' ‘to us’
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| Sometimes written with '''g''' instead of '''n''' in a reflection of the Gothic.
| <code>-str</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|}
 
====Change of /h/ to /gw/====
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| nkw
| '''h'''
|valign="top"| ŋkw
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-nqv.png|38px|NQV]]
| '''gw'''
|valign="top"| '''nqv'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|valign="top"| 56
| '''V'''
|align="left" valign="top"| gq, gqv, nq, nkv, ncu...
| &nbsp;___&nbsp;
|valign="top"| ''i'''nqv'''ar'' ‘your’<br />''hri'''nkv'''an'' ‘to gather’<br />''sa'''nkv'''us'' ‘sunset’
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| Sometimes written with '''g''' instead of '''n''' in a reflection of the Gothic.
| '''V'''
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ō
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| oː~ou̯
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-ou.png|28px|OU]]
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''ou'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| oo, ō, o, ov
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''''ou'''s'' ‘river-mouth’<br />''s'''ou'''gila'' ‘sun’<br />''t'''ou''''' ‘to, toward’
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| <code>-str</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|}
 
====Change of /hw/ to /gw/====
(Much later...)
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ū
| '''hw'''
|valign="top"| uː
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-uv.png|28px|UV]]
| '''gw'''
|valign="top"| '''uv'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| '''a(ː)'''
|align="left" valign="top"| ū, u, uu
| &nbsp;___&nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''''uv'''htvou'' ‘pre-dawn’<br />''þ'''uv'''sundi'' ‘thousand’<br />''h'''uv'''s'' ‘shed’
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| '''V'''
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;  
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| f
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| β~v
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-fv.png|28px|FV]]
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| '''fv'''
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| -
| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| f, v, bv
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| ''u'''fv'''ar'' ‘over’<br />''ae'''fv'''rs'' ‘terrifying’<br />''vladvu'''fv'''ni'' ‘violence’
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|align="left" valign="top"| &nbsp;
| <code>-str</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
|}
 
===Breaking of Long Diphthongs===
 
The “long diphthongs” which can be the result of Verschärfung undergo breaking and the two vowels are separated by a glide: /w/ if the first vowel is <code>+bck</code> and /j/ if the first vowel is <code>-bck</code>.
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
|-
| &nbsp;
|valign="top"| y
| '''V̄V'''
|valign="top"| ʏ~ᵿ
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
|valign="top"| [[File:OV-y.png|13px|Y]]
| ''''''
|valign="top"| '''y'''
| '''{ j,w }'''
|valign="top"| 400
| '''V'''
|align="left" valign="top"| y, i, u, ui
|valign="top"| ''s'''y'''nagyovgyei'' ‘synagogue’<br />''h'''y'''hsopus'' ‘hyssop’<br />''þ'''y'''mjam'' ‘incense’
|align="left" valign="top"| It is likely that this was still a separate phoneme in Old Valthungian from the umlaut of '''u''', though some of the means of transcription overlapped a bit. This phoneme was used only in borrowings from the Greek, and after the Old Valthungian period, these two phonemes had completely merged.<br />Our intermediate transcription shows '''ÿ''' for the letter representing Gothic '''𐍅'''/'''w''' from Greek '''υ'''. The exact pronunciation is unknown, but it seems likely that it was differentiated from '''eu''' (the i-umlaut of /u/) in Old Valthungian. These two sounds had merged by the Middle Valthungian period. Numerically, it was equivalent to Gothic '''𐍅''' (400).
|}
|}


===Deletion of Final Unstressed /a/===
==An Old Valthungian Text==
Unstressed word-final '''a''' is deleted after '''m''', '''n''', and '''t'''; however, it is retained by analogy in inflections, such as the ending of the first person singular present indicative, or the dative singular of many masculine and neuter nouns. Ultimately, this mainly leads to the shortening of some prepositions and change of the neuter ''-ata'' ending to ''-at''.
Though there are very few extant Old Valthungian texts, obnoxiously large numbers of the Pater Noster text have been discovered. Here's one now:
 
{| style="vertical-align: text-top; border-spacing: 0; padding: 0;"
|-
| &nbsp;
| '''a'''
| &nbsp;→&nbsp;
| '''Ø'''
| &nbsp;/&nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| '''C'''
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;''or''&nbsp; '''t''' }
| &nbsp;___&nbsp;#
|-
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|style="border-left:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| <code>+nas</code>
|style="border-right:solid black 1px; border-bottom: solid black 1px;"| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|}


“''Unstressed '''a''' is deleted word-finally after a nasal consonant or '''t'''.''”
[[File:OV Pater noster.png|Pater Noster in Old Valthungian ca. 952<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ad</span>]]


==Phonology of Old Valthungian ca. 950 a.d.==
ahta unsar þuv in himinam vijhnae namou þijn
<span style="background-color: red; color: yellow;">
qvimae þivdyinahsus þijns vredyae vilja þijns
Add description.
svei in himina jah an redyae hlaef unsaran
</span>
þan sintijnan gif uns hipma dagya jah afleit
uns þeatij skulans sijjaem svasvei jah vijs
afleitam þaem skulam unsaraem jah nij bringaes
uns in fraestubvnjae ak leaosij uns af þapma
ubvilin  untei þijna ist þivdyangradyi jah mahts
jah vludyus in aejugyins · ahmein
.

Latest revision as of 04:08, 27 February 2024



Old Valthungian
Sou Vladyugutanei Tungou
Pronunciation[soʊ̯ ˈwlɑ.ðʊ.ɡʊ.ta.neɪ̯ ˈtʊŋ.ɡoʊ̯]
Created byBenJamin P. Johnson,

creator of:

curator of:

Date2018
SettingNorthern Italy, ca. 800ᴀᴅ‒1200ᴀᴅ
Indo-European
  • Germanic
    • East Germanic
      • Old Valthungian

Old Valthungian represents a period in the development of the Valthungian language lasting from around 800‒1200ad marked mainly by changes to geminates and metathesis of liquids, as well as the introduction of Germanic ī/j-umlaut and some small but important changes to all of the vowels. Though this is a range which experienced many changes, the most representative example of “Old Valthungian” is the language as it is captured in a few surviving texts believed to date to around 950‒975ad.

Phonology of Old Valthungian ca. 950ad

Consonants

Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Dorsal
Plosive p · b
/p · b/
t · d
/t · d/
k · g
/k · ɡ/
Nasal · m
/m/
· n
/n/
· n[1]
[ŋ]
Fricative f · bv, fv
/ɸ · β/
dv · þ
/ð · θ/
s · z
/s · ʐ/
· jj
/ʝ/
h · gy
/h · ɣ/
Approximant · v
/w/
· l
/l/
· r
/r/
· j
/j/

Vowels

Short Vowels Long Vowels
Front Back Front Back
Close i · eu
/ɪ · ʏ/
u
/ʊ/
ij · euv
/iː · yː/
uv
/uː/
Mid-Close · y[2]
/ᵿ/
ei · eou
/eː · øː/
ou
/oː/[3]
Mid-Open e, ea[4] · eo
/ɛ · œ/
o
[ɔ]
ae · eao
/ɛː · œː/
ao
/ɔː/
Open a
/a/
aa
/ɑː/[5]

Syllabic Sonorants

In addition to the vowels, certain sonorants may act as syllable nuclei (usually word-finally).

Labial Alveolar Palatal Dorsal
Syllabics m
/m̩/
n
/n̩/
r
/r̩/
l
/l̩/

Orthography of Old Valthungian

There is very little extant text in Old Valthungian, and what does exist is quite variable, but this is a “regularlised” version of the orthography used at the time around 950ad, with notes where there are variants.

Letters The twenty-seven “official” letters of the Old Valthungian alphabet are very similar to the twenty-seven letter of the Gothic alphabet, right down to the order of their numbering. There were, however, many variants, ligatures, digraphs, trigraphs, and Latin and Greek letters thrown into the mix in the few small samples we have of definitive Old Valthungian texts.
Griutungi IPA Old Val. Roman. Numeric
Value
Variants Examples Notes
a ɑ A a 1   rams ‘poor’
gaf ‘gave’
aar ‘second’
 
b b B b 2   bradvou ‘axe’
krahba ‘crab’
lamb ‘lamb’
 
g ɡ G g 3   gibvan ‘to give’
graþs ‘yard’
dagz ‘day’
 
d d D d 4   dagz ‘day’
ahdi ‘egg’
teihund ‘(multiple of) ten’
 
e ɛ E e 5 ai redva ‘earth’
tehsva ‘right-hand’
berja ‘ferry’
 
kw kʷ~kw QV qv 6 kv, q, ku, cv, cu qvernu ‘mill’
inqvis ‘to you both’
riqviza ‘darker’
 
z ʐ Z z 7 ȥ þizae ‘to that’
hvizazij ‘whatever’
izous ‘hers’
 
h h~x H h 8   hretou ‘heart’
tehun ‘ten’
fah ‘glad’
 
þ θ Þ þ 9 th, fh, c[6] þjuþ ‘people’
frijaþvou ‘love’
ljugyvaþ ‘light’
From the Gothic 𐌸, this letter represented [θ] in Old Valthungian as it did in Gothic, but became [v] and was replaced by Þ for [θ] in the 11th century.
i i I i 10   igyil ‘hedgehog’
izae ‘to her’
þivgyi ‘maid’
 
k k K k 20 c krots ‘short’
taekros ‘brother-in-law’
mask ‘mesh, grid’
Sometimes written as kh or ch when aspirated.
l l~ɫ̩ L l 30   langz ‘long’
slidvalijks ‘amazing’
tagl ‘tail’
(Syllabic and non-syllabic sonorants were not differentiated in Old Valthungian.)
m m~m̩ M m 40   maedvms ‘gift’
mikils ‘great’
ogvuma ‘primary’
(Syllabic and non-syllabic sonorants were not differentiated in Old Valthungian.)
n n~n̩ N n 50   naoþs ‘need’
nivntehun ‘nineteen’
niman ‘to take’
(Syllabic and non-syllabic sonorants were not differentiated in Old Valthungian.)
j j J j 60 i jeir ‘year’
jah ‘also’
juvs ‘you all’
 
o ɔ O o 70 au rotigraþs ‘garden’
ogyuma ‘chief’
vroms ‘worm’
 
p p P p 80   paedva ‘shirt’
propora ‘purple’
sleipan ‘to sleep’
Sometimes written as ph when aspirated.
ī iː~ij IJ ij 90 ī, ei, ij ijs ‘ice’
tijþs ‘time’
divpij ‘depth’
There is only scant evidence that this ligature was used to represent the value of the number ‘90’, and it is disputable whether the evidence in question is actually the 〈ij〉 ligature, or a holdover of the Gothic number 𐍁.
r r~r̩ R r 100   riqvus ‘dark’
broudvr ‘brother’
ver ‘man’
(Syllabic and non-syllabic sonorants were not differentiated in Old Valthungian.)
s s S s 200   saovgyila ‘sun’
sehstigjus ‘sixty’
suvs ‘sow’
 
t t T t 300   tungl ‘star’
stivgyiti ‘patience’
trivgyijnat ‘wooden’
Sometimes written as th when aspirated.
w w V v 400 vv, uu, ƿ vlidvijs ‘wild’
saliþva ‘guest room’
svei ‘as though’
 
f ɸ~f F f 500   fimf ‘five’
svumfsl ‘’
hlaef ‘bread’
 
kh KH x 600 kh, ch, x, χ Xristus ‘Christ’
evxaristja ‘eucharist’
katexijns ‘remembrance’
This Greek borrowing, which was incorporated into the Gothic alphabet as 𐍇, had merged phonologically with k by the Old Valthungian period, but was occasionally still emphasized with h or even with the Greek letter χ in positions which were not naturally aspirated. Indeed, h was sometimes added to segments which were naturally aspirated, as also happened with p and t.
hw xw HV hv 700 hv, hw, chv, hu hvilftri ‘curve’
sehvan ‘to see’
neihv ‘near’
The Old Valthungian letter most commonly written as HV, from Gothic 𐍈, is transliterated as hv, but later came to represent [θ] during the 11th century.
u u U u 800   ulbvandus ‘rhinocerus’
ubvils ‘evil’
u ‘until’
 
j ʝ J2 jj 900 i, j, ʒ þrijja ‘three’
teaojjan ‘to do’
beajjouþs ‘both’
 
Ligatures & Polygraphs Most of these represent single phonemes and might be considered letters in their own right, but were not part of the numbered Gothic alphabet.
Griutungi IPA Old Val. Roman. Numeric
Value
Variants Examples Notes
ā ɑː AA aa - a, ā haahs ‘shark’
faahan ‘to capture’
andaþaaht ‘rational’
Long vowels were sometimes indicated by doubling, sometimes with a macron or any of a half dozen other markings, or ignored completely.
ǣ ɛː AE ae - ai, ee braeþ ‘wide’
aedvij ‘mother’
twae ‘two’
 
ǭ ɔː AO ao - au, oa, oo, ō aogyou ‘eye’
fraos ‘happy’
naohuhþan ‘still, yet’
 
b β~v BV bv - vv silbva ‘self’
arbvi ‘inheritance’
hlaebva ‘bread.dat
 
g ɣ GY gy - y, g aogyou ‘eye’
bagyms ‘tree’
igyil ‘hedgehog’
 
d ð DY dv - dv, δ aedvij ‘mother’
daladva ‘down’
þjudvij ‘meaning’
Though dv is used here for transcription, a letter derived from the Gothic letter dags (but resembling ϫ, the Coptic gangia) was more often used.
- ɛ~æ EA ea - e, ai, ae seatjan ‘to set’
Mbreajja ‘Maria’
eakijt ‘vinegar’
This was used for the umlauted form of short a (Griutungi and Gothic a).
- œː EAO eao - eoa, eō, eoo eaodvijs ‘desert’
feaodjan ‘to feed’
heaohij ‘height’
This was used for the umlauted form of ao (Griutungi ǭ, Gothic au).
ē eː~ei̯ EI ei - ē, ee, ej meina ‘moon’
eimaeti ‘ant’
swei ‘such, thus’
 
- œ EO eo - oe, ø vreokjan ‘to work’
reokjus ‘jug’
deohtrjus ‘daughters’
This was used for the umlauted form of o (Griutungi o, Gothic au).
- øː~øu̯ EOU eou - eoo, eō, ooe afmeoudvij ‘disagreement’
meougyjis ‘girls’
deoumjan ‘to judge’
This was used for the umlauted form of oo (Griutungi and Gothic ō).
- y EU eu - y, ue feutlijns ‘fulfillment’
seundij ‘health’
eunkja ‘ounce’
This was used for the umlauted form of u.
- EUV euv - yy, uue, euu, eeu heuvhjan ‘to hoard’
seuvtijs ‘gentle’
leuvkjan ‘to latch’
This was used for the umlauted form of uv (Griutungi and Gothic ū).
iu iw JU iv - iu, ju, jv ivqv ‘up’
kniv ‘knee’
þivfs ‘thief’
 
ng ŋɡ NG ng 53 gg singvan ‘to sing’
gangan ‘to go’
wingz ‘wing’
Sometimes written with g instead of n in a reflection of the Gothic.
nk ŋk NK nk - gk, gc drinkan ‘to drink’
anke ‘lower leg’
unkis ‘to us’
Sometimes written with g instead of n in a reflection of the Gothic.
nkw ŋkw NQV nqv 56 gq, gqv, nq, nkv, ncu... inqvar ‘your’
hrinkvan ‘to gather’
sankvus ‘sunset’
Sometimes written with g instead of n in a reflection of the Gothic.
ō oː~ou̯ OU ou - oo, ō, o, ov ous ‘river-mouth’
sougila ‘sun’
tou ‘to, toward’
 
ū UV uv - ū, u, uu uvhtvou ‘pre-dawn’
þuvsundi ‘thousand’
huvs ‘shed’
 
f β~v FV fv - f, v, bv ufvar ‘over’
aefvrs ‘terrifying’
vladvufvni ‘violence’
 
y ʏ~ᵿ Y y 400 y, i, u, ui synagyovgyei ‘synagogue’
hyhsopus ‘hyssop’
þymjam ‘incense’
It is likely that this was still a separate phoneme in Old Valthungian from the umlaut of u, though some of the means of transcription overlapped a bit. This phoneme was used only in borrowings from the Greek, and after the Old Valthungian period, these two phonemes had completely merged.
Our intermediate transcription shows ÿ for the letter representing Gothic 𐍅/w from Greek υ. The exact pronunciation is unknown, but it seems likely that it was differentiated from eu (the i-umlaut of /u/) in Old Valthungian. These two sounds had merged by the Middle Valthungian period. Numerically, it was equivalent to Gothic 𐍅 (400).

An Old Valthungian Text

Though there are very few extant Old Valthungian texts, obnoxiously large numbers of the Pater Noster text have been discovered. Here's one now:

Pater Noster in Old Valthungian ca. 952ad

ahta unsar þuv in himinam vijhnae namou þijn
qvimae þivdyinahsus þijns vredyae vilja þijns 
svei in himina jah an redyae hlaef unsaran
þan sintijnan gif uns hipma dagya jah afleit
uns þeatij skulans sijjaem svasvei jah vijs
afleitam þaem skulam unsaraem jah nij bringaes
uns in fraestubvnjae ak leaosij uns af þapma
ubvilin  untei þijna ist þivdyangradyi jah mahts
jah vludyus in aejugyins · ahmein

.

  1. ^ Before g or k
  2. ^ This was likely a lax central near-close vowel, not a front vowel; i.e. [ᵿ], not [ʏ]. It later merged with /y/.
  3. ^ All of the mid-close long vowels may have been diphthongs, i.e. [eɪ̯], [œʏ̯], and [oʊ̯] – and 〈eou〉 was almost certainly [œʏ̯] – but the spelling of 〈ei〉 and 〈ou〉 is likely related to conventions borrowed from early Romance languages of the time rather than an indication of dipthongisation.
  4. ^ In the standardised orthography, 〈e〉 occurs only where adjacent to /r/ or /h/, while 〈ea〉 is the umlaut of /a/. It is likely they represented the same sounds, though some scholars contend that 〈ea〉 wa a more open [æ].
  5. ^ All other back vowels seem to have distinguished umlaut forms, but the umlaut of 〈aa〉 is consistently written as 〈ae〉 and was presumably realized as [eː]. In an early version of the Chrysanthi Grammar, 〈eaa〉 was used for this purpose, but later versions have 〈ae〉 exclusively.
  6. ^ c for /θ/ is anomalous, only appearing in one extant instance, and is most likely the result of a transcription error, though many have used it (grossly incorrectly) to associate Old Valthungian with the Iberian Goths, positing that this somehow relates to ceceo in modern Spanish. It absolutely does not, and the Old Valthungian speakers never came within 500 miles of present-day Spain, but facts have never stood in the way of good speculation.