Valthungian/Rules

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NB: The information on this page is out of date. These rules are gradually being moved into other pages on the historical development of Valthungian (see Old Valthungian, for example). I appreciate your patience. — BPNJ

Historical Sound Changes from Proto-Germanic to East Germanic (ca. 400b.c.-0)

It should be noted that many of these changes preceded what we think of as "Proto-Germanic" or "Common Germanic," but I include them here because they have important phonological or orthographic information, or because the same changes occurred in different ways in East Germanic and North-West Germanic.

First Umlaut

Stage 1.

e > i / V[+str] … __[-str] ! {r,h⁽ʷ⁾,+}

  • /e/ > /i/ when unstressed following a stressed vowel except before /r/, /h/, /hʷ/, or a morpheme boundary.

Stage 2.

e > i / __[+str] ! {r,h⁽ʷ⁾,+}

  • /e/ > /i/ when stressed except before /r/, /h/, /hʷ/, or a morpheme boundary.

(Stage 3: See EGmc Reflex of 1st Umlaut.)

Has to precede Mora Loss

Has to precede ŋ-deletion

/ŋ/-Deletion

Vŋh > V[+lng, +nas]Øh

  • A vowel, followed by the sequence /ŋh/ (where /h/=[h,x]), becomes long and nasal and /ŋ/ is deleted (in all environments).

Intervocalic Spirantization

C[+vce,-cnt] > [+cnt] / V__V

In other words,

b,d,g > β,ð,γ / V__V

  • A voiced non-continuant consonant (i.e. a voiced stop) becomes continuant (i.e. a fricative) when intervocalic.

EGmc Reflex of 1st Umlaut

This rule is really "Stage 3" of First Umlaut, also called East Germanic Expansion of First Umlaut

i,u > e,o / __[+str]{r,h⁽ʷ⁾}

  • /i/ becomes /e/ and /u/ becomes /o/ when stressed before /r/, /h/, or /hʷ/

Monophthongization of Unstressed /ai, au/

ai,au > ɛ̄,ɔ̄ / σ[-str]__[-str]Co#

  • Has to precede Mora Loss

Mora Loss

Mora Loss consists of three contemporaneous changes to unstressed word-final syllables: The deletion of non-strident coronal consonants, the deletion of short vowels, and the shortening of long vowels.

Coronal Consonant Deletion

C[+obs][+cor][-sdt] > Ø / V[-str]Co__##

  • A non-strident coronal obstruent (i.e. /t, þ, d/, but not /s, z/) is deleted after an unstressed vowel when word-final. (One or more consonants - probably sonorants - may intervene between the unstressed vowel and the word-final consonant.)

E.g.

  • ‘ten’, ‘honey’, ‘from behind’
  • PIE *déḱm̥t, *mélit, *h₂epóteroṓd >
  • PGmc *téhund, *míliþ, *áfterôt >
  • EGmc *téhun_, *míli_, *áfterô_ >
  • Gothic taihun[1], *mili, aftarō >
  • Valthungian tǣjun, mile, aftra

Unstressed Final Short Vowel Deletion

V[-lng][-str]([-rnd] for a. and c.) > Ø / a) σ(V[+lng]{V, C})C__(z)#
  b) V[-str]C__(z)#
  c) C[-rnd]#

  • a) An unstressed unrounded short vowel (i.e. /a, e, i/) is deleted if following a stressed syllable (containing a long diphthong or a long vowel followed by a consonant) when word-final or before word-final /z/.
  • b) An unstressed short vowel (i.e. /a, e, i, u/) is deleted after an unstressed syllable when word-final or before word-final /z/.
  • c) (Later), unstressed /a, e, i/ is deleted when word-final.

E.g.

  • ‘fear’, ‘I have seen’ (> ‘I know’), ‘day’; ‘son’
  • PIE *ā́gʰes, *wóido, *dʰegʷʰos; *suHnús >
  • PGmc *ṓgiz, *waita, *dagaz; *sunuz >
  • EGmc *ōg_z, *wait_, *dag_z; *sunuz >
  • Gothic ōgs, wait[2], dags, but sunus >
  • Valthungian ōǧ (/auʤ/), wǣt, daǧ; sunus.

Final Unstressed Long Vowel Shortening

V[+lng][-str] > [-lng] / __#

  • Unstressed long vowels are shortened when word-final.
  • NB: At this stage of the language, there was no short /o/; when /ō/ was shortened in East Germanic, it was lowered to /a/. (In North and West Germanic, /ō/ was raised to /u/.)

E.g.

  • ‘I carry’, ‘day’ (instr.)
  • PIE *bʰérō, *dʰogʰʷṓ >
  • PGmc *bérō, *dágō >
  • EGmc *bero, *dago >
  • Gothic baira'[3]', daga >
  • Valthungian bera, daga[4]

Historical Sound Changes from East-Germanic to Gothic (ca. 0-400a.d.)

[these changes still need to be ordered correctly]

z-Deletion, Obstruent Devoicing

z → ∅ / V[-lng]{r,s}___#

  • /z/ is deleted word-finally after a short vowel followed by /r/ or /s/.

E.g.:

  • ‘man’, ‘fall’, ‘shoulder’
  • PGmc *weraz, *drusaz, *amsaz >
  • Egmc *wirz, *drusz, *amsz >
  • Gothic waír, drus, ams

h-Deletion

Long Vowel Lowering

Glide Gemination (EGmc Verschärfung Stage I)

Glide Insertion

m-Assimilation

Change of Initial fl to þl

r,n-Dissimilation

Change of am to um, Post-tonic e to a

Thurneysen's Law

EGmc Verschärfung Stage II

Differences Between Gothic and Griutungi (the Gothic-Contemporary Ancestor of Valthungian)

Moved to Griutungi

Historical Sound Changes from Griutungi to Old Valthungian (ca. 400-800a.d.)

Moved to Old Valthungian.

Historical Sound Changes from Old to Middle Valthungian (ca. 800-1200a.d.)

Moved to Middle Valthungian

Rejection of Greek Fricatives

Rhotacism

Stressed Long Vowel Raising

Vowel Tensing

Deletion and Assimilation of /h/

Palatalisation & Affrication

Unstressed Vowel Reduction and Deletion

Historical Sound Changes from Middle to Classical Valthungian (ca. 1200-1600a.d.)

Moved to Middle Valthungian

Unstressed Vowel Reduction and Deletion

Unpacking

Deletion of /b,f/

Deletion of /g/ between Nasals

  1. ^ Griutungi tehun
  2. ^ Griutungi wǣt
  3. ^ Griutungi bera
  4. ^ Normally the final /a/ would disappear from Valthungian, but in the case of both of these words, it is restored through analysis; it remains on all first person singular present indicative inflection of verbs and on the dative case of most nouns.