mhg_wright - 0017.htm

6 Phonology [§§ 6-7

= (2) O H G. io (Germanic eu), as bieten, to offer,

Hep, dear = OHG. biotan, Hob.
= (3) the OHG. io which occurs in the preterite of
the old reduplicated verbs whose presents
have cm, o, uo (§ 87), as inf. loufen, to run,
stolen, to push, ruofen, to call, preterite lief,
stie^, rief = OHG. liof, stioz,, riof.
= (4) Upper German iu (OHG. io) before labials and
gutturals, as Hup, dear, tiuf, deep, siuch, sick,
liugen, to tell a lie = Hep, tief, siech, liegen,
cm (eu) is the umlaut of OHG. ou, as löuber, leaves,
löufel, runner = OHG. loubir, loufil.

lie is the umlaut of OHG. uo, as griiene, green, guete,
goodness, vüere, thou didst go = OHG. gruoni, guoti,
fuori.

UNACCENTED VOWELS AND UMLAUT.

§ 6. The two most characteristic differences between
OHG. and MHG. are: (i) the spread of umlaut (§ 10);
(2) the weakening and partial loss of vowels in unaccented
syllables.

i. THE WEAKENING OF UNACCENTED VOWELS.

§ 7. The short vowels a, i, o, u, and the long vowels ë,
I, o, ū were weakened to e. This e was pronounced like
the final -e in NHG. leute, see § 3. Examples are:—

gëba, giß, hërza, heart, zunga, tongue, taga, days =-
MHG. gebe, herze, zunge, tage; heilag, holy, neut.
blinda^, blind, nëman, to take — MHG. heüec, blindes;,
nëmen.

kunni, race, generation, gesti, guests — MHG. künne,
geste; kuning, king, be??isto, besi_s dat. pi. gestim, to



6 Phonology [§§ 6-7 = (2) O H G. io (Germanic eu), as bieten, to offer, Hep, dear = OHG. biotan, Hob. = (3) the OHG. io which occurs in the preterite of the old reduplicated verbs whose presents have cm, o, uo (§ 87), as inf. loufen, to run, stolen, to push, ruofen, to call, preterite lief, stie^, rief = OHG. liof, stioz,, riof. = (4) Upper German iu (OHG. io) before labials and gutturals, as Hup, dear, tiuf, deep, siuch, sick, liugen, to tell a lie = Hep, tief, siech, liegen, cm (eu) is the umlaut of OHG. ou, as löuber, leaves, löufel, runner = OHG. loubir, loufil. lie is the umlaut of OHG. uo, as griiene, green, guete, goodness, vüere, thou didst go = OHG. gruoni, guoti, fuori.

		UNACCENTED VOWELS AND UMLAUT. § 6. The two most characteristic differences between OHG. and MHG. are: (i) the spread of umlaut (§ 10); (2) the weakening and partial loss of vowels in unaccented syllables.

	i. THE WEAKENING OF UNACCENTED VOWELS. § 7. The short vowels a, i, o, u, and the long vowels ë, I, o, ū were weakened to e. This e was pronounced like the final -e in NHG. leute, see § 3. Examples are:— gëba, giß, hërza, heart, zunga, tongue, taga, days =- MHG. gebe, herze, zunge, tage; heilag, holy, neut. blinda^, blind, nëman, to take — MHG. heüec, blindes;, nëmen. kunni, race, generation, gesti, guests — MHG. künne, geste; kuning, king, be??isto, besi_s dat. pi. gestim, to