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Germanic short *i and *e: Two phonemes or one?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2026

James W. Marchand
James W. Marchand*
Affiliation:
Washington University
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Abstract

[The question of the phonemic status of *i and *e in Proto-Germanic hinges on the acceptance of two alleged sound-changes, *e to *i before *u, and *i to *e before a-sounds. If we deny the occurrence of these two sound changes, as most recent treatments of the problem do, then *i and *e are members of different phonemes. It is shown here, however, that the two sound changes can be defended. It is therefore assumed that *i and *e were members of the same phoneme in Proto-Germanic, and this assumption is strengthened by the demonstration that it offers a better explanation for the situation in OHG and Gothic than is offered by the assumption of a phonemic difference.]

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 33 , Issue 3-Part1: July-September , September 1957 , pp. 346 - 354
Copyright
Copyright © 1957 Linguistic Society of America

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References

1 See especially W. F. Twaddell, The prehistoric Germanic short syllables, Lg. 24.141 ff. (1948). Of course the problem was seen by prestructuralists ; for a history of the question see especially Streitberg-Michels-Jellinek, Germanisch 1.357 ff.

2 E. Prokosch, A comparative Germanic grammar 109 (Philadelphia, 1939); A. Meillet, Caractères généraux des langues germaniques 3 61 (Paris, 1926).

3 Twaddell, Germanie short syllables 142; J. Kurylowicz, The Germanie vowel system, Bulletin of the Polish Academy 53 f. (1952).

4 G. Trager and H. L. Smith, A chronology of IH, SIL 8.67, 70 (1950).

5 Cf. Twaddell, Germanie short syllables 139 f.

6 Cf. Prokosch §38; R. Loewe, Germanische Sprachwissenschaft 4 1.45 (Berlin, 1933). For the opposing view: W. Streitberg, Urgermanische Grammatik 77-79 (Heidelberg, 1896); F. Kluge, Vorgeschichte der altgermanischen Dialekte2 410 (Strassburg, 1897) ; H. Hirt, Handbuch des Urgermanischen 1.45-7 (Heidelberg, 1931).

7 Cf. O. Bremer, Die germanische Brechung, IF 26.149 and passim (1909); Kurylowicz, The Germanic vowel system 53; Twaddell, Germanic short syllables 142; H. Paul, Zur Geschichte des germanischen Vokalismus, PBB 6.82 ff. (1879).

8 Cf. footnote 7 above. Hirt, Handbuch 1.47; Kluge, Vorgeschichte 410.

9 Germanic short syllablcs 142.

10 See my article, The phonemic status of OHG e, Word 12.82-90 (1956), and Twaddell, A note on OHG umlaut, Monatshefte 30.177 ff. (1938). i beside a line indicates that the sound change in question took place before ‘i-sounds’ (= i, ī, j) in the following syllable; a beside a line indicates that the sound change in question took place before ‘α-sounds’ (= a, æ̃). Where necessary and certain, allophones have been indicated by brackets. In order not to prejudice the case, I have naturally left the situation with respect to *i and *e ambiguous.

11 K. Luick, Historische Grammatik der englischen Sprache 1.1.108 f. (Vienna, 1921); Hirt, Handbuch 1.46; Kurylowicz, Germanic vowel system 53 f.; E. Sievers, Zum angelsächsischen Vokalismus 33 (Leipzig, 1900).

12 Cf. H. Wagener, Zu den indogermanischen ē- Verben, Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 25.161-74 (1956).

13 E. Sievers and K. Brunner, Altenglische Grammatik3 §416 (Halle, 1951).

14 Cf. Hirt, Handbuch 2.170-2; Streitberg, Urgermanische Grammatik 306-10.

15 There is some question as to what happened to IE *e in unaccented syllables in Proto-Germanic; at least some West Germanic dialects (OHG, OS) point to the existence of a genitive in *-is-. See my article, Notes on some Gothic inflectional endings, soon to appear in MLN

16 W. Braune and W. Mitzka, Althochdeutsche Grammatik8 94-6 (Tübingen, 1953); see also my article, The Proto-Germanic long stops, soon to appear in General linguistics.

17 Cf. Twaddell, Germanic short syllables.

18 Sievers-Brunner 33.

19 Hirt, Handbuch 1.46; Paul, Zur Geschichte des germanischen Vokalismus 82; but cf. Braune-Mitzka 37; Twaddell, Germanie short syllables 145.

20 Bremer, Die germanische Brechung 149.

21 Streitberg-Michels-Jellinek 363.

22 Cf. for example Kurylowicz, Germanic vowel system 52 fn. 1.

23 Braune-Mitzka 201 f. ; Sievers-Brunner 239 f. ; F. Holthausen, Altsächsisches Elementarbuch2 104 (Heidelberg, 1921); W. Steller, Abriss der altfriesischen Grammatik 40 f. (Halle, 1928).

24 But see M. Joesten, Untersuchungen zu ahd. (as.) e, i vor u der Folgesilbe, Giessener Beiträge 28 (1931); E. A. Philippson, JEGP 55.288 (1956).

25 Usually reconstructed as *friþaũs/z, but see my Notes on some Gothic inflectional endings, to appear soon in MLN.

26 Since it is the ‘purpose’ of an analogy to remove some irregularity, it follows that cognizance of an anomaly is necessary for the operation of analogy; since allophonic variations are rarely noticed by the naive native speaker, phonemicization by analogy must be unusual. On this problem, see N. S. Trubetzkoy, Altkirchenslavische Grammatik 8 (Wien, 1954).

27 Sievers, Zum angelsächsischen Vokalismus 33; M. Joesten, Untersuchungen zu ahd. (as.) e, i vor u, passim.

28 F. Kluge, Nominale Stammbildungslehre der altgermanischen Dialekte3 83 (Halle, 1926).

29 Cf. F. Kluge and A. Goetze, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache 14 (Berlin, 1948) under Lefze.

30 Kögel, PBB 16.501 (1892).

31 H. Weyhe, Beiträge zur westgermanischen Grammatik, PBB 31.43-78 (1906) ; K. Luick, Historische Grammatik 102.

32 Luick 102.

33 Sievers, Zum angelsächsischen Vokalismus 32 f.; Weyhe 60 f.; Sievers-Brunner 25.

34 Sievers, Zum ags. Vokalismus 30 f.

35 R. Loewe, Ostgermanisch-westgermanische Neuerungen bei Zahlwörtern, PBB 27.75-88 (1902); O. Behagel, Zum gotischen Zahlwort, PBB 42.156-8 (1917).

36 Behagel, Zum gotischen Zahlwort; W. van Helten, Zum germanischen Zahlwort, IF 18.84-127 passim (1905/6). In the Rushworth Manuscript the inflected form is used both before and after the noun.

37 Kluge, Vorgeschichte 330.

38 Cf. A. Mayer, Zum germanischen und slawischen Milchnamen, KZ 73.235-7 (1956); M. Kaluza, Historische Grammatik der englischen Sprache l.§65 (Berlin, 1906).

39 W. Heuser, Altfriesisches Lesebuch 36 f. (Heidelberg, 1903); cf. also T. Siebs, Zur Geschichte der englisch-friesischen Sprache 147 ff. (Halle, 1889).

40 Cf. Siebs, Englisch-friesische Sprache 247.

41 Cf. S. Feist, Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache3 421b (Leiden, 1939).

42 See my article, The phonemic status of OHG e, Word 12.82-90 (1956).

43 On the desirability of symmetry cf. also Twaddell, Germanic short syllablcs 145; Kurylowicz, Germanic vowel system 53 f.