CHAPTER V

THE GOTHIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRIMITIVE GERMANIC VOWELS OF UNACCENTED SYLLABLES

§ 87. In order to establish and illustrate the Gothic treatment of the vowels of final syllables by comparison with other non-Germanic languages, Lat., Greek, &c., it will be useful to state here a law, relating to the general Germanic treatment of Indo-Germanic final consonants, which properly belongs to a later chapter:—

(1) Final -m became -n. This -n remained when protected by a particle, e. g. Goth. þan-a (§ 265), the = Skr. tám, Lat. is-tum, Gr. τόν. But when it was not protected by a particle, it, as also Indo-Germanic final -n, was dropped in prim. Germanic after short vowels; and the preceding vowel underwent in Gothic just the same treatment as if it had been originally final, i. e. it was dropped with the exception of u, e. g. acc. sing. Goth. wulf, wolf = Skr. vŕkam, Gr. λύκον, Lat. lupum; nom. acc. sing. Goth. juk, yoke = Skr. yugám, Gr. ζυγόν, Lat. jugum; inf. niman from *nemanan, to take; acc. sing. Goth. ga-qumþ, a coming 34together, assembly = Skr. gátim, Gr. βάσιν, prim. form *gmtím, a going; cp. also the Lat. endings in partim, sitim, &c.

Acc. sing. Goth. sunu, son = Skr. sūnúm, cp. the endings in Gr. ἡδύν, sweet; Lat. fructum, fruit; acc. sing. Goth. fōtu, foot, cp. Lat. pedem, Gr. πόδα (§ 53). But the -un from Indg. vocalic -m disappeared in words of more than two syllables, as acc. sing. guman from *ʒomanun = Lat. hominem, man; brōþar from *Ҍrōþerun, brother, cp. Lat. frātrem. In Gothic sibun, seven, and taíhun, ten, for older *sibu, *taíhu, the final -n was re-introduced through the influence of the inflected forms (§ 247).

On the other hand, final -n merely became reduced after long vowels in prim. Germanic, and only disappeared in the course of the individual Germanic languages; the process being that the long oral vowels became nasalized and then at a later stage became oral again (cp. § 59 note). After the disappearance of the nasal element, the long vowel remained in Gothic when it originally had the ‘slurred’ (circumflex) accent, but became shortened when it originally had the ‘broken’ (acute) accent, as gen. pl. dagē, of days; gastē, of guests; hananē, of cocks; haírtanē, of hearts; baúrgē, of cities; the -ē of which corresponds to a prim. Germanic -ǣ̃n, Indg. -ē̃m, but this ending only occurs in Gothic and has never been satisfactorily explained; the ending in the other Germanic and Indo-Germanic languages presupposes -ō̃m which appears as -ō in the Gothic gen. pl. gibō, of gifts; bandjō, of bands; tuggōnō, of tongues; manageinō, of multitudes, cp. Gr. θεῶν, of gods; but acc. sing. giba from *ʒeҌōn, Indg. -ā́m, cp. Gr. χώρᾱν, land, and acc. fem. þō, the = Skr. 35tā́m, acc. fem. ni áinō-hun (§ 89 note), no one; nom. sing. hana from *χanēn or -ōn, cp. Gr. ποιμήν, shepherd ἡγεμών, leader; nasida from *naziđōn, I saved.

(2) The Indg. final explosives disappeared in prim. Germanic, except after a short accented vowel, as pres. subj. baírái, OE. OS. OHG. bere, from an original form *bhéroĩt, he may bear; pret. pl. bērun, OE. bǣron, OS. OHG. bārun, they bore, original ending -nt with vocalic n (§ 54); Goth. mēna from an original form *mēnōt, moon; Goth. þat-a, OE. þæt, OS. that, Indg. *tod, that, the; OE. hwæt, OS. hwat = Lat. quod, what, beside Gothic ƕa (§ 273); OE. æt, OS. at = Lat. ad, at.

(3) Indg. final -r remained, as Goth. fadar, O.Icel. faðir, OE. fæder, OS. fader, OHG. fater = Lat. pater, Gr. πατήρ, father.

a. Short Vowels

§ 88. With the exception of u all other prim. Indo-Germanic final short vowels, or short vowels which became final in prim. Germanic (§ 87), were dropped in Gothic, as 36also were short vowels in the final syllables of dissyllabic and polysyllabic words when followed by a single consonant:—

Goth. wáit = Gr. οἶδα, Skr. vḗda, I know; wáist = Gr. οἶσθα, Skr. vḗttha, thou knowest; hlaf, I stole = Gr. κέκλοφα.

Goth. akrs, field = Gr. ἀγρός; wulfs = Gr. λύκος, Skr. vŕkas, Lat. lupus, wolf, cp. nom. sing. O.Norse runic inscription HoltingaR; numans from *nomanaz, taken; gen. sing. dagis, from *đaʒesa, of a day, cp. O.Bulgarian česo = Goth. ƕis, whose; af, of, from = Gr. ἄπο; nom. sing. haírdeis, shepherd, from *χirđij-az.

Voc. sing. Goth. wulf = Gr. λύκε, Lat. lupe, Skr. vŕka; nim, take thou = Gr. νέμε; nasei, from *nasiji, save thou; baíriþ, ye bear = Gr. φέρετε; wáit, he knows = Gr. οἶδε; láiƕ, he lent = Gr. λέλοιπε, he has left; fimf, five, cp. Gr. πέντε; mik (acc.), me, cp. Gr. ἐμέγε; nom. pl. Goth. gumans from *ʒomaniz, men = Lat. homines, cp. Gr. ἄκμονες, anvils; nom. pl. gasteis from *ʒastij-(i)z, guests = Lat. hostēs, from *hostejes, strangers, enemies, cp. Gr. πόλεις from *πόλεjες, cities; nom. pl. sunjus, from *suniuz, older *suneu-es, sons = Skr. sūnávas, cp. Gr. ἡδεῖς from *ἡδέϝες, sweet.

hráin, from *hráini (neut.), clean, pure, cp. Gr. ἴδρι, skilful; dat. sing. gumin from *ʒomini = Lat. homini, to a man, cp. Gr. ποιμένι, to a shepherd; dat. sing. brōþr from *ƀrōþri = Lat. frātri, to a brother, cp. Gr. πατρί; baíris = Skr. bhárasi, thou bearest; baíriþ = Skr. bhárati, he bears; baírand = Gr. Dor. φέροντι, Skr. bháranti, they bear; nom. sing. gasts = O.Norse runic inscription gastiR, guest, Lat. hostis; waírs, from *wirsiz (av.), worse, cp. Lat. magis, more.

Nom. acc. neut. Goth. faíhu = Lat. pecu, cattle, cp. Gr. ἄστυ, city; filu, much = Gr. πολύ, many; nom. sing. sunus = Skr. sūnús, son, cp. the endings in Gr. νέκυς, corpse, Lat. fructus, fruit.

b. Long Vowels

§ 89. Prim. Indg. long final vowels, or those which became final in prim. Germanic (§ 87 and note), became shortened in polysyllabic words, when the vowels in question originally had the ‘broken’ accent, but remained unshortened when they originally had the ‘slurred’ accent.

Examples of the former are:—fem. nom. sing. giba, from *ʒeҌō, gift (cp. sō, § 265), cp. Gr. χώρᾱ, land, Indg. -ā́; neut. nom. acc. pl. juka, from *jukō (cp. neut. nom. acc. pl. þō, § 265), Skr. (Vedic) yugā́, O.Lat. jugā, Indg. -ā́.

baíra, Lat. ferō, Gr. φέρω, I bear, Indg. -ṓ; mēna, moon, cp. mēnōþs, month; particle -ō preserved in forms like acc. sing. ƕan-ō-h, each, everyone, but shortened in acc. forms like ƕan-a, whom?; þan-a, this; þat-a, that; blindan-a, blind.

Pret. 3 sing. nasida, he saved, Indg. -dhḗt, cp. nasidēs; áinamma, dat. (properly instrumental) sing. masc. neut. of áins, one, beside áinummē-hun, to anyone; ƕamma? to whom? beside ƕammē-h, to everyone; dat. sing. masc. neut. þamma, to this, from an Indg. instrumental form *tosmḗ (cp. Goth. þē, § 265 note); dat. sing. daga, to a day, from Indg. *dhoghḗ or -ṓ; baíráima, we may bear, Indg. -mḗ.

þiwi (gen. þiujōs), maid-servant, formed from *þius (pl. þiwōs), man-servant, like Skr. dēvı̄́, goddess, from dēvás, god; frijōndi, from *frijōndī (fem.), friend, cp. Skr. pres. part. fem. bhárantī; wili, from *wilī, he will, cp. wileima, 38we will; nēmi, from *nǣmi, he might take, cp. nēmeis. Cp. § 154.

Examples of the latter are:—undarō, under, cp. Skr. adharā́d, below, Indg. ablative ending -ō̃d; of the same origin is the -ō in adverbs like þiubjō, secretly, glaggwō, accurately; and in adverbs with the suffix -þrō (§ 348), as ƕaprō, whence, þaþrō, thence. Nom. tuggō, tongue, haírtō, heart, Indg. -ō̃.

The preservation of the final -ē in adverbs with the suffix -drē (§ 348) is also due to the vowel having had originally the ‘slurred’ accent.

c. Diphthongs

§ 90. Originally final -ai became -a in polysyllables, as baírada, he is borne = Gr. mid. φέρεται; baíranda, they are borne = Gr. mid. φέρονται; faúra, before, cp. Gr. παραί, beside.

Originally long diphthongs became shortened in final syllables, as ahtáu, from an original form *oktṓu, eight; dat. sing. gibái, from *ʒeƀōĩ, older *ghebhāĩ, to a gift, cp. Gr. χώρᾳ for *χώρᾱι; θεᾷ, to a goddess; dat. sing. sunáu, to a son, from loc. form *sunēu; dat. sing. anstái, to a favour, 39from locative form *anstēi, cp. Gr. πόληϊ; habáis, from *χaҌǣ(j)iz(i), thou hast, habáiþ, from *χaƀǣ(j)iđ(i), he has.