What was the High German consonant shift?

What was the High German consonant shift?

In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or Second Germanic consonant shift was a phonological development ( sound change) which took place in the southern dialects of the West Germanic in several phases, probably beginning between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD, and was almost complete before the …

How many shifts were in the Germanic sound shift?

Grimm described two consonant shifts involving essentially nine consonants. One shift (probably a few centuries before the Christian era) affected the Indo-European consonants and is evident in English, Dutch, other Low German languages, and Old Norse.

Why did the High German consonant shift happen?

After Grimm’s Law, or the First Germanic Sound Shift, the Germanic language family underwent a sound change that affected a range of consonant sounds. Because the northern dialects did not undergo the sound shift, Low German is much more similar to English. …

What is Grimm’s law with examples?

For example: Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr (“brother”) > Proto-Germanic *brōþēr (Old English broþor, Old High German bruothar/bruodar) Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr (“father”) > Proto-Germanic *fadēr (Old English fæder, Old High German fatar)

What is great consonant shift explain?

: a set of regular changes in consonant articulation in the history of a language or dialect: a : such a set affecting the Indo-European stops (see stop entry 2 sense 9) and distinguishing the Germanic languages from the other Indo-European languages — compare grimm’s law.

What’s the difference between high and low German?

German is widely studied as a foreign language and is one of the main cultural languages of the Western world. The main difference between High and Low German is in the sound system, especially in the consonants. High German, the language of the southern highlands of Germany, is the official written language.

When did German lose the th sound?

Words like Thal were permanently written with “th”, while words like denken were permanently written with “d”. In 1901 the orthography reform finally removed this distinction, replacing Thal with Tal and Thier with Tier. “Th” now survives only in proper names (Goethe) and Greek-derived loanwords (Thron).

What does Grimm’s law describe?

Grimm’s Law defines the relationship between certain stop consonants in Germanic languages and their originals in Indo-European [IE]; these consonants underwent shifts that changed the way they are pronounced.

What’s the difference between Grimm’s and Verner’s Law?

To find the result of Grimm’s law, go one step clockwise around the triangle. Thus using the first triangle, we can see that PIE *bh became Gmc *b, PIE *b became Gmc *p, and PIE *p became Gmc *f. Verner’s law only affects the consonants at the top of the triangle.

How tall are Frisians?

The Friesian’s average height is about 15.3 hands, varying between 14.2 to 17 hands high. The breed’s conformation resembles that of a draft-type horse, but the Friesian is very agile and graceful, and is often used today for dressage competition, pleasure riding, and driving.

What is the High German consonant shift?

This phenomenon is known as the High German consonant shift, because the core group affects the High German languages of the mountainous south. It is also known as the “second Germanic” consonant shift to distinguish it from the ” (first) Germanic consonant shift” as defined by Grimm’s law and its refinement, Verner’s law .

What is the second sound shift in German?

This change is known as the Zweite Lautverschiebung (Second Sound Shift) or the High German Sound Shift and split the German area into two main dialect areas. The sound change probably started in the southernmost parts of the German-speaking land around the fifth century.

What are some examples of chain shifts in Germanic languages?

The High German consonant shift is a good example of a chain shift, as was its predecessor, the first Germanic consonant shift. For example, phases 1 and 2 left the language without a /t/ phoneme, as this had shifted to /s/ or / t͡s /.

How did the High German sound shift affect the voiceless?

The High German Sound Shift affricated the voiceless stops p, t, k and also devoiced the voiced stop d. These changes did not happen all at once, but instead in a chain or a wave. It is most likely that the alveolar stops [t] & [d] were affected first, followed by the labial [p] and last the velar [k].

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