Chapter 16 Later Sound Changes

 16.1. The sounds spelled g and h underwent considerable change according to their phonetic environments. As we have already seen (Ch. 4), by the time of EWS each represents two different sounds: In a back-vowel environment, g retains its original velar quality [ɣ]; in a front-vowel environment, it is palatalized to [j]. Similarly, in velar environments h remains as a voiceless spirant [x] (corresponding to voiced [ɣ]), but in initial position in words it is weakened to [h].

Other changes undergone by g and h in the WS period and later are the following:

Loss of Medial ℊ

16.2. Palatal ɡ followed by d or n often disappears and, in compensation, the vowel which preceded it is lengthened.

Examples:bregdan, brēdan, to brandish;PastT, S brægd, brǣd
secgan, to say, PastT S sægde, sǣde;PastPple gesægd, gesǣd
frignan, frīnan, to inquire
mægden, mǣden, maiden
ðegn, ðēn, servant.

Note 1: By analogy to such forms velar g occasionally disappears even after back vowels. Examples brugdon, brūdon; brogden, brōde.

Devoicing of ℊ

16.3. Final (and occasionally medial) g, especially after a long back vowel, or l, or r, frequently became h [ɣ ˃ x].

Examples:bēag, bēah, ringburg, burh, borough
flōg, flōh, flayed;dolg, dolh, wound.

Loss of Medial ℋ

16.4. Medial h (but not hh) preceded by r or l and followed by an inflectional vowel disappears, and, in compensation, the stem-vowel is lengthened.

Examples: mearh, G mēares, horse; seolh G sēoles, seal.

Loss of Intervocalic ℌ

16.5. Intervocalic h disappears, and the vowel which followed it is absorbed into the vowel or diphthong which preceded it, by compariston lengthening it (if it was not long already). The resulting forms are said to be contracted, and verbs in which this process occurs are called Contract Verbs (see 19.3.).

Examples:feoh, G fēos(˂*feohes), property;hēah, G hēas, (˂*hēahes), high;
slēan, (˂*sleahan ˂*slahan) to strike;
fōn, (˂*fōhan ˂*fonhan) to seize.

Note 2: h disappears similarly sometimes before inflectional syllables beginning with n or r, before the comparative ending in r, and in compounds: hēah, MascA hēane; FemD hēare; Comp (hīerra); hēalic, high.

influence of ᴡ

16.6. The diphthongs eo, io (produced by Breaking or by u-o-a-Umlaut of e, i) are sometimes labialized1 by a preceding w and become u or o.

Examples:weorðan, (˂*werðan), to become,appears also as wurðan
weorðian, wurðian,to honor
weorold, worold woruld,world
wita, wiota, weota, wuta,wise man
sweord, swurd,sword

Exercise.: Write the EWS forms which would result if the changes described above were to occur to the following:

Loss of medial g:wægn˃ , wagon;ðegnian˃ , to serve.
Devoicing of g:earg˃ , cowardly;sorg˃ , sorrow.
Loss of medial h:feorh˃ SingG , life;pohha˃ , bag.
Loss of Intervocalic h:eoh˃ SingG , horse;pleohlic˃ , perilous.
Translation: Jonah

God spraec tō ānum wītegan, sē was Jōnas gehāten, "Far tō ðǣre byrig Niniuen, and boda ðǣre ðā word þe ic þē secge." Ðā wearð se wītega āfyrht, and wolde forflēon Godes gesihðe, ac hē ne mihte. Fērde þā tō sǣ, and stāh on scip. Ðā ðā þā scipmen cōmon ūt on sǣ, þā sende him God tō micelne wind and hrēohnisse, swā þæt hīe wǣron orwēne heora līfes. Hīe þā wurpon heora wara oferbord, and se wītega læg and slēp. Hīe wurpon þā tān betweox him, ond bǣdon þæt God sceolde gesweotolian hwanon him þæt ungelimp becōme. Ðā cōm ðæs wītegan tā upp. Hīe āxodon hine, hwæt hē wǣre, oððe hū hē to go, faran wolde. Hē cwæð, þæt hē wǣre Godes ðēow, sē ðe gesceōp sǣ and land, and þæt hē flēon wolde of Godes gesihðe. Hīe cwǣdon: what, "Hū dō wē ymbe ðē?" Hē andwyrde: "Weorpað mē oferboard; ðonne geswīcð þēos gedreccednis." Hīe ðā swā dydon, and sēo hrēohnis wearð gestilled, and hīe offrodon Gode heora lāc, and tugon forð.

Concluded in next chapter

VOCABULARY
  1. āfyrht, afraid
  2. boda, Imp of bodian, to proclaim
  3. far, Imp of faran, to travel
  4. forflēon, to flee from
  5. gedreccednis, distress
  6. gesihðe, sight, vision
  7. gesweotolian, to reveal
  8. geswīcan, to cease
  9. hrēohnis, rough weather
  10. hū, what, how
  11. hwanon, whence
  12. lāc, sacrifice

  13. Niniuen, Niniveh
  14. offrian, to offer
  15. orwēne, despairing
  16. spræc, PastT of sprecan, speak
  17. stāh, PastT of stīgan, to mount
  18. tā, tān, twig, lot
  19. tugon, PastT of tēon, draw, move
  20. ðā, then, when
  21. ungelimp, misfortune
  22. waru, ware(s), cargo
  23. weorpan, to cast, throw
  24. ymbe, about, concerning
FOOTNOTES

1Rounded. In this case the lip-rounding of [w] induces a closer rounding in the following vowel or diphthong.

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