Old English: Phonology

Question 1

Reconstructing Pronunciation

Answer 1

• Reconstruction as aim of the comparative method
• Making educated guesses about forms where there is no evidence

Question 2

Comparative reconstruction

Answer 2

• Establishing features of an ancestor of one or more related languages

Question 3

Internal reconstruction

Answer 3

• irregularities in a single language are used to make inferences about earlier stages about this language

Question 4

Old English Consonant system

Answer 4

Articulatory feature similar to Modern English
- Place of articulation
- Manner of Articulation
- Voicing
- Length
Problematic grapheme-phoneme relations
- Voicing
- Palatalization

Question 5

Palatalisation <g></g>

Answer 5

<g> is pronounced either as /g/, /j/, /ɣ/

</g>

Question 6

Palatalisation <c></c>

Answer 6

Spelling <c>
- Pronunciation /k/
- Rule: before <a, o, u, y> (velar vowels)
e.g.: cald, cyssan, cyning</c>

Oder

• Pronunciation /tʃ/
• Rule: before <e> or <i> (palatal vowels)
  e.g. ceosan, ceowand, cese, cin</i></e>

Question 7

Old English Vowel System

Answer 7

Articulatory features similar to ME
> Opening of Mouth
> Position of tongue
> Length
> Lip rounding

Process creating irregularity:
> i-mutation

Question 8

i-mutation
> i-Mutation/ i-Umlaut/ Palatalumlaut

Answer 8

> irregular plural, e.g. via vowel change: mouse-mice ; foot-feet
change in the vowel, caused by either <i> or <j> in the following syllable
back vowel is fronted
loss of syllable containing <i> or <j></j></i></j></i>

Question 9

Changes in Old English vowels: i-Mutation

Answer 9

> Regular process
a back vowel is changed by the influence of either /ɪ, iː, j/ occurring in the following syllable
Vowel changes partly/is assimilated to the vowel of the following syllable
i-mutation also explains:
- difference adjective-noun: strong-strength
- comparative and superlative: old-elder-eldest
- difference noun/adjective-verb: tale-tell; full-fill

Question 10

1. What is special about the grapheme-phoneme relation for vowels in Old English in comparison to Modern English?

Answer 10

Old English
- both monophthongs and diphthongs had short and long versions

Question 11

2. How can you explain the plural mouse - mice in Modern English? What happened in Old English?

Answer 11

Effects of the I-Mutation
- Irregular plural via vowel change (mouse - mice)
- Old English: mūs - mȳs (reconstructive form - singular: mūsis)
- the back vowel <ū> (/u:/) in the singular form mūs was influenced by the <i> in the second syllable
- the <ū> was fronted and raised to the <ȳ>
- in the second step the syllable containing the <i> was lost</i></ȳ></ū></i></ū>

Question 12

3. How can you explain the change in the vowel in Modern English from the adjective full to the verb fill?

Answer 12

Effects of the I-Mutation
Word formation: adjective > verb (full - fill)
Old English: full - fyllan
- the back vowel <u> (/u/) from the adjective full was influenced by the <j> in the verb fyllan
- the <u> was fronted and raised to <y> resulting in fyllan
- in the second step, the syllable containing the <j> sound was lost
(- ME: <y> unrounded and lowered to /ɪ/ = fill)</y></j></y></u></j></u>

Question 13

4. Why is the Old English word gylden pronounced with /g/ at the beginning of the word, and the Old English word geard with /j/?

Answer 13

Palatalisation
spelling <g>
pronunciation /g/
> rule: before <a, o, u, y> (velar vowels) and before consonant
> here: before <y>, therefor /g/</y></g>

Question 14

5. Why do we have in Modern English the singular wife but the plural wives? Relate this to the Old English pronunciation.

Answer 14

Consonantal Allophones
(Allophones: if one sound appears, the other cannot appear)

Pronunciation of <f> in OE
rules of complementary distribution of the allophones [f] (voiceless) and [v] (voiced)
- [f] = word initial or word final position
- [v] = between vowels or voiced sounds</f>

In OE: wīf - [f], wīfes [v]
> only later the allophones became phonemes /f/ and /v/