Re: Chain shifts & transformed u's, was: Blandness

On Mon, 16 Apr 2001, John Cowan wrote:

> Irina Rempt scripsit:
> > On Mon, 9 Apr 2001, Oskar Gudlaugsson wrote:
> >
> > > * Dutch has /y/ < /u/ (right?)
> >
> > I don't think so: Dutch has both /y/ and /u/ (vuur /vyr/ "fire" and
> > voer /vur/ "fodder") but /y/ alternates with /i/ (vier /vir/ =
> > archaic and dialectal "vuur", though it also means "four"), not with
> > /u/.
>
> Well, the use of "u" for /y/ could be put down to French influence, but
> it is plain that /y/ appears where the related languages have, or
> had, /u/, e.g. Du. /mys/ vs Eng. /maWs/ < /mus/, Sc. /mus/.
Germanic */u:/ was fronted to /y:/ in Old Franconian during the
preliterary period. Since the same change occurred in the Vulgar
Latin of Gaul, it is thought that the change is due to a Celtic
substrate. (/y:/ in turn was diphthongized except before /r/,
/w/, and word-finally.)

Modern Dutch /u:/, orth {oe} is from Germanic */o:/. The shift
to /u:/ was possible since */u:/ had previously shifted to /y:/.
This shift is similar to the Great Vowel Shift of English, where
the high vowels became diphthongs and the mid vowels raised to
take their places.

(source: Donaldson, B. C. 1983. _Dutch: A Linguistic History of
Holland and Belgium_. Leiden: Martinus Neihoff. pp136-7; 140-1.)

Dirk

--
Dirk Elzinga                          dirk.elzinga@m.cc.utah.edu

"The strong craving for a simple formula
has been the undoing of linguists."               - Edward Sapir