Connecting vowel
Vowel 's Linguistics (linguistics) a vowel which occupies because of its position in the word is a connecting function. But the term can denote quite different things. It stands for:
- Joint elements , e.g. B. -e- in dog-e-barking , or else the
- Stem vowel , if it is added to the word stem as a suffix and thereby assigns the word to a declination class, such as the "a-declination", "i-declination" etc., or also the
- Themavowel that is used as the stem-forming element (suffix) of the verbs.
Explanations
Connecting vowel as a stem vowel for nouns
The word structure of nouns in Indo-European usually consists of a root , a stem-forming element and an inflectional ending. If the stem-forming element is a consonant , there is a consonant declension, otherwise a vowel declination. This leads to terms such as “a-declination”, “i-declination” and others. The Indo-European accusative of words of the later Germanic a-declination was root + stem-forming connecting vowel “-o-” (or “-e-”) + inflection ending “-m”. The stem-forming element and the inflectional ending have gradually disappeared, so that in Gothic, for example, the accusative singular of the word for “day” is simply “dag” (the day).
Connective vowel as a theme vowel in verbs
The word structure of strong verbs in Indo-European consists of root , connective vowel and inflectional ending. The Indo-European form “bher-e-si” (you wear) has the root word “bher-”, the connecting vowel ( theme vowel ) “-e-” and the inflectional ending “-si”. This form appears in Gothic as "baíris", in Old High German as "biris". The root of such verbs therefore consists of "root" + "connecting vowel" (theme vowel); only then does the inflected ending appear. There is also an "athematic" conjugation mode, in which For example, in the verb “sein” the ending without a connecting vowel is added to the root of the word.
literature
- Hadumod Bußmann (Ed.): Lexicon of Linguistics. 3rd, updated and expanded edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-520-45203-0 .
- Hans Krahe : Germanic Linguistics. Volume II: Forms (= Göschen Collection 780, ZDB -ID 842269-2 ). 6th edition. de Gruyter, Berlin 1967.
