Holtzmann's law

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Holtzmann's law (also: tightening) is a urgermanisches By law , the by Adolf Holtzmann is named (1810-1870), the first time the phenomenon of from 1,835 to 1,836 semi-vowels resulting geminate obstruents in Gothic and Old Norse drew attention:

Indo-European Urgermanic Old Norse

Gothic

Examples Meanings
idg. * -u̯- > Urm. * -u̯u̯ - > at. - ggv -

> got. - ggw -

urgerm. * trewvjaz

> at. tryggr (tryggva)

> got.triggws (triggwa)

'loyal, safe, reliable, safe'
idg. * -i̯- > Urm. * - i̯i̯ - > at. -ggj-

> got. - ddj-

urgerm. * twajjḗ / * twajjṓ

> got. twaddje

> at. tveggja

'two' or 'of two' (Gen. Pl.)

Holtzmann's law gained importance in the controversial hypothesis of the Gotonordic by Ernst Schwarz in Germanic linguistics. Schwarz (1951) cites the tightening - he calls it "gutturalization" - as linguistic evidence for the Scandinavian original home of the Goths and for the closer relationship between North Germanic and East Germanic compared to West Germanic .

The phenomenon known as Holtzmann's law and its conditions are still controversial in research today.

Starting position

Holtzmann's observation

In his Old German grammar , in which the old Germanic languages Old High German , Old Saxon , Anglo-Saxon , Old Norse and Gothic are dealt with, Holtzmann states, based on examples, that the sound sequences got. Ddj , ggw and an. ggj , ggv were created by «hardening» from jj and vv . Holtzmann thus explicitly connects the Gothic and Old Norse sound sequences and equates them with one another.

Problem

The sharpening as a common innovation of Old Norse and Gothic in contrast to West Germanic is mainly controversial for two reasons: First, in Old Norse and Gothic the same words sharpening do not always show, e.g. B. at. Frigg (name of the goddess Frigg ) with tightening in contrast to Got. Frijōn 'love' without tightening. Second, the tightening seems to have occurred sporadically in West Germanic as well. B. in ahd.brucca , brukka and afries . brigge , bregge , bregga 'bridge'.

The pronunciation of the sound sequences / -ggv- , -ggw- , -ggj- , -ddj- / is also considered controversial . For example, there was speculation about a possible sound value [jj] of -ddj- and -ggj- and [ŋg] of got. -Ggw- , corresponding to the pronunciation got. Gg [ŋg] based on the Greek model.

Cognates (examples)

Germanic

(general)

West Germanic North Germanic East Germanic Meanings
/ ww / ahd. gitriuwi

as. triuwi

ae . trēowe

on. tryggvan

(Acc.)

got. triggws 'true; loyal, reliable; for sure'
/ ww / ahd. glauwēr

as. glauworro

ae. glēaw

'Smart'

on. glǫggr

'strict; clear'

got. glaggwo ,

glaggwaba

'careful'

various

Meanings

/ ww / ahd. Houwan

as. hauwan

ae. hēawan

on. hǫggva (not used) 'chop, cut'
/ yy / ahd. two (i) o

as. tweio

ae. twēġea [j]

on. tveggja got. twaddje 'two, of two'

(Gen. Pl.)

/ yy / ahd. as. ei

ae. ǣġ [j]

on. egg krimgot. ada 'Egg'
/ yy / as. white aisl. veggjar

(Gen. Sg. From veggr )

got. waddjus 'Wall'

Research history and attempts at explanation

The conditions of this sound change have long been debated, as apparently by chance certain words were affected by it and others were not. The earliest attempts to explain the phenomenon of intensification were little more than refinements of Holtzmann's observation. In parallel with Verner's law , the influence of the Indo-European word accent was then assumed. This theory was in turn replaced by the assumption of dependence on an Indo-European laryngeal . Further subsequent attempts at explanation included a. Analogy , apophony and allophony . In addition, it was repeatedly discussed whether it was a Gothic-Old Norse innovation or a universal sound change and whether the sound change took place in Indo-European, Germanic or in the individual languages.

Indo-European word accent

Research initially cited the Indo-European word accent as the trigger for the tightening, although it was also discussed whether there was a preceding or a subsequent accent or even two flanking accents. As a counter-argument, the general occurrence of the tightening of the Gothic strong verb bliggwan 'to strike': bliggwan (infinitive) - blaggw (1st / 3rd person, priest) - bluggwum (1st person, pl. Priest) - bluggwans (Part. Perf.). Under the influence of the Indo-European word accent, the forms of the verb would have to be: * bliwan - * blaw - bliggwum - bluggwans .

Indo-European laryngeal

The word accent theory was later replaced by attempts at explanation based on Indo-European laryngals. It was assumed that the half-vowels were stretched after a laryngeal, which in turn had disappeared, and before a stressed syllable. The objection raised here is that the tightening still occurs in some cases in which no laryngeal is reconstructed. An example of this are the words on. egg and krimgot. ada 'egg'.

Morphological compensation

Jerzy Kuryłowicz (1967) offers a morphological explanation through ablaut and morphological compensation or analogy . As a counter-argument, however, it is suggested that a simple phonological change in sound, i.e. H. the insertion of a semivowel in the hiat is preferable to such a complex explanation by analogy.

Diphthongization or diphthong hardening

Hjalmar P. Petersen interprets the tightening as a diphthongization or diphthong hardening with a plosive pronunciation as the result. Petersen sees the ambisyllabic character of the semi-vowels as the cause of the sound change . According to Petersen, the tightening takes place in two- or more-syllable word forms in the structures * [eu.e / ew.e] and * [ei.e / ej.e] ('.' Denotes the syllable boundary). If the first element of the diphthongs is a closed, short and anterior / posterior vowel, a half-vowel is inserted, * [ej.je] and * [ew.we] to avoid a hiat. Especially when the word form is in a stressed position in a sentence, the semi-vowel turns into a fricative : * [eɣ.we] and * [eɣ.je]. The fricatives then become plosives * [eg.we] and * [ed.je] or * [eg.je]. Finally, an analogical equalization also takes place in monosyllabic word forms.

Tightening in West Germanic

Indications of a tightening of West Germanic were discovered relatively early in the history of research and then repeatedly dealt with. The tightening is therefore very probably not a joint innovation of the North and East Germanic. Thus, West Germanic is not necessarily in isolation from these two branches of language.

Cognates (examples)

West Germanic North Germanic East Germanic meaning
ahd. brucca , brukka

afries. brigge , bregge , bregga

as. bruggia

ae. bryċġ

on. bryggja 'pier'

on. brú 'bridge'

(not used) 'Bridge'
ahd. mucca

as. muggia

ae. myċġe

on. my

aschwed. mygg ( a )

(not used) 'Mosquito'
as. suga

ae. suġu

on. sýr (Dat.Akk.Sg. sú ) (not used) 'Sow'

Language typology

Examples of tightening in the form of an insertion of plosives or fricatives after a closed, front / back vowel can also be found in other Indo-European and non-Indo-European languages ​​and language families. There are parallel phenomena to the Germanic tightening in Indo-European languages. B. in Faroese ( Faroese tightening ), in Danish dialects West Jutland, German dialects , in Romance dialects and in Latvian . There are non-Indo-European examples of tightening z. B. in Basque , in the Burmese language Maru (Lhao Vo) and in Bantu languages . Such universal examples are important for language- typological attempts to explain the Germanic tightening.

literature

Introductory literature

  • Neville E. Collinge: The Laws of Indo-European. Amsterdam 1985, Holtzmann's Law, pp. 93-101.
  • Joseph B. Voyles: Early Germanic Grammar: Pre-, Proto-, and Post-Germanic Languages . San Diego 1992.

Further reading (selection)

  • Friedrich Bechtel: About the primitive Germanic tightening of j and v . In: NAWG. No. 6, 1845, pp. 235-239.
  • Robert SP Beekes: Germanic tightening and no laryngaeals. In: Orbis. No. 21, 1972, pp. 327-336.
  • Wilhelm Braune: Gothic ddj and Old Norse ggj. In: PBB. No. 9, 1884, pp. 545-448.
  • Sophus Bugge: To the old Germanic language history. Germanic ug from uw. In: PBB. No. 13, 1888, pp. 504-515.
  • James E. Cathey: A reappraisal of "Holtzmann's Law". In: SL. No. 24, 1967, pp. 56-63.
  • Jens Elmegård-Rasmussen: Germanic tightening: Tying up loose ends . In: Henning Andersen, EFK Koerner (Ed.): Historical Linguistics, Papers from the 8th International Conference on Historical Linguistics . Amsterdam 1990, p. 425-441 (English).
  • Adolf Holtzmann: Old German grammar, including the Gothic, Old Norse, Old Saxon, Anglo-Saxon and Old High German language . First volume. First department. The special phonology. Leipzig 1870. https://archive.org/details/altdeutschegram00holtgoog/page/n8
  • Jay Jasanoff: Observations on the Germanic tightening. In: Munich Studies in Linguistics. No. 37, 1978, pp. 77-90.
  • Friedrich Kluge: Contributions to the history of the Germanic conjugation (excursions on Gothic dd and gg). In: Sources and Research. No. 32, 1879, pp. 127-130.
  • Jerzy Kuryłowicz: The Germanic tightening. In: Lg. No. 43, 1967, pp. 445-451.
  • Fredrik O. Lindemann: La “tightening” Germanique. In: Studia Linguistica. No. 1, 1962, pp. 1-23.
  • Fredrik O. Lindemann: Les Origines Indo-Européennes de la “tightening” Germanique . Oslo 1962.
  • Fredrik O. Lindemann: Again tightening. In: Nordisk Tidskrift for Sprogvidenskab. No. 23, 1968, pp. 25-36.
  • Jooseppi J. Mikkola: The tightening of the intervocal j and w in Gothic and Nordic. In: Festschrift Streitberg, 1924, pp. 267–271.
  • Hjalmar P. Petersen: Tightening in Old Norse and Gothic. In: Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi. No. 117, 2002, pp. 5-27.
  • Edgar Polomé: A West Germanic reflex of the tightening. In: Lg. No. 25, 1949, pp. 182-189.
  • Edgar Polomé: Laryngeal theory en Germaanse Verscherping. In: Handelingen der Zuidnederlandse Maatschappij voor Taal- en Letterkunde en Geschiedeni s. No. 4, 1950, pp. 61-75.
  • Edgar Polomé: Remarks on the problem of the Germanic tightening. In: Festschrift Buyssens, 1970, pp. 117–190.
  • HA Roe: tightening in Faroese . Diss., Harvard University 1965.
  • Charley Rowe: The problematic Holtzmann's Law in Germanic. In: Indo-European Research. No. 108, 2003, pp. 258-266.
  • Ernst Schwarz: Goths, North Germans, Anglo-Saxons . Bern / Munich 1951.
  • Henry Lee Smith Jr .: The Tightening in Germanic. In: Lg. No. 17, 1941, pp. 93-98.
  • Laura Catharine Smith: What's all the fuss about 16 words? A new approach to Holtzmann's Law. In: Göttingen Contributions to Linguistics. No. 1, 1999, pp. 66-93.
  • Yoshio Tanaka: A proposed hypothesis for Holtzmann's Law. In: La Linguistique . No. 6, 1970, pp. 65-80.
  • Frans Van Coetsem: Le renforcement des semivoyelles intervocaliques en germanique (j / jj> jj> Gotique ddj etc.). In: Leuvense Bijdragen. No. 39, 1949, pp. 41-78.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Neville E. Collinge: The Laws of Indo-European . Amsterdam 1985, Holtzmann's Law, p. 93 .
  2. ^ Joseph B. Voyles: Early Germanic Grammar: Pre-, Proto-, and Post-Germanic Languages . San Diego 1992, p. 25 .
  3. ↑ Ernst Schwarz: Goths, Northern Germans, Anglo-Saxons . Bern / Munich 1951, p. 64 f., 144 .
  4. ↑ Adolf Holtzmann: Old German grammar, including the Gothic, Old Norse, Old Saxon, Anglo-Saxon and Old High German language. First volume. First department. The special phonology. Leipzig 1870, p. 29, 42 f., 109 .
  5. ↑ Adolf Holtzmann: Old German grammar, including the Gothic, Old Norse, Old Saxon, Anglo-Saxon and Old High German language. First volume. First department. The special phonology. Leipzig 1870, p. 109 .
  6. ^ A b c Neville E. Collinge: The Laws of Indo-European . Amsterdam 1985, Holtzmann's Law, p. 94 .
  7. ^ Neville E. Collinge: The Laws of Indo-European . Amsterdam 1985, Holtzmann's Law, p. 93 f .
  8. ^ Neville E. Collinge: The Laws of Indo-European . Amsterdam 1985, Holtzmann's Law, p. 101 .
  9. ^ Neville E. Collinge: The Laws of Indo-European . Amsterdam 1985, Holtzmann's Law, p. 94 f .
  10. ^ Hjalmar P. Petersen: Aging in Old Norse and Gothic . In: Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi . No. 117 , 2002, pp. 10 .
  11. ^ Neville E. Collinge: The Laws of Indo-European . Amsterdam 1985, Holtzmann's Law, p. 95 f .
  12. ^ Neville E. Collinge: The Laws of Indo-European . Amsterdam 1985, Holtzmann's Law, p. 96 .
  13. ^ Hjalmar P. Petersen: Aging in Old Norse and Gothic . In: Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi . No. 117 , 2002, pp. 13 .
  14. ^ Neville E. Collinge: The Laws of Indo-European . Amsterdam 1985, Holtzmann's Law, p. 97 .
  15. ^ Hjalmar P. Petersen: Aging in Old Norse and Gothic . In: Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi . No. 117 , 2002, pp. 11 .
  16. ^ Hjalmar P. Petersen: Aging in Old Norse and Gothic . In: Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi . No. 117 , 2002, pp. 12 .
  17. ^ Hjalmar P. Petersen: Aging in Old Norse and Gothic . In: Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi . No. 117 , 2002, pp. 5, 19 .
  18. ^ Hjalmar P. Petersen: Aging in Old Norse and Gothic . In: Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi . No. 117 , 2002, pp. 22 .
  19. ^ Hjalmar P. Petersen: Aging in Old Norse and Gothic . In: Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi . No. 117 , 2002, pp. 5-7 .
  20. ^ Edgar Polomé: A West Germanic reflex of the tightening . In: Lg . No. 25 , 1949.
  21. ^ Hjalmar P. Petersen: The tightening in Old Norse and Gothic . In: Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi . No. 117 , 2002, pp. 15th f., 18 f .
  22. ^ Charley Rowe: The problematic Holtzmann's Law in Germanic . In: Indo-European Research . No. 108 , 2003, p. 263 .