PHONOLOGY.
VOWELS.
Different vowels are related to one another in various ways in O.E., the most important of which are mutation (German umlaut) and gradation (G. ablaut).
The following changes are mutations:—
a .. ę:—mann, pl. męnn; wand (wound prt.), węndan (to turn).
ea (= a) .. ie (= ę):—eald (old), ieldra (older); feallan (fall), fielþ (falls).
ā .. ǣ:—blāwan (to blow), blǣwþ (bloweth); hāl (sound), hǣlan (heal).
u .. y:—burg (city), pl. byriġ; trum (strong), trymman (to strengthen).
o .. y:—gold, gylden (golden); coss (a kiss), cyssan (to kiss).
e .. i:—beran (to bear), bireþ (beareth); cweþan (speak), cwide (speech).
eo (= e) .. ie (= i):—heord (herd), hierde (shepherd); ċeorfan (cut), ċierfþ (cuts).
u .. o:—curon (they chose), ġe·coren (chosen).
ū .. ȳ:—cūþ (known), cȳþan (to make known); fūl (foul), ā·fȳlan (defile).
ō .. ē:—sōhte (sought prt.), sēċan (to seek); fōda (food), fēdan (to feed).
ēa .. īe:—hēawan (to hew), hīewþ (hews); tēam (progeny), tīeman (teem).
ēo .. īe:—stēor (rudder), stīeran (steer); ġe·strēon (possession), ġes·trīenan (gain).
Before proceeding to gradation, it will be desirable to describe the other most important vowel-relations.
a, æ, ea. In O.E. original a is preserved before nasals, as in mann, lang, nama (name), and before a single consonant followed by a, u, or o, as in dagas (days), dagum (to days), faran (go), gafol (profit), and in some words when e follows, as in ic fare (I go), faren (gone). Before r, l, h followed by another consonant, and before x it becomes ea, as in heard (hard), eall (all), eald (old), eahta (eight), weaxan (to grow). Not in bærst (p. [7]). In most other cases it becomes æ:—dæġ, (day), dæġes (of a day), fæst (firm), wær (wary).
e before nasals always becomes i: compare bindan (to bind), pret. band, with beran (to bear), pret. bær.
e before r (generally followed by a consonant) becomes eo:—eorþe (earth), heorte (heart). Not in berstan (p. [7]). Also in other cases:—seolfor (silver), heofon (heaven).
i before r + cons. becomes ie:—bierþ (beareth) contr. from bireþ, hierde (shepherd) from heord (herd), wiersa (worse).
ę before r, or l + cons. often becomes ie:—fierd (army) from faran, bieldo (boldness) from beald, ieldra (elder) from eald.
By gradation the vowels are related as follows:—
e (i, eo) .. a (æ, ea) .. u (o):—
bindan (inf.), band (pret.), bundon (they bound). beran (inf.), bær (pret.), boren (past partic.). ċeorfan (cut), ċearf (pret.), curfon (they cut), corfen (past partic.). bęnd (bond) = mutation of band, byr-þen (burden) of bor-en.
a (æ, ea) .. ǣ:—spræc (spoke), sprǣcon (they spoke), sprǣċ (speech).
a .. ō:—faran (to go), fōr (pret.), fōr (journey). ġe·fēra (companion) mutation of fōr.
ī .. ā .. i:—wrītan, wrāt, writon, ġe·writ (writing, subst.). (be)·līfan (remain), lāf (remains), whence by mutation lǣfan (leave).
ēo (ū) .. ēa .. u (o):—ċēosan (choose), ċēas, curon, coren. cys-t (choice). (for)·lēosan (lose), lēas (loose), ā·līesan (release), losian (to be lost). būgan (bend), boga (bow).
We see that the laws of gradation are most clearly shown in the conjugation of the strong verbs. But they run through the whole language, and a knowledge of the laws of gradation and mutation is the main key to O.E. etymology.
It is often necessary to supply intermediate stages in connecting two words. Thus lęċġan (lay) cannot be directly referred to liċġan (lie), but only to a form *lag-, preserved in the preterite læġ. So also blęndan (to blind) can be referred only indirectly to the adjective blind through an intermediate *bland-. Again, the root-vowel of byrþen (burden) cannot be explained by the infinitive beran (bear), but only by the past participle ġe·boren. In the same way hryre (fall sb.) must be referred, not to the infinitive hrēosan, but to the preterite plural hruron.
The vowel-changes in the preterites of verbs of the 'fall'-conjugation (1) feallan, fēoll, &c., are due not to gradation, but to other causes.
CONSONANTS.
s becomes r in the preterite plurals and past participles of strong verbs, as in curon, ġe·coren from ċēosan, wǣron pl. of wæs (was), and in other formations, such as hryre (fall) from hrēosan.
þ becomes d under the same conditions, as in wurdon, ġe·worden from weorþan (become), cwæþ (quoth), pl. cwǣdon, cwide (speech) from cweþan (infin.).
r is often transposed, as in iernan (run) from original *rinnan (cp. the subst. ryne), berstan (burst) from *brestan, bærst (burst pret.) from bræst, hors (horse) from *hross.
The combinations cæ-, gæ- become ċea-, ġea-, as in ċeaf (chaff) from *cæf, sċeal (shall) from *scæl, ġeaf (gave) = *gæf from ġiefan (cp. cwæþ from cweþan), ġeat (gate)—cp. fæt (vessel).
gǣ- often becomes ġēa-, as in ġēafon (they gave), with which compare cwǣdon (they said).
ge- becomes ġie, as in ġiefan, ġieldan (pay) from *gefan, *geldan—cp. cweþan, delfan. Not in the prefix ġe- and ġē (ye).
When g comes before a consonant in inflection, it often becomes h, as in hē līehþ (he lies) from lēogan (mentiri).
h after a consonant is dropt when a vowel follows, the preceding vowel being lengthened, thus Wealh (Welshman) has plural Wēalas.