[§ 20.] MHG. has the following double consonants medially between vowels: bb, gg; pp, tt, ck; ff, ss, ȥȥ; mm, nn; ll, rr. They were always pronounced long as in Italian and Swedish, as bit-ter, bitter, ëȥ-ȥen, to eat, küs-sen, to kiss, müg-ge, midge, rin-nen, to run. In NHG. double consonants are never long, they merely indicate that the preceding vowel is short.
[§ 21.] Phonetic Survey of the MHG. Consonants.
| Labial. | Dental. | Guttural. | |
|---|---|---|---|
Voiceless explosives | fortis p, pp lenis b, bb | t, tt d | k, ck g, gg |
| Spirants | fortis f, ff lenis v | s, ss, sch, ȥ, ȥȥ s | h, (ch) |
| Nasals | m, mm | n, nn | n (= ŋ) |
| Liquids | l, ll; r, rr | ||
| Semi-vowels | w, j (palatal) | ||
To the above must be added the aspirate h and the affricatae (i.e. an explosive + a homorganic spirant) z (i.e. ts) and pf (ph).
2. Consonant Changes.
[§ 22.] The most characteristic difference between High German and the other West Germanic languages is the shifting which the consonants p, t, k, þ; pp, tt, kk, þþ; b (ƀ), d, g (ʒ); bb, dd, gg underwent partly in the prehistoric and partly in the historic period of Old High German. In the following treatment of what is generally called the High German sound-shifting only such points are considered as are of importance for the purposes of this book. See Old High German Primer, §§ 82-6.
[§ 23.] The voiceless explosives p, t, k underwent a two-fold treatment according to their position in the word: (1) Medially or finally after vowels; (2) Initially, medially and finally after consonants (l, m, n, r), and when doubled.
[Note.]— p, t, k remained unshifted in the combinations sp, st, sk as also t in the combinations tr, ht, ft.
[1.] Single p, t, k were shifted to the voiceless double spirants ff, ȥȥ, hh (also written ch) = MHG. ff (f), ȥȥ (ȥ), ch.
p > ff. OE. open, OHG. offan, MHG. offen, open; OE. slǣpan, OHG. slāffan, MHG. slāfen, to sleep; OE. ūp, OHG. MHG. ūf, up.