[§ 27.] The summary of the consonantal changes in §§ 23-6 may be expressed as follows:—
| West Germanic. | MHG. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| p; t; k; þ | = ff (f), pf; | ȥȥ (ȥ), z; | ch; d. |
| pp; tt; kk; þþ | = pf; | tz (z); | ck; tt. |
| b (ƀ); d; g (ʒ) | = b; | t; | g. |
| bb; dd; gg | = pp (bb); | tt; | ck (gg). |
[§ 28.] The following sound-changes took place in primitive Germanic:—Every labial + t became ft; every guttural + t became ht; every dental + t became ss, which was simplified to s after long vowels. This explains the frequent interchange in MHG. between pf, b and f; between k, g and h; and between ȥȥ, ȥ and ss, s in forms which are etymologically related.
pf, b—f. schepfen, to create: geschaft, creature; gëben, to give: gift, gift; wëben, to weave: English weft.
k, g—h. würken, to work: pret. worhte; denken, to think: pret. dāhte; mugen (mügen), to be able: pret. mohte; bringen, to bring: pret. brāhte.
ȥȥ, ȥ—ss, s. gieȥen, to pour: güsse, inundation; wiȥȥen, to know: pret. wisse (wiste): wīs, wise; muoȥ, must: pret. muose (muoste); ëȥȥen, to eat: ās, carrion. Preterites like wiste, muoste were formed after the analogy of preterites like worhte, dāhte, where the t was regular.
[§ 29.] The guttural nasal ŋ (written n) only occurred in the combinations nk (nc) and ng. It disappeared before h (= prim. Germanic χ) in primitive Germanic with lengthening of a preceding short vowel, as vāhen from prim. Germanic *faŋχanan, to seize, catch, beside p.p. gevangen; and similarly hāhen, to hang, p.p. gehangen; pret. brāhte, dāhte, dūhte, beside bringen, to bring, denken, to think, dunken, to seem.
The guttural nasal disappeared in an unstressed syllable when preceded by an n in a stressed syllable in the course of the OHG. and MHG. period, as OHG. honag, MHG. honec, beside OHG. honang, honey; OHG. kunig, MHG. künec, beside OHG. kuning, king; OHG. pfennig, MHG. pfennic, beside OHG. pfenning, MHG. pfenninc, penny. And similarly with dental n, as senede beside senende, longing, yearning.
[§ 30.] Strong verbs, which have a medial v (f), d, h, s in the present, have respectively b, t, g (ng), r in the second person sing. pret. indicative, the preterite plural indicative, the pret. subjunctive and the past participle. This interchange of consonants is called Verner’s Law, see OHG. Primer, §§ 72, 87:—
| Inf. | Pret. Pl. | P.P. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| v(f)—b. | heven, to raise | huoben | gehaben. |
| d—t. | mīden, to avoid | miten | gemiten. |
| snīden, to cut | sniten | gesniten. | |
| h—g. | dīhen, to thrive | digen | gedigen. |
| ziehen, to draw | zugen | gezogen. | |
| slahen, to strike | sluogen | geslagen. | |
| h—ng ([§ 29]). | hāhen, to hang | hiengen | gehangen. |
| vāhen, to catch | viengen | gevangen. | |
| s—r. | rīsen, to fall | rirn | gerirn. |
| kiesen, to choose | kurn | gekorn. |