<div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">=========================================================================<br>L O W L A N D S - L - 27 April 2008 - Volume 02<br style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">
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<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">From: R. F. Hahn <</span><a style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank">sassisch@yahoo.com</a><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Subject: Phonology<br><br>Dear Lowlanders,<br><br>The vowel in a number of English words ending in "-ind" and "-ild" is etymologically short but came to be lengthened at some point before long /i/ became the diphthong [aI]. (Remember that short /i/ did not undergo this shift.) German, which also changed old long /i/ to [aI] (spelled <i>ei</i> nowadays) did <i>not</i> lengthen short /i/ in the cognates of said words.<br>
<br>So this shift happened for example in the following words:<br><br><b>-ild</b>:<br><br><b>child</b> < <i>childe</i> < <i>cild<br></i></span><b style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">mild</b><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> < milde<br>
</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> O. Frisian </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">milde</i><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> O. German </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">milti</i><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> > </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">milde</i><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>wild</b> < <i>wilde<br> </i>O. Frisian <i>wilde<br> </i>O. Saxon <i>wildi</i> > <i>wild</i><br><i> </i>O. German <i>wildi ~ wilti</i> > <i>wild</i><br>
<br><b>-ind, -int</b>:<br><i><br></i>to <b>bind</b><i> < binde(n)</i> < <i>bindan<br></i> O. Saxon <i>bindan</i> > <i>binnen</i><br> O. German <i>bintan > binden</i>to<br>to <b>find</b> < <i>finde(n)</i> < <i>findan<br>
</i> O. Saxon <i>findan</i> > <i>finnen</i><br> O. German <i>fintan</i> > <i>finden</i><br><b>kind</b> < <i>gecynde</i> (i < ü; but no diphthong in related <i>kin </i>< <i>cyn</i>)<br> O. Saxon <i>kind</i> > <i>Kind</i> ~ <i>Kinn</i> (child)<br>
<i> </i>O. German <i>kind </i>> <i>kint </i>> <i>Kind</i> (child)<br>
<b>mind</b> < <i>gemynd</i> (< <i>*gemynde</i>? - i < ü)<br>
O. German <i>minna</i> > <i>minne</i><br><b>rind</b><i> < rinde</i><br> O. Saxon <i>rinda</i> > <i>Rinn</i><br><i> </i>O. German<i> rinta</i> ~ <i>rinda </i>> <i>Rinde</i></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>wind </b>< <i>winde(n)</i> < <i>windan<br></i> O. Frisian <i>winda<br> </i>O. Saxon <i>windan</i> > <i>winnen</i><br> O. German <i>wintan</i> > <i>winden</i><i></i><i><br>
</i><br>Dutch and Afrikaans, actually all other Germanic languages except Scots, also have a short vowel in their cognates of the above.<br><br>Note also Old Norman<i> pinte</i> (< V. Latin <i>pincta</i>) > English <b>pint<i> </i></b>(with a diphthong).<br>
<br>Contrary examples with a short vowel:<br><br><b>wind</b><i> < wind</i><br> O. Saxon <i>wind</i> > <i>Wind ~ Winn<br> </i>O. German <i>wind</i> ~ <i>wint </i>> <i>Wind<br></i><b>hint</b> < <i>hent<br><br>
</i>I have a theory here and wonder if others agree.<br><br>Early English inherited the Saxon trait of lengthening vowels before sonorants (which Low Saxon has spread to all contexts). Early English specialized it in occurrences in which a high vowel* follows /l/ or /n/ preceded by /d/ or /t/. Apparently, this required a following /-e/ (which in the case of the noun "wind" was missing). If this /-e/ was crucial, we can pinpoint the era as being after the shift of final /-a/ to /-e/, namely to mid to late Middle English, which is also when this diphthongization process (/ii/ > [aI], /uu/ > [aU]) seems to have occurred.<br>
<br>*Since I said "high vowel," we ought to expect that it happened to /u/ as well. And indeed, we have examples such as <i>hund</i> > "hound" and <i>pund</i> > "pound", where there is a short vowel in cognates in other languages, including German (which changed long /u/ to [aU] as English did). The same applies to Old Norman <i>rounde</i> > "round" (but German <i>runt</i> > <i>rund</i>).<br>
<br>I would be interested in your thoughts.<br><br>Regards,<br>Reinhard/Ron<br><br><br></span>