[gothic-l] The Letter H (was Re: Gothic word for King)

[Francisc Czobor]

Hi Troels,

--- In gothic-l at y..., "Troels Brandt" <trbrandt at p...> wrote:
> ...
> If we assume the name to be the background for the OE word "eorl" 
and 
> maybe ON "jarl" the way of spelling is dependent on the later 
writers 
> knowledge of this background. However "eo" and the Nordic "j" might 
> indicate a sound before the vowels "e" or open "a" - if it is not 
> caused by the "r". Could this have been a faint Eastgermanic 
> aspiration or consonant contributing to all the above confusion? If 
> we assume the Herulian language to be similar to Gothic did such a 
> faint H/J-sound exist in Gothic? 
> 
> If the name was written in runes we should according to Keth expect 
> the name to be written as it was pronounced at that time and place. 
I 
> agree, but do we know how "erilaR" was pronounced in the 5th and 6th 
> century as you indicated, Keth? 
> 

The ON form jarl (and maybe also the OE form eorl) is due to the 
"breaking" of [e] before [a] in the original form *erla-. In the form 
"erilaR", that occurs in runic inscriptions, the "i" is only "ein 
heller Sproßvokal", according to Andreas Heusler's "Altisländische 
Elementarbuch" (Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, Heidelberg, 1967).

Francisc


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