Sievers' Law in Germanic |
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| Author:
| Barrack, Charles M. |
| Series title: | Berkeley Insights in Linguistics and Semiotics Ser. |
| ISBN: | 978-0-8204-3042-3 |
| Publication Date: | Mar 1998 |
| Publisher: | Peter Lang Publishing, Incorporated
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| Book Format: | Hardback |
| List Price: | USD $52.95 |
Book Description:
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One of the most interesting changes in Proto-Germanic was the alternation of
y and
w after short syllables with
i and
u after long, respectively - an alternation with far-reaching effects. Described by Eduard Sievers in 1878, this «law» has been the subject of controversy ever since. Is it related to a similar phenomenon in Vedic Sanskrit, and was it, therefore, Indo-European in origin? What is its relationship to alliterative verse in Germanic? This study...
More DescriptionOne of the most interesting changes in Proto-Germanic was the alternation of y and w after short syllables with i and u after long, respectively - an alternation with far-reaching effects. Described by Eduard Sievers in 1878, this «law» has been the subject of controversy ever since. Is it related to a similar phenomenon in Vedic Sanskrit, and was it, therefore, Indo-European in origin? What is its relationship to alliterative verse in Germanic? This study addresses such questions and demonstrates that Sievers' Law has played a wider role in Old English than heretofore demonstrated.