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In Early Old English, velar consonants did not change before back vowels.
In Early Old English, velar consonants did not change before back vowels.
True
The process of West Germanic gemination involved shortening consonants after a short vowel.
The process of West Germanic gemination involved shortening consonants after a short vowel.
False
Palatal consonants developed as a distinct set of sounds from velar consonants in Early OE.
Palatal consonants developed as a distinct set of sounds from velar consonants in Early OE.
True
The distinction between long and short consonants in Early OE became phonemic when they occurred in similar phonetic conditions.
The distinction between long and short consonants in Early OE became phonemic when they occurred in similar phonetic conditions.
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Voiced consonants remained voiced in all environments in Early Old English.
Voiced consonants remained voiced in all environments in Early Old English.
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The velar consonant [k] became palatalized before all vowels in Early Old English.
The velar consonant [k] became palatalized before all vowels in Early Old English.
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The consonant doubling in West Germanic languages was represented by means of single letters.
The consonant doubling in West Germanic languages was represented by means of single letters.
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Loss of the sound [j] in certain conditions contributed to the ceasing of phonetic conditioning for long consonants.
Loss of the sound [j] in certain conditions contributed to the ceasing of phonetic conditioning for long consonants.
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Palatal consonants in Old English did not develop into sibilants and affricates.
Palatal consonants in Old English did not develop into sibilants and affricates.
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Fricative consonants could be dropped between vowels without any compensatory changes.
Fricative consonants could be dropped between vowels without any compensatory changes.
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The Old English consonant system included both noise consonants and sonorants.
The Old English consonant system included both noise consonants and sonorants.
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Voiced and voiceless fricatives were distinguished in Old English spelling.
Voiced and voiceless fricatives were distinguished in Old English spelling.
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The opposition of palatal and velar consonants became phonemic by the time of the earliest written records.
The opposition of palatal and velar consonants became phonemic by the time of the earliest written records.
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Old English contained many sibilants and several affricates.
Old English contained many sibilants and several affricates.
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Consonants in Old English (OE) were historically less stable than vowels.
Consonants in Old English (OE) were historically less stable than vowels.
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Grimm's Law and Verner's Law are associated with consonants changes from Proto-Germanic (PG) to Old English (OE).
Grimm's Law and Verner's Law are associated with consonants changes from Proto-Germanic (PG) to Old English (OE).
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The consonants [k] and [k'] were treated as distinct sounds in Old English.
The consonants [k] and [k'] were treated as distinct sounds in Old English.
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The voiced fricative [v] in Proto-Germanic remained unchanged in Old English.
The voiced fricative [v] in Proto-Germanic remained unchanged in Old English.
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The loss of semi-vowels and consonants occurred mainly in stressed final syllables.
The loss of semi-vowels and consonants occurred mainly in stressed final syllables.
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The group of voiced fricative consonants was entirely transformed into plosives in Early Old English.
The group of voiced fricative consonants was entirely transformed into plosives in Early Old English.
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West Germanic consonant changes are unique to Old English.
West Germanic consonant changes are unique to Old English.
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The Proto-Germanic voiced fricative [d] hardened to [d] in Old English.
The Proto-Germanic voiced fricative [d] hardened to [d] in Old English.
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Voicing and devoicing processes occurred for voiceless fricatives after they had developed new voiced allophones.
Voicing and devoicing processes occurred for voiceless fricatives after they had developed new voiced allophones.
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Grimm's Law and Verner's Law caused a significant reduction in the number of noise consonants in Old English.
Grimm's Law and Verner's Law caused a significant reduction in the number of noise consonants in Old English.
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Study Notes
Consonant Changes in Old English
- Consonants were generally more stable than vowels during historical periods.
- Proto-Germanic (PG) language, Old English (OE) was expected to include all consonants from Grimm's and Verner's Laws.
- Few OE noise consonants mirrored PG sounds. Consonants underwent considerable changes (qualitative and quantitative, independent and positional) during the intervening period.
- Some consonant changes are categorized as "West Germanic" (WG), shared across WG subgroup languages.
- WG changes possibly happened during the transition from Proto-Germanic to Early Old English (before Germanic settlement of Britain).
- Other changes were specifically English developments within Early Old English.
Consonant Changes in Pre-Written Periods
- Consonants generally displayed more stability in history than vowels.
- Even so certain changes happened during historical periods.
- A typical OG language might expect all consonants created under Grimm and Verner's Laws.
- Only very few noise consonants in OE match PG sounds.
- Consonants in the intervening periods frequently changed in nature (qualitative or quantitative).
- The changes were also dependent or related to their position in the word.
Early Old English Consonant Shifts
- After Grimm's and Verner's Laws, PG had voiceless [f, θ, x, s] and voiced [v, ð, y, z] fricatives.
- In WG and OE, the difference between voiced and voiceless fricatives became more pronounced.
- Voiced PG fricatives commonly became plosives in OE.
- Voiceless PG fricatives didn't transform into plosives. They contrasted with plosives instead.
- Voiceless fricatives developed new voiced allophones.
Further Old English Consonant Changes
- The voiced PG [d] (due to Verner's Law) hardened to [d] in OE and other WG languages.
- The same applied to two other fricatives, (v) and (y), which hardened to [b] and [g] initially and after nasals.
- PG voiceless fricatives [f, θ, x, s] and voiced fricatives [v, ð, y, z] underwent further changes.
- PG voiced and voiceless fricatives were voiced or devoiced through intervocally and between vowels.
- These fricatives remained voiceless when after or next to other voiceless consonants, initially or finally.
Table Descriptions
- Proto-Germanic fricatives had various reflexes in Old English and other related languages.
- Early Old English consonants underwent changes impacting voiced and voiceless fricatives.
West Germanic Gemination
- In WG languages, consonants were often lengthened after a short vowel before a [j].
- This is called WG "gemination" or "doubling", marked through language.
- The use of doubled letters represented the lengthened consonants.
- [j] was lost later in time, so that long consonants weren't phonetically determined.
- Between vowels, distinctions between short and long consonants became phonemic.
Old English Velar Consonants
- Velar consonants changed into distinct sets in Early OE, evolving into distinct phonemes.
- Velar consonants are palatalized before front vowels and in some cases after.
- Palatalization occurred when followed by a front vowel but not after a back vowel.
- Velar consonants maintained their identity when not palatalized.
- Velar and palatal consonants became distinguishable phonemically due to phonetic differences.
Old English Fricative Consonant Changes
- OE loss of fricatives happened between vowels and before plosive consonants.
- The loss caused intervening or following vowels to be longer.
- The vowel loss was accompanied by a change impacting subsequent syllable structure.
Semi-vowel and Consonant Loss
- Semi vowels and consonants were often lost in unstressed final syllables.
- Loss of these sounds happened after various phonetic changes in the root.
- Palatal mutation frequently affected vowels, while changes in consonants followed short vowels.
Old English Consonant System
- Old English consonants formed sets based on correlates and noise-related characteristics.
- Noise consonants were divided into fricatives and plosives.
- Plosives were divided by voicing (voiced, voiceless).
- Fricatives were divided by voicing (voiced, voiceless).
- Sonority was a phonetic difference between allophones within some subsets.
Distinctions in Old English Consonant Spelling
- Voiced and voiceless fricatives weren't distinguished in Old English.
- Palatal and velar lingual consonants (k,k') (g,g') distinguished phonemically.
- Velar and palatal consonants were usually shown by phonetic differences.
- Some scholars suggest one more palatal consonant (sk) was sometimes used as a sequence of sounds.
- Some OE sounds became sibilants and became affricates in Middle English.
OE Consonant Chart
- Chart displayed the different categories of Old English consonants and their characteristics.
- Categories included articulation place (labial, labiodental, forelingual, mediolingual, and backlingual), manner of articulation (plosive, fricative, and sonorant/nasal), and voicing.
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Description
Explore the fascinating transformations of consonants in Early Old English. This quiz delves into the distinctive features and processes such as velar consonant behavior and West Germanic gemination. Test your knowledge on the complex development of phonetic conditions within the Old English language.
