To umlaut or not to umlaut…

To umlaut or not to
umlaut…
Astrid Kraehenmann
[email protected]
Workshop on “Segments, Features, and Tone”
Konstanz, Oct. 30 - Nov 1, 2005
Hermann Paul (1959)
 Umlaut in NHG, where it is still recognized
as such, is evident in the following
alternations:




a ~ ä (e)
o~ö
u~ü
au ~ äu (eu)
[a] ~ [e
[e] / [”
[”]
[o] ~ [„
[„]
[u] ~ [y
[y]
[au]
au] ~ [Oi
[Oi]]
Outline
 Umlaut in German: a quick historical look
 Umlaut in Swiss German: a look at present
declension classes and at how gender
interacts with the classification
 What is Umlaut in phonological terms for
production?
 What about perception?
Hermann Paul (1959)
 At the OHG stage, Umlaut was the partial
assimilation of a stressed vowel to an i (j)
in a following unstressed syllable.
 This process was common in all Germanic
languages.
 In NHG, Umlaut is largely grammaticalized,
the phonetic trigger having disappeared
almost entirely.
1
Hermann Paul (1959)

Major OHG declension classes
Umlaut is observed in Standard German in:

nouns of the old i-stems
OHG gast - gesti
OHG hû
hût - hiû
hiûti

OHG hrucki - hrucki NHG rücken - rücken
nouns ending in -r
-stems)
-r in the plural (iz
(iz-stems)
OHG lamb - lembir
OHG grab - grebir
grab

NHG gast - gä
gäste
NHG haut - hä
häute
NHG lamm - lä
lämmer
NHG grab - grä
gräber
OHG brucka - bruckâ NHG brücke - brücken
“… bei den Maskulinen ist der Umlaut so lebendig
gewesen, dass er auf viele andere Stä
Stämme
übertragen ist, …” (248)
(from Kraehenmann 2003:69)
How to form the plural in
Swiss German
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
plural = singular
plural = singular plus -E
-E
plural = singular plus Umlaut
plural = singular plus -ER
-ER
plural = singular plus -ER
-ER plus Umlaut
plural = singular minus V plus -EnE
-EnE
various options (poubelle
(poubelle category)
Distribution in Classes
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Class A Class B Class C Class D Class E Class F Class G
2
Distribution in Classes
180
160
With Umlaut
Distribution in Classes
180
160
140
140
120
120
100
100
80
80
60
60
40
40
20
20
0
Class A Class B Class C Class D Class E Class F Class G
0
Distribution in Classes
180
predominatly fem
180
160
140
140
120
120
100
100
80
80
60
60
40
40
20
20
Class A Class B Class C Class D Class E Class F Class G
Class A Class B Class C Class D Class E Class F Class G
Distribution in Classes
160
0
predominatly masc
0
exclusively* neut
Class A Class B Class C Class D Class E Class F Class G
3
Gender within Class A
Class A
60
Masc
50
40
30
non-umlautable
Fem
20
10
0
Neut
Masc
Fem
Neut
Ort
Puggel
Sääbel
ääbel
Pfane
Bohne
Schine
Joor
Velo
Billet
Gender within Class B
15
non-umlautable
10
5
0
Masc
Fem
Neut
PL
ORtt
ppukkEl
s”…pEl
”…pEl
pfanE
°fanE
po…
po…nE
SinE
jO…
jO…R
velo
pilett
Dim
{Rttli
ppukkEli
s”…pEli
”…pEli
pf° ”ntli
p„…ntli
„…ntli
SinEli
j{…
j{…Rli
vel„
vel„li
pilettli
Class B
25
20
SG
ORtt
ppukkEl
s”…pEl
”…pEl
pfanE
°fanE
po…
po…nE
SinE
jO…
jO…R
velo
pilett
Masc Haas
Zyklop
Bär
Fem Chatz
Arbet
Büchs
Neut -------
SG
ha…
ha…s
tsyk°
°sykxlo…
°xlo…pp
p”…R
”…R
xat°
xats°
aRpEt
pyxs
PL
hasE
tsyk°
°sykxlo…
°xlo…ppE
p”…RE
”…RE
xat°
°sE
xatsE
aRpEtE
pyxsE
Dim
h”sli
tsyk°
°sykxl„…
°xl„…ppli
ppli
p”…Rli
”…Rli
x”tsli
°sli
”RpEtli
pyxsli
4
Gender within Class C
160
140
120
100
80
non-umlautable
60
40
20
0
Masc
Fem
Neut
Class C
SG
StOff
Masc Stoff
°xE
sokxE
Socke sok°
--Fem Chraft xRaft
mu…s
Muus mu…
--Neut -------
Gender within Class D & E
25
20
non-umlautable
15
10
5
0
Masc
Fem
Neut
Dim
St{ffli
s{k°
°xli
s{kxli
xR”
xR”ft
my…
my…s
xR”
xR”ftli
my…
my…sli
Class D & E
35
30
PL
St{ff
s{k°
°xE
s{kxE
Masc Wald
----Fem ------Neut Fass
Spitool
Viich
SG
valt
PL
v”ltER
Dim
v”ltli
fass
SpittO…
SpittO…l
fi…
fi…x
f”ssER
Spitt{…
Spitt{…lER
fi…
fi…xER
f”ssli
Spitt{…
Spitt{…li
fi…
fi…xli
5
Gender within Class F
Class F (& A)
25
Fem
20
15
non-umlautable
10
5
0
Masc
Fem
Neut
Fem
SG
Glogge klOkkE
nasE
Nase
piRE
Bire
Chuchi xuxxi
py…ni
Bühni py…
mitti
Mitti
myli
Müli
•ESti
vyESti
Wüesti vy•
Gender within Class G
9
8
7
6
5
non-umlautable
4
3
Dim
kl{kkli
n”sli
piRli
xyxxEli
py…
py…nEli
mittEli
mylEli
vy•
•EStEli
vyEStEli
Class G
Kinship terms
10
PL
klOkkE“
klOkkE“nE‘
nE‘
nasE“
nasE“nE‘
nE‘
piRE“
piRE“nE‘
nE‘
xuxxEnE
py…
py…nEnE
mittEnE
mylEnE
vy•
•EStEnE
vyEStEnE
SG
ttOxtER
Tochter
tt{xtER
mu•
•EttER
Muetter
muEttER
Schwoger SvO…
SvO…kER
fattER
Vatter
PL
tt{xtERE
my•
•EttERE
myEttERE
Sv{…
Sv{…kERE
f”ttERE
Umlaut
plus -e
2
1
0
Masc
Fem
Neut
6
Class G
“expletives”
expletives”
Hagel
Tubel
Tschumpel
Pantoffel
Esel
SG
hakEl
ttupEl
tSumppEl
ppanttoffEl
esEl
PL
haklE
ttuplE
no
tSumpplE Umlaut,
ppanttofflE -el > -le
eslE “esel‘
esel‘
Class G
“classical”
classical” -us/-os
Zyklus
Mythos
neuter -i
Bäbi
Beeri
in sum: tendencies
nouns like to have no plural ending,
can be umlauted (C) or not (A).
 Feminine nouns like to have a plural ending
(-E in B; -EnE in F) and are mostly not
umlauted.
 Neuter nous like to have a plural ending and
Umlaut.
PL
tsyk°
°sykxlE
°xlE
myttE
PL
p”…pi
”…pi
pe…
pe…ri
-Vs > -E
-E
not F!
The feature tree
ROOT NODE
 Masculine
In the present system, Umlaut is
conditioned by morphological class and
gender. There is no (overt) phonetic trigger.
SG
tsyk°
°sykxlus
°xlus
myttos
SG
p”…pi
”…pi
pe…
pe…ri
[VOCALIC] / [CONSONANTAL]
[OBSTRUENT] / [SONORANT]
[NASAL]
[CONTINUANT/
ABRUPT]
[STRIDENT]
[LATERAL]
[ATR] / [RTR]
LARYNGEAL
[SPREAD GLOTTIS/
ASPIRATION]
[VOICE]
PLACE
ARTICULATOR
TONGUE HEIGHT
[LABIAL]
[CORONAL]
[DORSAL]
[GLOTTAL]
[HIGH]
[LOW]
[RADICAL]
[PHARYNGEAL]
7
The Swiss German vowels
Umlaut = delinking of [DORSAL]
[SONORANT]
PLACE
ARTICULATOR
TONGUE HEIGHT
[DORSAL]
[LOW]
[a]
Umlaut = delinking of [DORSAL]
Umlaut = delinking of [DORSAL]
[SONORANT]
[SONORANT]
PLACE
PLACE
ARTICULATOR
TONGUE HEIGHT
[LOW]
[”]
ARTICULATOR
TONGUE HEIGHT
[LABIAL] [DORSAL]
[LOW]
[O]
8
Umlaut = delinking of [DORSAL]
Umlaut = delinking of [DORSAL]
[SONORANT]
[SONORANT]
PLACE
PLACE
ARTICULATOR
TONGUE HEIGHT
[LABIAL]
[LOW]
ARTICULATOR
TONGUE HEIGHT
[LABIAL] [DORSAL]
[{]
[o]
Umlaut = delinking of [DORSAL]
Umlaut = delinking of [DORSAL]
[SONORANT]
[SONORANT]
PLACE
PLACE
ARTICULATOR
TONGUE HEIGHT
[LABIAL]
ARTICULATOR
TONGUE HEIGHT
[LABIAL] [DORSAL]
[„]
[HIGH]
[u]
9
Umlaut = delinking of [DORSAL]
The diphthongs
[SONORANT]
Chue [xu•E ] - [xy•E ]
PLACE
ARTICULATOR
Baum [pa•um] - [p{•im]
TONGUE HEIGHT
[LABIAL]
[HIGH]
[y]
Umlaut = delinking of [DORSAL]
Umlaut = delinking of [DORSAL]
[SONORANT]
[SONORANT]
[SONORANT]
[SONORANT]
PLACE
PLACE
PLACE
PLACE
ART
TH
ART
TH
[DORSAL]
[LOW]
[LABIAL] [DORSAL]
[HIGH]
[a]
[u]
ART
TH
[LOW]
[”]
ART
TH
[LABIAL]
[HIGH]
[y]
10
Umlaut = delinking of [DORSAL]
+ switching [LABIAL]
[SONORANT]
[SONORANT]
PLACE
PLACE
ART
TH
[LABIAL]
[LOW]
ART
[{]
Umlaut in production
 Back vowels lose their [DORSAL] feature
 It is not an assimilatioin process,
dissimilation if anything
TH
[HIGH]
[i]
OHG trigger [i j]: no place features
SG “trigger”
trigger” [E
[E]: has [DORSAL]
⇒ no phonological reason to lose [DORSAL]
 Whether or not a vowel is umlated
depends on morphological parameters
Umlaut in perception
Umlaut in perception
 How can a word be accessed in the
 How can a word be accessed in the
mental lexicon if the input is an umlauted
form?
 basic assumption: word stems are stored,
sounds are underspecified
Stoff
Features in
Acoustic signal
Features in
the lexicon
[stOff]
[st{ff] [st{ffli]
[LOW] [LAB] [DORS]
[LOW] [LAB] [COR]
[LOW] [LAB] [DORS]
[LOW] [LAB] [DORS]
mental lexicon if the input is an umlauted
form?
 basic assumption: word stems are stored,
sounds are underspecified
Box
Features in
Acoustic signal
Features in
the lexicon
[pOks] [pOksE]
[p{ksli]
[LOW] [LAB] [DORS]
[LOW] [LAB] [COR]
[LOW] [LAB] [DORS]
[LOW] [LAB] [DORS]
11
Umlaut in perception
 The extracted [COR] feature will always
mismatch the stored [DOR] feature.
 Do we need to assume allomorphy to
make perception work?
/stOff/ /pOks/
[LOW] [LAB] [DORS]
/st{ff/ /p{ks/
[LOW] [LAB] [COR]
Still to be done
 Establish the status of umlauted vowels in
uninflected forms
 Establish whether phonology really has
nothing to say in what stems get umlauted
(e.g. number and/or type of syllables)
 Complete the data base
Selected references
Braune, Wilhelm. 1987. Althochdeutsche Grammatik. 14.
Auflage, H. Eggers (ed). Tübingen: Niemeyer.
Paul, Hermann. 1959. Deutsche Grammatik. Band 1, Teil II.
Halle: Niemeyer.
Kraehenmann, Astrid. 2003. Quantity and Prosodic Asymmetries in Alemannic: Synchronic and Diachronic
Perspectives. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
Weber, Albert. 1948. Zürichdeutsche Grammatik und Weg
weiser zur guten Mundart. Zürich: Schweizer
Spiegel Verlag.
Appendix
Affricates in Swiss German:
The coronal affricate [ts]
12
Affricate duration by position
CD by position
Is the phonetic duration of the affricate significantly
different in different word positions?
Yes: p ≤.0001
Is the closure duration of the affricate significantly
different in different word positions?
No: p = 0.0629
final
initial
medial
L.sq mean
std. err.
174 ms
6.0
138 ms
6.6
142 ms
4.8
fin - ini:
fin - med:
ini - med:
final
initial
medial
≤.0001
≤.0001
0.5929
Fricative duration by position
Is the fricative duration of the affricate significantly
different in different word positions?
Yes: p ≤.0001
final
initial
medial
L.sq mean
std. err.
107 ms
4.0
79 ms
4.4
83 ms
3.2
fin - ini:
fin - med:
ini - med:
L.sq mean
std. err.
67 ms
3.0
58 ms
3.3
60 ms
2.4
≤.0001
≤.0001
0.5714
CD by context
Is the closure duration of the affricate significantly
different depending on preceding or following context?
Preceding yes: p ≤.0001 Following yes: p ≤.0001
C
S
V
L.sq mean std. err.
55 ms
3.9
56 ms
3.7
72 ms
2.2
C - S: 0.8457
C - V: ≤.0001
S - V: ≤.0001
#
C
S
V
L.sq mean std. err.
89 ms
5.5
46 ms
3.0
54 ms
5.4
57 ms
2.0
# - all:
C - S:
C - V:
S - V:
≤.0001
0.2137
0.0021
0.6032
13
Fricative duration by context
Is the fricative duration of the affricate significantly
different depending on preceding or following context?
Preceding yes: p = 0.0004 Following yes: p ≤.0001
C
S
V
L.sq mean std. err.
86 ms
5.2
102 ms
4.9
107 ms
2.9
C - S: 0.0142
C - V: ≤.0001
S - V: 0.2141
#
C
S
V
L.sq mean std. err.
149 ms
7.3
81 ms
4.1
84 ms
7.2
78 ms
2.6
# - all:
C - S:
C - V:
S - V:
≤.0001
0.7006
0.4400
0.3799
In sum
 Coronal affricates are significantly longer
word finally than initially and medially.
 The CD of coronal affricates is statistically
the same in the different word positions.
 The fricative duration of coronal affricates
is significantly longer word finally than
initially and medially.
In sum
 The CD of coronal affricates is significantly
longer



after vowels than after sonorant and obstruent
consonants;
before a phrase boundary than before any
segment;
before a vowel or sonorant than before an
obstruent.
In sum
 The fricative duration of coronal affricates
is significantly longer


after a vowel or sonorant than after an
obstruent;
before a phrase boundary than before any
segment.
14