Mechanics
Further changes following Grimm's law, as well as sound changes in other Indo-European languages, can sometimes obscure its effects. The most illustrative examples are used here.
| Non-Germanic (unshifted) cognates | Change | Germanic (shifted) examples |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient Greek: πούς (poús), Latin: pēs, pedis, Sanskrit: pāda, Russian: под (pod) "under; floor", Lithuanian: pėda, Latvian pēda | *p→f | English: foot, West Frisian: foet, German: Fuß, Gothic: fōtus, Icelandic, Faroese: fótur, Danish: fod, Norwegian, Swedish: fot |
| Ancient Greek: τρίτος (tritos), Latin: tertius, Welsh: trydydd, Sanskrit: treta, Russian: третий (tretij), Lithuanian: trečias, Albanian: tretë | *t→þ | English: third, Old Frisian: thredda, Old Saxon: thriddio, Gothic: þridja, Icelandic: þriðji |
| Ancient Greek: κύων (kýōn), Latin: canis, Welsh: ci (pl. cwn) | *k→h | English: hound, Dutch: hond, German: Hund, Gothic: hunds, Icelandic, Faroese: hundur, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish: hund |
| Latin: quod, Irish: cad, Sanskrit: kád, Russian: ко- (ko-), Lithuanian: kas | *kʷ→hw | English: what, Gothic: ƕa ("hwa"), Icelandic: hvað, Faroese: hvat, Danish: hvad, Norwegian: hva |
| Latin: verber "rod", Homeric Greek: ῥάβδος (rabdos) "rod, wand", Lithuanian: virbas | *b→p | English: warp, West Frisian: werpe, Dutch: werpen, Icelandic: verpa, varpa, Faroese: verpa, Gothic wairpan |
| Latin: decem, Greek: δέκα (déka), Irish: deich, Sanskrit: daśan, Russian: десять (desyat'), Lithuanian: dešimt | *d→t | English: ten, Dutch: tien, Gothic: taíhun, Icelandic: tíu, Faroese: tíggju, Danish, Norwegian: ti, Swedish: tio |
| Latin: gelū, Greek: γελανδρός (gelandrós), Lithuanian: gelmenis, gelumà | *g→k | English: cold, West Frisian: kâld, Dutch: koud, German: kalt, Icelandic, Faroese: kaldur, Danish: kold, Norwegian: kald, Swedish: kall |
| Lithuanian: gyvas | *gʷ→kw | English: quick, West Frisian: kwik, kwyk, Dutch: kwiek, Gothic: qius, Icelandic, Faroese: kvikur, Danish: kvik, Swedish: kvick, Norwegian kvikk |
| Sanskrit: bhrātṛ | *bʰ→b / | English: brother, West Frisian, Dutch: broeder, German: Bruder, Gothic: broþar, Icelandic, Faroese: bróðir, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian: broder |
| Sanskrit: mádhu 'honey', Homeric Greek: μέθυ methu | *dʰ→d / | English: mead, East Frisian: meede, Dutch: mede, Danish/Norwegian: mjød, Icelandic: mjöður, Swedish: mjöd |
| Ancient Greek: χήν (khēn), Sanskrit: hamsa (swan) | *gʰ→g / | English: goose, West Frisian: goes, guos, Dutch: gans, German: Gans, Icelandic: gæs, Faroese: gás, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish: gås |
| Homeric Greek: ἐάφθη (eáphthē) "sang, sounded", ὀμφή (omphē) "voice" | *gʷʰ→gw (After n) |
English: sing, West Frisian: sjonge, Dutch: zingen, German: singen, Gothic: siggwan, Old Icelandic: syngva, syngja, Icelandic, Faroese: syngja, Swedish: sjunga, Danish: synge/sjunge |
| Sanskrit: gharmá-, Avestan: garəmó, Old Prussian: gorme | *gʷʰ→gw→b, g or w (Otherwise merged with existing g and w) |
English: warm, West Frisian: waarm, Dutch, German: warm, Swedish: varm, Icelandic: varmur |
- Note: Proto-Germanic *gʷ from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰ has undergone further changes of various sorts. After *n it was preserved as *gʷ, but later changed to *g in West Germanic. Following vowels, it seems to have become *w, presumably through a fricative stage *ɣʷ. Word-initially, the most plausible reflex is a labiovelar stop *gʷ at first, but the further development is unclear. In that position, it became either *w, *g or *b during late Proto-Germanic. The regular reflex before *u would likely have been *g, due to loss of the labial element before a labial vowel. Perhaps the usual reflex was *b (as suggested by the connection of bid < *bidjana- and Old Irish guidid), but *w appears in certain cases (possibly through dissimilation when another labial consonant followed?), such as in warm and wife (provided that the proposed explanations are correct). Apparently, Proto-Germanic *hʷ voiced by Verner's law fell together with this sound and developed identically, compare the words for 'she-wolf': from Middle High German wülbe and Old Norse ylgr, one can reconstruct Proto-Germanic nominative singular *wulbī, genitive singular *wulgijōz, from earlier *wulgʷī, *wulgʷijōz.
This is strikingly regular. Each phase involves one single change which applies equally to the labials (p, b, bʰ, f) and their equivalent dentals (t, d, dʰ, þ), velars (k, g, gʰ, h) and rounded velars (kʷ, gʷ, gʷʰ, hʷ). The first phase left the phoneme repertoire of the language without voiceless stops, the second phase filled this gap but created a new one, and so on until the chain had run its course.
Read more about this topic: Grimm's Law
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“It is only the impossible that is possible for God. He has given over the possible to the mechanics of matter and the autonomy of his creatures.”
—Simone Weil (1909–1943)