PD: Odp: Nordwestblock

From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 1963
Date: 2000-03-30

 
----- Original Message -----
From: Piotr Gasiorowski
To: Mark Odegard
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2000 6:09 PM
Subject: Odp: [cybalist] Odp: Nordwestblock

 
----- Original Message -----
From: Mark Odegard
To: Piotr Gasiorowski ; cybalist@egroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2000 5:22 AM
Subject: Re: [cybalist] Odp: Nordwestblock

Mark,
 
Grimm's Law can't be dated too late. You must aloow some time for Verner's Law to follow it, THEN the shift of stress to the initial syllable, and THEN the geographical dispersal of the Germani (or at least all the Germanic groups whose languages are documented). If Grimm's Law, as often thought, was set in operation by substrate influence, it must be a very old change (going back to the time when the Pre-Proto-Germani got in touch with the non-IE substrate of the would-be Germanic homeland, and in any event it's likely to have preceded the oldest written Germanic languages by several centuries.
 
Piotr
 
 
 
Who knows if the Teutons who joined the Cimbri in their southward raid in the late 2nd century BC weren't NWB-speakers rather than Germani proper. The unshifted stops of Teut- might suggest that (the usual story is that the name is of Celtic origin). Just a loose thought, don't take it too seriously.
 
Piotr
 
Mark here.
 
I don't take it too seriously either, but admit to liking it. Oh, the stuff I read, and don't remember where I read it .... but: there seem to be some who argue for a later date for the 1st Germanic sound-shift, or at least, say it did not become complete until sometime past AD 1.