--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "ghozzis" <ghozzis@...> wrote:
> Hello!
> I do not understand why in German we have a "d" in "Bruder" and
a "t"
> in "Vater"! In Latin, it is "FraTer" and "PaTer" and in
> English "BroTHer" and "FaTHer". What happened in German?
> Can someone explain it?
Verner's law.
Fricatives after unstressed vowels became voiced in Pre-Germanic.
This was while the stress followed the old PIE placement, before the
root (or inital) stress of Proto-Germanic.In this case, we have PIE
ph2"ter (first syllable unstressed) but, at least in the dialect that
matter, "bHrah2ter (first syllable stressed). These yielded early
pre-Germanic post-Grimm faþér and bróþer. Application of Verner's
law then yielded faðer and broþer, cf. Old English fæder and
bro:ðor. The 2nd sound shift in High German, plus other changes,
then yields _Vater_ and _Bruder_.
The develoment of English _father_ from OE fæder is irregular. The
combination -der appears to have been subject to an irregular change
to voiced -ther. English _gather_ from OE gaderian is another
example, is is the early Modern English alternation between _murder_
and _murther_. Norse influence may explain English _father_, but it
does not English _gather_.
Thus, it's English, and not German, that's irregular.
Richard.