At 1:22:41 PM on Wednesday, May 18, 2005, alex wrote:
> 1) is the German "au" from anything else as an older "u"?
> (latin murus > mauer, durare > dauer, IE *suru >sauer, etc)
I believe that it can arise from Gmc. *au: <glauben>, Gothic
<galáubjan>; Laub < *laubaz.
> 1) any idea when the "u" > "au" in German stoped as phenomenon?
The diphthongization of MHG /i: u:/ to NHG /aI aU/ began in
Austria in the 12th century and spread north and west
through much of Upper and Middle German. One source says
that it's first apparent in writing in Kärnten in the 12th
century. The written evidence, which is doubtless later
than the spoken change, shows it spreading through the
Bavarian dialect area by the end of the 13th century, into
Bohemia and the southern East Frankish area in the first
half of the 14th century, and in the northern East Frankish
area and Silesia in the second half of the 14th century. In
the course of the 15th century it spread through East
Thuringian, Upper Saxon, and Swabian, reaching South and
Rhenish Franconian around 1500 and Mosel Franconian during
the 16th century. The change never reached southern
Alemannic, large parts of Lower Hessian and Thuringian, and
Ripuarian and was only late -- 16th and 17th century -- and
partial in northern Alemannic.
Brian