--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "James R. Johnson"
<modean52@...> wrote:

> So, how is gørþi pronounced?

Not like ø1 ;) It is an u-umlauted version of short æ. In theory, a
long version could exist, but I am not aware of any words that have
this long grade. The base vowel for ø2 is a, but o for ø1 (and long
o for long ø1, often written oe).

And what about the æ whence it comes?

short æ from short a
long æ from long a
short æ is often written as e with a tail
long æ can also be written é with a tail
if short æ is written æ, then long æ must take a lengthening marker
due to other changes, short æ can become long æ in certain positions

How can

> you umlaut a front vowel?

*ansulaikaz garwidê mik
ø in gørði is both i- and u-mutated (se wi in garwidê)
tailed ó (=ao) in óslákr in u-mutated (also nasal - different topic)

the position of w and i in garwidê, together with the tongue-story,
is the key here; here is a reverse example: æsir, plural of óss as
in ósleikr, is not u-mutated despite being from *ansiuz, nor is the
dative sg. æsi (from *ansiu) u-mutated - this is because the u in
these positions disappeared before u-mutation occured, leaving an
elongated i due to Sievers': *ansijuz - *ansijz (=*ansîz), etc..

an alternate to gøra survived in West Norse, namely giorva (written
gjörva), where the w is preserved but breaking occured instead of i-
mutation; some areas in western Norway would have had gjörva, while
others had gøra, leading to a mixed picture of this verb throughout
the West Norse area, even after the viking age; while West Norse was
very uniform on the whole, there were some minor variation like this
one, the most obvious ones being pronominal; here are some examples:

Viking Age Danish has proximal sâsi þatsi etc., where West Norse has
siá þetta etc.. The base forms differ (-si vs. þe-). However, West
Norse shows variants in +a in its proximal paradigm, which must have
existed in some West Norse areas and not others. The +a paradigm was
originally demonstrative + a, but is already merged with the þe- one
in the viking age, showing interesting West Norse variants:

þeima vs. þessum - dat sg masc (Runic Danish þaimsi)
þeima vs. þessum - dat pl
þvísa vs. þessu - dat sg neut
þanna vs. þenna - acc sg masc
etc.
but no surviving variations in others of the same paradigm:
þessi - nom acc pl neut (Runic Danish þausi)
þessi - dat sg fem
etc.

here is one thing that helped facilitate the merger: the influence
of double consonants and e etc. from the þe- paradigm (*se þesnô
þessum þessô) on the ancient demonstrative (masc *sâ þanô þaim þas),
leaving demonstrative forms like þess and þenna beside þanna/þana
and reverse-influenced forms like runic þensa (=þenna), from *þesnô
(see also Old English, which selected together with West Norse in
favor of the þe- option).

Regards,
Konrad

> James

> runic inscription from norway (late 11th cent or 12th? - new e

rune

> and c?):
>
> aslakar:gerþe= =mik:runar:ek:*rist:au=k raþ:na:sta*ue:uer*sici
>
> -ar in aslakar a mispelling; likewise -u- in staue (from *stabaz)
> standardized olden western time ;) :
>
> ósleikr/óslákr gørþi mik (ó = u-mutation of á; leik/lák- variants)
> rúnar ek ríst auk ráþna stafi (stafi not stafa - a west norse

touch)

> ........
>
> point of interest: ø in gørþi shown by e not u or o - ø2 not ø1,
> being u-mutation of short æ (tailed e), later same as ø1; ø2 is

rare

> and very hard to find in inscriptions
>
> fornyrþislag:
>
> rúnar ek ríst
> auk ráþna stafi
>
> still there, even after all that had happened ;)
>
>
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