THE MAJOR CHANGES FROM INDO-EUROPEAN TO GERMANIC

 

All Germanic languages, in their oldest forms, share certain characteristics that distinguish them from other Indo-European languages.
Seven of these peculiarly Germanic features are listed:

 

 1. a common distinctive vocabulary

 2. a two-tense verbal system

 3. a dental suffix for the preterit tense

 4. "strong" versus "weak" adjectives

 5. a fixed stress accent

 6. certain vowel changes

 7. the First Sound Shift

 

Here are several examples of these Germanic characteristics.

4 - Old English:                     micel guma                                            Latin:      magnus homō 'a great man'

                                            se micela guma.                                                    iste magnus homō 'that great man'

                     micele guman                                                        magni hominēs great 'men'

        pā micelan guman                                                  isti magnā homines 'those great men'

7 - Old English:                    borp 'town'                                            Latin:      turba 'crowd'

                     etan 'eat'                                                             edō  'eat'

                     iecan 'eke'                                                           augeō 'increase'

7 - Old English:                     bri 'brow'                                             Sanskrit: bhrus 'brow'

                    rēad 'red'                                                            rudh-iras 'red'

                    gangan 'go' (cf. gangway)                                    jaqghā  'heel, lower leg'

5 - Old English:                     mōdor 'mother'     singular nominative    Greek: mētēr 'mother'

                                            mōdor                     singular genitive                  mētros

                                            mēder                     singular dative                      mētri

                                            mōdor                     singular accusative              mētera

                                            mōdor                     plural nominative                 mēteres

                                            mōdra                     plural genitive                       mēterōn

                                            mōdrum                  plural dative                          mētrsi

                                            mōdor                     plural accusative                  mēteras

6 - Old English:                    brōdor 'brother'                                     Latin:      frater 'brother'

                                           bōc 'beech tree'                                                     fagus 'beech tree'

                                            mōdor 'mother'                                                      māter 'mother'

3 - Old English:                    ic sēce 'I seek'                                       Latin:      sāgiō 'I perceive'

                    ic sōhte 'I sought'                                                 sāgivi 'I perceived'

                    ic temme 'I tame'                                                   domō 'I tame'

                    ic temede “I tamed'                                               domui 'I tamed'

1 - Gothic:                            gasts I stranger'                                    Latin:      hostis 'stranger'

                    nahts 'night'                                                          nox 'night'

                   gards 'garden'                                                       hortus 'garden'

 

* The initial j is due to a sound change which is of no importance for Germanic languages.

 

 

1 -  Old English:          saē 'sea'                                         Greek:                  thalassa 'sea'
        Dutch:                  zee                                                  Latin:                   mare
      Old High German: sēo                                                  Irish:                    muir
      Icelandic:            saer                                                 Lithuanian:            jara.

      Danish:                 sō                                                    Hindustani:           samundar

      Gothic:                 saiws                                                Old Persian:         drayah­

7 -  Old English:         nefa 'nephew'                                  Latin:                    nepōs 'grandson'

                                 weorban 'become'                                                         vertō 'turn'

                                 hōre 'whore'                                                                  cāra 'dear one'

 

2 -  Old English:        ic dō     'I do, am doing, will do'       Greek:                     tithērni “I am placing'

         ic dyde    'I was doing, did, have done'                           thesō “I will place'

                                                                                                                        etithēn “I was placing'

                                                ethēka “I placed'

                                                tethēka “I have placed'