A note on Middle High German lengthening and related developments in diachronic perspective

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present a detailed analysis of the relevant material concerning lengthening of the Middle High German short accented vowels with a view to establishing the actual conditions under which this change operated. Special attention is given to the relevant, controversial developments in an open syllable, where lengthening is shown to have been regular not only before voiced consonants but also before the only available voiceless consonant, namely /t/. Apparent exceptions with a short vowel are shown to reflect phonological variants inherited from earlier stages of the language. The whole phenomenon of lengthening is discussed in a diachronic perspective which involves other changes, such as diphthongization, monophthongization, and shortening. Moreover, the conditioned mergers of the relevant short vowels with their long counterparts are presented in the wider context of the subsequent development of the Middle High German vowels, with special regard to the changes that affected /e/, /ɛ/, /æ/ and /e:/, /æ:/.