Grammatical Change in Old English Strong Verbs: Early Traces of Elimination (Linguistics‪)‬

ABSTRACT The original Proto-Germanic consonantal alternations of voiceless and voiced fricatives, generated by the operation of Verner's Law, though slightly modified, were relatively well attested in Old English. They were most regularly preserved in the strong verb paradigm where they emerged as: [thorn] ~ d, h ~ g/w, h ~ ng, s ~ r, as in sni[thorn]an: sna[thorn]: snidon: sniden, ceosan: ceas: curon: coren, teon: teah: tugon: togen. The focus of the present paper is the process of gradual elimination of the effects of Vernerian voicing from the Old English strong verb system. While a wholesale process of elimination must be dated no earlier than the (Early) Middle English period, available data indicate clearly that the tendencies towards the decay of Vernerian alternations can be traced back to Old English. A close examination of the Old English textual evidence is intended to capture and reveal peculiarities and tendencies which charasterised this very early stage of elimination.