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From: smryan@netcom.com (S M Ryan)
Subject: Re: mouse ~ mice - how?
Message-ID: <smryanCwMo9w.HGs@netcom.com>
Organization: Santa Clara Research Park
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References: <1994Sep20.134951.16993@midway.uchicago.edu>
Date: Sat, 24 Sep 1994 09:41:56 GMT
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Richard L. Goerwitz (goer@quads.uchicago.edu) wrote:
: I assume that mouse ~ mice was once a regular phonological alternation,
: but has since become morphologized.  Not being an Indo-Europeanist, I
: don't know offhand what the original environments would have been, or
: what the "prime" reference work would be for finding out.

It occurred a little prior to Anglo-Saxon.

"The stressed vowels are palatised by an i or j of the following syllable.
The i and j causing the mutation were, for the most part, either changed
into e or entirely lost in a early period of the language.

"The results may be tabulated:
	ae  ->  e or ae
	o   ->  e
	a:  ->  ae:
	ae: ->  ae:
	o   ->  e
	o:  ->  e:
        u   ->  y
        u:  ->  y:
	ea,eo,io  -> ie,i"

[The j does not appear in OE.]

In this case (if I got the germanic plural right),

	Gmc. mus::musei > mus::mysi > OE mus::mys > ModE mouse::mice

i-mutations were not confined to plurals,

	Gmc. ald::aldira::aldista > eald::ieldira::ieldista
		> OE eald::ieldra::ieldesta > ModE old::elder::eldest

sale::sell < sellan < saeljan
strong::strength < strengthu < strongithu

These are coverred in any AngloSaxon grammar.
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