High German consonant shift

E95783

The High German consonant shift was a major sound change in early Germanic dialects that transformed the consonant system and helped distinguish High German (and related varieties like Lombardic) from other West Germanic languages.

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All labels observed (2)

Statements (54)

Predicate Object
instanceOf consonant shift
historical linguistic phenomenon
phonological change
sound change
affectsLanguage Alemannic German
Bavarian
East Central German dialects
Lombardic
Middle High German
Standard German
surface form: Modern Standard German

Old High German
Ripuarian
Yiddish
affectsLanguageFamily West Germanic languages
affectsPhonemeClass Proto-Germanic affricates and fricatives
Proto-Germanic voiced stops
Proto-Germanic voiceless stops
alsoKnownAs High German consonant shift
surface form: Second Germanic consonant shift
changesPhoneme Proto-Germanic *b
Proto-Germanic *d
Proto-Germanic *g
Proto-Germanic *k
Proto-Germanic *p
Proto-Germanic *t
definesSubgroup Central German languages
surface form: Central German

High German
Upper German
distinguishesFrom Dutch
English
Frisian (partially)
surface form: Frisian

Low Franconian languages
surface form: Low Franconian

Low German
geographicalArea Alps region
surface form: Alpine region

Upper Rhine Plain
surface form: Upper Rhine region

southern German-speaking area
geographicalBoundary Benrath line
Speyer line
hasNoReflexesIn Old Dutch
Old English
Old Saxon
hasPartialReflexesIn Central German dialects north of Benrath line
largelyCompleteBy 8th century
preconditionedBy position in word
stress pattern
syllable structure
relatedTo Grimm's law
Verner's law
resultsIn affricates [pf] [ts] [kx] in certain positions
fortition of voiced stops to voiceless stops
fricatives [f] [s] [x] in certain positions
startsAround late 3rd century
studiedInDiscipline Germanic philology
historical linguistics
timePeriod late 3rd century to 9th century

Referenced by (13)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Lombardic hasFeature High German consonant shift
East Franconian undergoes High German consonant shift
Rhenish Franconian hasPhonologicalFeature High German consonant shift
Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law contrastWith High German consonant shift
Old Saxon notAffectedBy High German consonant shift
Central German languages sharesFeatureWith High German consonant shift
Pennsylvania German hasPhonologicalFeature High German consonant shift
High German distinguishedBy High German consonant shift
High German consonant shift alsoKnownAs High German consonant shift
this entity surface form: Second Germanic consonant shift
German dialect continuum influencedBy High German consonant shift
Palatine German hasPhonologicalFeature High German consonant shift
South Franconian German hasFeature High German consonant shift
Franconian German hasFeature High German consonant shift