High German consonant shift

The High German languages are subdivided into Upper German (green) and Central German (cyan), and are distinguished from Low German (yellow) and the Low Franconian languages. The main isoglosses – the Benrath and Speyer lines – are marked in black. This map shows the modern boundaries of the languages after 1945.

In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift is a phonological development (sound change) that took place in the southern parts of the West Germanic dialect continuum in several phases. It probably began between the 3rd and 5th centuries and was almost complete before the earliest written records in Old High German were produced in the 8th century. The shift distinguishes High German from other West Germanic languages, which did not experience the shift. The degree that the shift was experienced within High German distinguishes Central from Upper German dialects, as well as dialects within both Central and Upper German.

General description

In most accounts, the High German consonant shift includes two related changes:

1. The shift of the Proto-West Germanic voiceless stop consonants /t/, /p/, and /k/ to either fricatives (/s/, /f/, /x/) or affricates (/ts/, /pf/, /kx/) depending on their position in the word (Tenuesverschiebung). No shift takes place after a fricative (/sp/, /xt/, /st/, /ft/, etc. all remain unchanged) or in the combination /tr/ (/pr/ and /kr/ are still affected);
2. the shift of the pre-Old High German voiced stop consonants /d/, /b/, and /g/ (Proto-West Germanic /ð/, /β/, and /ɣ/) to the voiceless stop consonants /t/, /p/, and /k/ (Medienverschiebung)

All High German dialects have experienced at least part of the shift of voiceless stops to fricatives/affricates. The shift of voiceless stops to fricatives/affricates has traditionally been used to distinguish different German dialects: Upper German dialects experienced the greatest degree of shift, whereas Central German dialects only experienced a partial shift (other West Germanic languages experienced no shift). Only southern dialects experience the shift of voiced to voiceless stops, with the shift of /d/ to /t/ found in Upper German and in some Central German dialects, while the shift of /b/ to /p/ and /g/ to /k/ is only found consistently in (Old) Bavarian. Modern standard German is based mostly on East Central German dialects and thus features many but not all of the shifted forms.

Examples of consonant changes resulting from the High German consonant shift, according to von Polenz (2020)

Type of stop	Position	Proto-Germanic/Pre-Old High German Phoneme	Old High German Phoneme	Old High German	modern standard German	Old Saxon equivalent	modern English equivalent
Voiceless	After vowels	/t/	/ʒ(ʒ)/	eʒʒan	essen	etan	eatcode: eng promoted to code: en
				bîʒan	beißen	bîtan	bitecode: eng promoted to code: en
				waʒ	was	wat	whatcode: eng promoted to code: en
		/p/	/f(f)/	offan	offen	opan	open
				grîfan	greifen	grîpan	gripecode: eng promoted to code: en
				ûf	auf	ûp	upcode: eng promoted to code: en
		/k/	/χ(χ)/	mahhôn	machen	makôn	makecode: eng promoted to code: en
				brehhan	brechen	brekan	breakcode: eng promoted to code: en
				ih	ich	ik	Icode: eng promoted to code: en (Old English ic)
	Initially, after consonants, and geminated	/t/	/ts/	zunga	Zunge	tunga	tonguecode: eng promoted to code: en
				herza	Herz	herta	heartcode: eng promoted to code: en
		/tt/		sezzen	setzen	settian	setcode: eng promoted to code: en
		/p/	/pf/	phad	Pfad	pad	pathcode: eng promoted to code: en
				helphan	helfen	helpan	helpcode: eng promoted to code: en
		/pp/		aphul	Apfel	appul	applecode: eng promoted to code: en
		/k/	/kχ/	Upper German chorn	Korn	korn	corncode: eng promoted to code: en
				Upper German werch	Werk	werk	workcode: eng promoted to code: en
		/kk/		Upper German wec(c)hen	wecken	wekkian	Old English weccen
Voiced	All positions	/d/	/t/	tohter	Tochter	dohtar	daughtercode: eng promoted to code: en
				wetar	Wetter	wedar	weathercode: eng promoted to code: en
				bintan	binden	bindan	bindcode: eng promoted to code: en
				alt	alt	ald	oldcode: eng promoted to code: en
		/dd/	/tt/	bitten	bitten	biddian	bidcode: eng promoted to code: en
		/b/	/p/	Upper German peran	(ge)bären	beran	bearcode: eng promoted to code: en
				Upper German sipun	sieben	sibun	sevencode: eng promoted to code: en
				Upper German lîp	Leib	lîf	lifecode: eng promoted to code: en
		/bb/	/pp/	sippa	Sippe	sibbia	Old English sib
		/g/	/k/	Upper German kast	Gast	gast	guestcode: eng promoted to code: en
				Upper German stîkan	steigen	stîgan	Old English stîgan
				Upper German tac	Tag	dag	daycode: eng promoted to code: en
		/gg/	/kk/	Upper German likkan	liegen	liggian	liecode: eng promoted to code: en (Old English licgan)

Another change, the shift of /þ/ (θ) to /d/, is sometimes seen as related to the High German consonant shift. However, it also comes to encompass other continental West Germanic languages. The relation of this change to the second consonant shift, as well as of change, of initial /x/ to /h/, is disputed. Braune and Reiffenstein discount a connection entirely.

Detailed description

Shifts to voiceless stops

The result of the shift of the voiceless stops /p/, /t/ and /k/ depends on their position in the word. The degree to which the stops are shifted also shows considerable dialectal variation. In particular, the shift of /p/ and /k/ in initial position is subject to dialectal variation. While the boundaries of the dialects have shifted since the Old High German period, these differences continue to form the basis for differentiating the different modern German dialects, and, in particular, for the division between Central German dialects, which have fewer shifted consonants, and Upper German dialects, which have more.

• /t/ shifts

initially, in geminates, and after another consonant, to /t͡s/

OE tam : OHG zam (English tame, Dutch tam, Low German tamm : German zahm)

OE catt : OHG kazza (English cat, Dutch kat, Low German Katt : German Katze)

after a vowel to ⟨ʒʒ⟩, simplifying to ⟨ʒ⟩ at the end of a word. Beginning in the 13th century, this sound merges with /s/ in most German dialects.

OE strǣt : OHG strāzza (English street, Dutch straat : German Straße)

This shift is the same across all High German dialects. However, the Central German Middle Franconian dialects show unshifted final /t/ for neuter pronouns (that, thit, it, wat, allet).

• /p/ shifts

initially, in geminates, and after another consonant, to /p͡f/

OE æppel : OHG apful, afful (English apple, Dutch appel, Low German Appel : German Apfel)

OE scearp : OHG scarpf, scarf (English sharp, Dutch scherp, Low German scharp : German scharf)

after a vowel to /ff/, simplifying to /f/ at the end of a word.

Old English slǣpan: Old High German slāfan (English sleep, Dutch slapen: German schlafen)

In Central German Middle and most Rhine Franconian dialects, the shift only takes place after a vowel:

Different outcomes of /p/, according to Salmons 2018

Old Saxon	(most) Franconian	Rest of OHG
pad	pad	pfad
appel	appel	apful
kamp	kamp	kampf
helpan	helpan/helpfan	helpfan/helfan
opan	of(f)an	of(f)an
up	ûf	ûf

Additionally, some Middle Franconian dialects retain final /p/ in the preposition up.

• /k/ shifts

initially, in geminates, and after another consonant to /k͡x/

OE weorc : OHG werc, werah (English work, Dutch werk, Low German Wark, German Werk : High Alemannic Werch/Wärch)

OE liccian : OHG leckōn (English lick, Dutch likken, Low German licken, German lecken : High Alemannic lekchen )

after a vowel to /xx/, simplifying to /x/ at the end of a word.

OE rīce : OHG rīhhi (English rich, Dutch rijk : German Reich)

All dialects shift /k/ to /xx/ after a vowel; only the Upper German Alemannic and Bavarian shift it in other positions:

Different outcomes of /k/, according to Salmons 2018

Old Saxon	Central OHG	Far southern OHG
kind	kind	chind
stark	stark	starch
makon	mahhon	mahhon
ik	ih	ih

/p/, /t/, and /k/ remained unshifted in all dialects when following the fricative consonants /s/, /f/, and /x/, and /t/ remained unshifted before /r/:

OE spearwa : OHG sparo (English sparrow, Dutch spreeuw, German Sperling)

OE mæst : OHG mast (English mast, Dutch mast, Low German Mast, German Mast(baum))

OE niht : OHG naht (English night, Dutch nacht, Low German Nacht, German Nacht)

OE trēowe : OHG (gi)triuwi (English true, Dutch (ge)trouw, Low German trü, German treu.)

Voiceless consonants

Prior to the shift of /d/, /b/ and /g/ in some German dialects, the West Germanic fricatives /ð/, /ƀ/ and /ʒ/ had shifted to /d/, /b/, and /g/ in all positions except in the Central German Middle Franconian dialect, where /ƀ/ and /ʒ/ remained. Like the shift to the voiceless stops, the shift to the voiced stops varies by dialect and to some degree by position in the word.

• /d/ shifts to /t/

This shift is found in Upper German and most Central German, but in Rhine Franconian only in geminates and word finally.

OE dōn : OHG tuon (English do, Dutch doen, Low German doon, German tun)

OE mōdor : OHG muotar (English mother, Dutch moeder, Low German Modder, Mudder, German Mutter)

OE rēad : OHG rōt (English red, Dutch rood, Low German root, German rot)

• /b/ shifts to /p/

This change is found most consistently in Bavarian, where it takes place in all positions. In Alemannic, it is consistently found word finally and word initially, but b often occurs word-internally. /bb/ shifts to /pp/ in all dialects except in (Central German) Ripuarian.

OE biddan : OHG bitten or pitten (English bid, Dutch bieden, Low German bidden, German bitten, Bavarian pitten)

• /g/ shifts to /k/

The change is found in Bavarian and Alemannic, most consistently word-initially, and in Bavarian also word-internally and finally. /gg/ shifts to /kk/ in all dialects except in (Central German) Ripuarian.

Alemannic/Bavarian cot vs. other OHG got (English god)

Alemannic/Bavarian kip vs. other OHG gib (English give)

The shift of all three voiced stops in Upper German likely means that there was no longer any voiced-voiceless distinction in these dialects. While the stops /g/ and /b/ tend to be written /k/ and /p/ in Upper German, by the 9th century spelling in Alemannic reverts to writing /g/ and /b/ except for the geminated stops (/kk/ and /pp/ rather than /gg/ and /bb/), and in the 10th century, Bavarian also begins to write /g/ and /b/ more often. By the Middle High German period, Bavarian only consistently writes /p/ for single /b/ in word-initial position.

Chronology

There is no agreement about the time period in which the High German consonantal shift took place. Its completion is usually dated to just before the earliest attestations of Old High German. The change affects geminate consonants, indicating that West Germanic gemination predated it; this is usually dated to the 5th century CE. Additionally, Latin loanwords adopted into the language prior to the 6th century display the shift, whereas those adopted from the 8th century onward do not. The relative chronology of the different changes remains poorly understood. It is usually argued to have begun with /t/, then moved to /p/, then to /k/.

Geographical distribution

Dialects and isoglosses of the Rhenish fan (Arranged from north to south: dialects in dark fields, isoglosses in light fields)
Isogloss	North	South
North Low Franconian / Low Saxon
Uerdingen line (Uerdingen)	ik	ich
South Low Franconian
Benrath line (Boundary: Low German — Central German)	maken	machen
Ripuarian Franconian (Aachen, Cologne, Bonn)
(State border NRW–RP) (Eifel-Schranke)	Dorp	Dorf
Northern Moselle Franconian (Luxembourgish, Trier)
	op	auf
Southern Moselle Franconian (Koblenz, Saarland)
Bacharach line (Bacharach) (Hunsrück-Schranke)	dat	das
Rhenish Franconian (Pfälzisch, Frankfurt)
Speyer line (Speyer) (Boundary: Central German — Upper German)	Appel	Apfel
Upper German
The Rhenish fan: 1 North Low Franconian, 2 South Low Franconian, 3 Ripuarian Franconian, 4 & 5 Moselle Franconian, 6 Rhenish Franconian

Roughly, the changes resulting from phase 1 affected Upper and Central German, as did the dental element of phase 2 (t- > z-). The other elements of phase 2 and all of phase 3 impacted only Upper German, while those changes from phase 4 affected the entire German and Dutch-speaking region (the West Germanic dialect continuum). The generally accepted boundary between Central and Low German, the maken–machen line, is sometimes called the Benrath line, as it passes through the Düsseldorf suburb of Benrath, while the main boundary between Central and Upper German, the Appel–Apfel line can be called the Speyer line, as it passes near the town of Speyer, 200 kilometers farther south.

A precise description of the geographical extent of the changes is far more complex. Not only do the individual sound shifts within a phase vary in their distribution (phase 3, for example, partly affects the whole of Upper German and partly only the southernmost dialects within Upper German), but there are even slight variations from word to word in the distribution of the same consonant shift. For example, the ik–ich line lies further north than the maken–machen line in western Germany, coincides with it in central Germany, and lies further south at its eastern end, although both demonstrate the same shift /k/ > /x/.

Rhenish fan

Main article: Rhenish fan

The subdivision of West Central German into a series of dialects, according to the differing extent of the phase 1 shifts, is particularly pronounced. It is known as the Rhenish fan (German: Rheinischer Fächer, Dutch: Rijnlandse waaier) because on the map of dialect boundaries, the lines form a fan shape. Here, no fewer than eight isoglosses run roughly West to East and partially merge into a simpler system of boundaries in East Central German. The table on the right lists the isoglosses (bold) and the main resulting dialects (italics), arranged from north to south.

Sample texts

As an example of the effects of the shift one may compare the following texts from the later Middle Ages, on the left a Middle Low German citation from the Sachsenspiegel (1220), which does not show the shift, and on the right the equivalent text from the Middle High German Deutschenspiegel (1274), which shows the shifted consonants; both are standard legal texts of the period.

Sachsenspiegel (II,45,3)	Deutschenspiegel (Landrecht 283)
De man is ok vormunde sines wives, to hant alse se eme getruwet is. Dat wif is ok des mannes notinne to hant alse se in sin bedde trit, na des mannes dode is se ledich van des mannes rechte.	Der man ist auch vormunt sînes wîbes zehant als si im getriuwet ist. Daz wîp ist auch des mannes genôzinne zehant als si an sîn bette trit nâch des mannes rechte.
First lines identical: "The man is also guardian of his wife / as soon as she is married to him. / The wife is also the man's companion / as soon as she goes to his bed". Last line of the Sachsenspiegel is "After the man's death, she is free of the man's rights"; that of the Deutschenspiegel "according to a man's rights".

Unshifted forms in modern Standard German

At least as far as the core group of changes is concerned, the High German consonant shift is an example of an exceptionless sound change and was frequently cited as such by the Neogrammarians. Modern standard German is a compromise form between East Central German and northern Upper German, mainly based on the former but with the consonant pattern of the latter. But individual words from all German dialects and varieties have found their way into the standard. When a German word contains unshifted consonants, it is often a loanword from either Low German or, less often, Central German. Either the shifted form has become obsolete, as in:

Hafen "harbor", from Low German (15th century), replacing Middle High German habe(ne);

Pacht "lease", from West Central German, replacing Middle High German pfaht;

or the two forms are retained as doublets, as in:

Wappen "coat of arms", from Low German, alongside High German Waffe "weapon";

sich kloppen "to fight", from either Low German or Central German, alongside High German klopfen "to knock".

Other examples of unshifted words from Low German include:

Hafer "oat" (vs. Swiss, Austrian Haber); Lippe "lip" (vs. Lefze "animal lip"); Pegel "water level"; Pickel "pimple"

But the majority of unshifted words in German are loaned from Latin, Romance, English or Slavic:

Paar "pair, couple" (← Medieval Latin pār), Peitsche "whip" (← Old Sorbian/Czech bič).

Other ostensible irregularities in the sound shift, which we may notice in modern Standard German, are usually clarified by checking the etymology of an individual word. Possible reasons include the following:

• Onomatopoeia (cf. German babbeln ~ English to babble, which were probably formed individually in each language);
• Later developments after the High German sound shift, especially the elimination of some unstressed vowels. For example, Dutch kerk and German Kirche ("church") seem to indicate an irregular shift -rk- > -rch- (compare regular German Mark, stark, Werk). However, Kirche stems from OHG kirihha (Greek κυριακόν kuriakón) with a vowel after /r/ (which makes the shift perfectly regular). Similarly, the shifted form Milch ("milk") was miluh or milih in OHG, but the unshifted melken ("to milk") never had a vowel after /l/.
• Certain irregular variations between voiced and unvoiced consonants, especially [d] and [t], in Middle High German (active several centuries after the shift). Thereby OHG dūsunt became modern tausend ("thousand"), as if it had been shifted twice. Contrariwise, and more often, the shift was apparently undone in some words: PG *dunstaz > OHG tunst > back again to modern Dunst ("vapor, haze"). In this latter case, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether re-voicing was a native Middle High German development or from Low German influence. (Often, both factors have collaborated to establish the voiced variant.)

See also

• Glottalic theory
• The Tuscan gorgia, a similar evolution differentiating the Tuscan dialects from Standard Italian.

Sources

• The sample texts have been copied over from Lautverschiebung on the German Wikipedia.
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• König, Werner (1994). dtv-Atlas zur deutschen Sprache (10 ed.). Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag.
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• Philippe Marcq & Thérèse Robin, Linguistique historique de l'allemand, Paris, 1997.
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• Schwerdt, Judith (2000). Die 2. Lautverschiebung: Wege zu ihrer Erforschung. Heidelberg: Carl Winter. ISBN 3-8253-1018-3.