Re: Umlaut

Georg Moritz wrote:
> From the keyboard of Yanick Champoux [12.01.08,18:50]:
> 
>
> Actually the term "umlaut" in german denotes a "shifted" vowel. If you do
> a transition from "u" -> "e" biased towards "i" and stopping in the middle
,
> you have the "ü", which can be written as diphtong also: "ue". The "e" in
> "ue" was often placed above the "u" in old german writing (where the "e"
> was written like "n", but with a sharp bend instead of a curve before the
> last falling stroke). The four strokes necessary for that "e" were reduced
> to two, and those to dots, hence the two points above the "ü".
>
> So, the umlaut is a shortened form of a "diphtongy" denoting a shifted vow
el,
> and *not* a diaeresis ("ue" is not a diphtong, but an umlaut ;-)
>

Yup, I became aware of that yesterday when I shared my new golden
nugget of trivia with my wife.  Being both German *and* a linguist, she
promptly corrected my inaccuracies.  But she left out the part about the
'e' mutating into the two little dots that we know and love nowadays,
which I think is the est part of the whole story, so thanks for
that! :-)


Joy,
`/anick

From the keyboard of Yanick Champoux [12.01.08,18:50]:
> *dieresis* or *diæresis   *A diacritical mark (* ¨ *) optionally
used in
> English, oftentimes replaced by a hyphen. In English, the dieresis
is used on
> a second identical vowel to indicate a change in pronunciation of
that vowel
> or indicate it is pronounced in a separate syllable. It is sometimes
referred
> to as an « umlaut » when used with a single character or in a «
diphthong. »
> Examples: reëlecting, reëncoding, coöperation, coördination.

I want to clarify (only because I myself was  at first)
that an umlaut can be used IN a diphthong, but does not have
any function in MAKING a diphthong.  For example, the
German diphthong "au" becomes "äu" due to umlaut, (or "vowel
shifting").

Unless I am mistaken.

--
John Douglas Porter




 ________________________________________
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On 14/01/2008, John Douglas Porter <johndporter@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> From the keyboard of Yanick Champoux [12.01.08,18:50]: 
> used in 
> is used on 
> that vowel 
> referred 
> diphthong. =BB 
>

Also na=EFf and na=EFve - non-identical vowels.

> I want to clarify (only because I myself was  at first)
> that an umlaut can be used IN a diphthong, but does not have
> any function in MAKING a diphthong.  For example, the
> German diphthong "au" becomes "=E4u" due to umlaut, (or "vowel
> shifting").
>

In summary, umlaut and dieresis/diaeresis (also trema) are both
diacritical marks.

Same symbol, but different meaning, where the meaning of the symbol
depends on the context.

The rule seems to be: second vowel of a pair=3Ddieresis, otherwise umlaut.

Any counter-examples?

> Unless I am mistaken.

Same here...

> --
> John Douglas Porter
>
>
>
>
>       ________________________________________
____________________________=
________________
> Never miss a thing.  Make Yahoo your home page.
> http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
>

sebb wrote:
> The rule seems to be: second vowel of a pair=dieresis, otherwise umlaut.

I'd call the symbol in "Brontë" a dieresis, not an umlaut.  Maybe: when
the symbol indicates the vowel is to be pronounced further forward in
the mouth, it's an umlaut; when it indicates the vowel is to be
pronounced on its own in a normal way, it's a dieresis.

--
Keith C. Ivey <keith@iveys.org>
Washington, DC

On Mon, Jan 14, 2008 at 05:16:42PM +0100, Georg Moritz wrote:
 
 
>
> yup, two examples:
>
> German:
> "geärgert" (been )
> - here the second vowel is an umlaut
>
> Quenya - the elven-tongue:
> "ámen anta síra ilaurëa massamma" (give us today the daily our-bread)
> - here the diaeresis is noted on the first vowel at ëa

Don't forget the burning of the Böögg in Zürich at Sächsilüüte.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sechsel%C3%A4uten

--
Paul Johnson - paul@pjcj.net
http://www.pjcj.net

sebb wrote:
> On 14/01/2008, John Douglas Porter <johndporter@yahoo.com> wrote: 
>
> Also naïf and naïve - non-identical vowels.

But isn't that because these two words are straight lifts from French,
where they have this exact spelling? It's not an English thing in this case.

David