296 GERMANIC LANGUAGES 



To the former belong: (1) the first ablaut-series, e. g. O. H. G. 

 infinitive, bizzan, present singular, bizzu, plural, bizzum; preterite 

 singular, beiz, plural, bizzum, participle, gi-bizzan. (2) The verbs 

 with nasal + cons, of the third ablaut series, e. g. O. H. G. bintan, 

 bintu, bintam, bant, buntum, gibuntan. The verbs of this class are 

 of course excepted from Holtzmann's rule for the reason that this 

 rule does not apply to vowels followed by nasal cons. They belong, 

 however, in this connection, since they would naturally affect ana- 

 logical tendencies in the general system of the ablaut. 



The second group consists of (1) the second ablaut-series, e. g. 

 O. H. G. infinitive, ziohan, present singular, ziuhu, plural, zioham, 

 preterite singular, zoch, plural, zugum, participle, gi-zogan. (2) The 

 verbs with liquid + cons, of the third ablaut-series, e. g, O. H. G. 

 werdan, wirdu, werdam, ward, wurtum, giwortan. 



If I have succeeded in removing the obstacles which seemed to be 

 in the path of Holtzmann's rule concerning the West Germanic e, 

 we are entitled to maintain that in regard to the vowels of radical 

 syllables the Gothic vocalism may on the whole be regarded as re- 

 presentative of the Primitive Teutonic period. I venture to believe 

 that many of my colleagues will share with me a feeling of relief on 

 account of the fact that we are no longer obliged to regard the simple 

 and perspicuous vowel-system of the Gothic language as a second- 

 ary outgrowth of the complicated vocalism of the West Germanic 

 languages. 



Our attempt to sustain, with regard to radical syllables, the pri- 

 mary claim of the Gothic language, will find an appropriate supple- 

 ment in the contention that with final syllables matters are similar in 

 that here, too, the Gothic language deserves to be reinstated in the 

 position which it formerly held. 



It is little more now than half a century ago that Rudolph West- 

 phal 1 succeeded in discovering the laws on which in Gothic the treat- 

 ment of vowels and consonants in final syllables depends. As regards 

 the vowels his opinion may briefly be stated thus, that in final syllables 

 original short a and short i are lost, while short u remains. For ex- 

 ample, in the a-declension Goth, wulfs =Sanskr. vrka-s, Gr. XV'KO-S, and 

 in the t-declension, Goth. goste=Lat. hostis; but in the w-declension 

 Goth. swrms=Sanskr. sunu-s. It is scarcely necessary to add that, 

 in Westphal's opinion, Gothic was the oldest representative of the 

 Germanic languages, and that the vowels lost in Gothic were lost also 

 in the other Old Germanic dialects. For about twenty years these 

 views remained unchallenged. *They were shared, e. g. by Wilhelm 

 Scherer in his well known Zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache 



1 Das Auslautsgesetz des Gothischen, Zeitschr. fur vergl. Sprachforschung, vol. n 

 (1853), pp. 161-190. 



