THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 



89 



From his comparison Grimm finds the changes of the vowels 

 in the Germanic dialects to be " not arbitrary, but on the contrary 

 according to a deeply-rooted but as yet undiscovered law" (Ger. 

 Gram., Vol. I., p. 580). In the consonants, however, " the relations 

 appear more certain and permanent ; dialects whose vowels for the 

 most part differ, retain frequently the same consonants. The four 



liquids (/, m, n, r) are constant Like the liquids run the three 



spirants {v, h, s), essentially unchanged through all the German 



dialects Quite otherwise is it with the other consonants ; a 



marked difference between the High German and all other dialects 

 is revealed. In the labials. Unguals and gutturals, the Goth, tenuis 

 answers to the H. Ger. aspirate, the Goth, media to the H. Ger. 

 tenuis, the Goth, aspirate to the H. Ger. media" (pp. 580-1.) These 

 results he tabulates as follows : 



Goth. . . . 

 O. H. G. 



F 



B(V) 



D 

 T 



Th 

 D 



K G 



Ch K 



A comparison of Germanic with Greek, Latin and Sanskrit 

 consonants leads to an extension of this law. " Even more worthy 

 of remark," he says, " than the agreement of the hquids and spirants 

 is the difference of the lip, tongue and throat sounds [of Greek, Latin 

 and Sanskrit], not only from the Gothic, but also from the Old High 

 German system. Precisely as the Old High German in all three 

 classes has removed one step from the Gothic form, the Gothic was 

 itself already shifted one step from the Latin (Greek, Sanskrit). The 

 Gothic is related to the Latin just as the Old High German to the 

 Gothic :" (p. 584). The whole is arranged in a table thus : 



This law of change is best exemplified in the dental series. 



