Germanic A-mutation - Alternative Ideas

Alternative Ideas

A number of scholars have questioned the traditional model of Proto-Germanic a-mutation in whole or in part. In particular, the rare a-mutation of */i/ to */e/ "as a P-G phenomenon has always been contested." Lloyd, for example, proposed an alternative explanation for all apparent instances of a-mutation of */i/; he suggested that "the partial overlapping in Germanic of the two phonemes /i/ (represented in all environments by ) and /e/ (with the allophones and ) led to the occasional development of an e-allophone of i by systemic analogy". Cercignani, on the other hand, argued that "no 'umlaut' phenomena can be assumed for Proto-Germanic", preferring to ascribe these changes to "the prehistory of the individual languages."