122
///-alternation. But there are three stems, viz.
BITTL, LIEGl , SITZl ,
that are
special. True, they show the same repertoire of forms as other stems of the
same class. Compare, e.g.,
t r e t l
and
b i t t
l :
/e:/-form
/i/-form
/a:/-form
/e:/-form
TRET1":
tret
tritt
trat
trat
BITTL:
bet
bitt
bat
bat
What is different in the case of
BITTL
(as compared to
TRETL)
is that the hl-
form is used in all present tense forms of the verb. (Each of the three special
stems has an I-form in III or /i:/ that occurs in the infinitive — bitten, liegen,
sitzen — and another I-form in
lei or
le:l that occurs in the participle —
gebeten, gelegen, gesessen. Hence the Duden-grammar lists three gradations
that are idiosyncratic to these verbs: /i/-/a:/-/e:/, /i:/-/a:/-/e:/, and /i/-/a:/-/e/,
cf. Table 1). But evidently, the difference does not pertain to the make-up of
stem forms but to their function. From a synchronic viewpoint,
BITTL, LIEGL,
SITZ1
may be taken to exhibit what may be called extended application of
e/i-alternation. At all events, the particularity found with these stems does not
pertain to ablaut; there is no 7—»e-ablaut’ (Wurzel 1970: 77).31
HÄNGENW
(cf. Paul 1917: 239f.) provides another case where the ‘secon-
dary present tense stem’ is used in all present tense forms, though in this case
it is formed by means of umlaut. As concerns the make-up of forms,
HÄNGL
(hang, häng, hing) is not different from
FANGL
(fang, fang, fing), which shows
ablaut (/a/—>/i/-altemation) as well as umlaut. Again, there is no exception to
the above finding that, as far as monophthongal bases are concerned, ablaut
requires a change of quality type.
Two more cases have to be mentioned. U-forms may be due to either
simple ablaut (//-ablaut) or full ablaut (//-ablaut). Typical examples are:
fließ^floss (I—>U-altemation, shortening, ablaut form: o-form)
schaff—*schuf (A—>U-alternation, lengthening, ablaut form: //-form)
SCHWÖR1
is a stem that shows o-ablaut, the principle parts of the verb
SCHWÖREN
w being schwören-schwor-geschworen. But dictionaries and
grammars still list the past tense form schwur, usually adding a qualification
such as ‘obsolete’, cf. Drosdowski et al. (1995: 139), or ‘elevated’, cf. Paul
(1917: 235). On account of its vowel, lu:l, schwur must be due to full ablaut.
31 See also Paul (1917: 219, 229) and compare Paul’s comments on cases where /'-forms
have spread to the whole present tense, e.g.,
w ie g e n w
vs. BEWEGENw/ERWÄGENw.
123
Yet the base, which is an I-form, not an A-form, does not fit into the pattern.
Moreover, if schwur (‘past stem’) and schwor (‘participle stem’) are assumed
to coexist as ablaut forms of
SCHWÖRL
in the standard language, then this is a
case where two distinct ablaut forms belong to the same quality type, viz.
U-form — contrary to the general pattem.32
However, this virtually unique situation, if it exists, must be ascribed to a
(not yet complete) changeover from one class to another. In Old High German,
the verb in question is in the sixth class, but it shows a special present tense
formation (Paul 1917: 200). The modem /u:/-form goes back to the sixth class
pattem, but the aberrant base vocalism has caused the verb to leave this class.
In Contemporary German, it is in the second class, i.e., it shows o-ablaut, in
conformance with its base vocalism. The old ablaut form has survived for a
long time, significantly in the case of a verb that, owing to its meaning
(‘swear, vow’), may be expected in solemn or ceremonial speech. However,
its being abandoned or becoming out of date evinces the efficacy of the syn-
chronic regularities.33
While an /u:/-form is an irregular ablaut form if the base is an I-form,
o-ablaut requires an I-base (unless the base is diphthongal). But again there is
one anomalous case.
ERSCHALL
l
is a stem with an A-base and yet it has the
ablaut form erscholl, which, on account of its vowel, h i, must be due to
o-ablaut. The make-up of the ablaut form is inconspicuous, following the
model of verbs of the second class (like
q u e l l
l ;
cf. Middle High German
SCHELLl ).
Again, the base does not fit into the pattern. Actually, the present
tense form is taken over from the corresponding weak verb (see Dt.Wb s.v.
SCHALLENW);
this is a case of suppletion. Moreover, the simple verb
SCHAL-
LENW
usually shows weak forms; the strong past participle is practically miss-
ing. As for
ERSCHALLENW,
grammars recognise both weak and strong forms as
being customary. Diachronically, at least, it is a case of a mixed verb. The
present approach discloses and locates its synchronic anomaly (which con-
cerns the present tense form, not the ablaut form). At all events,
(
e r
)
s c h a l l l
32 A stem that has a U-form as a primary form may still have an umlauted subjunctive form,
the non-umlauted counter part of which would be another U-form (
st erb en
w: stürbe vs.
gestorben).
33 See Forssman (1999) on the diachrony of
s c h w ö r e n
", and also Theobald (1992: 103—
108, 136-139, with references). In the case of
s c h w ö r e n
") past indicative forms in lu:l are
sometimes listed as the only or as the preferred or more common forms (Curme 1922: 313).
Some grammars (e.g., Drosdowski et al. 1995: 135) also list /u:/-forms of the obsolete verb
an h e be n w
‘begin’, but usually not in the case of (AN)
he be n w
‘lift’, and subjunctive forms
in ly.l. Basically, the situation is the same as with
s c h w ö r e n
") but in this case the /u:/-
forms (and /y:/-forms) are definitely archaic.