1.3. The word-class adjective

As a word-class adjective stems from the noun used attributively in IE model N+N. Consequently adjective historically had common features with nouns. For example, in old Germanic languages adjectives were declined according to the same types of stems as nouns having thus the same paradigm of declination. In IE nouns and adjectives were declined alike without any distinction in endings.

Though, adjectives started to develop Germanic innovative characteristics as well. To specific features belongs the differentiation of two types of declensions – strong and weak ones. The principles of referring adjectives to the types of declensions also differed from that one of nouns. Adjectives were declined by strong or weak type which depended on syntactic position of one. Weak forms as opposed to strong ones were accompanied by demonstrative pronouns, etc.

Strong declension in the Germanic combines nominal and pronominal endings in one paradigm. It is also called pronominal.

Weak declension of adjectives coincides with a weak declension (-n- stem) of nouns, being formed by the suffixes –en, -on.

Strong/weak types of declensions was not the only innovative feature of the Germanic languages is the formation of the adjectival paradigm. Grammatical categories of Germanic adjective comprised 1) category of number (sg and pl), 2) category of gender; 3) category of case (4-5 case forms); 4) degrees of comparison.

All grammatical categories of Germanic adjective correlated with thos3 of a noun. To specific forms of adjectival paradigm belonged the degrees of comparison.

In PIE there were several suffixes to mark the degrees of comparison. The only IE suffix of a comparative degree which remained productive in Germanic languages is –is, which became –iz (by Verner’s Law) and then in Scandinavian and West Germanic developed to –r (rhotacism). The only superlative suffix which remained productive in Germanic languages is –to- which was used in the combination with the suffix of the comparative degree –is, that together formed –isto.

There were also suppletive forms of degrees of comparison, as far as several adjectives formed degrees of comparison from a different root morphemes.

1.4. The word-class verb

1.4.1. Morphological classification of old Germanic verbs

The Germanic word-class verb is genetically related to the IE model. IE parent language was ascribed a well developed system of a verb which is peculiar of Sanskrit and Old Greek and was inherited by the Germanic languages, though with several losses and innovations.

Te processes that took place in the evolution of a word-class verb can be differentiated into those that Germanic languages share with other IE languages, those common to all Germanic languages and those that characterize a particular Germanic dialect.

Such processes resulted in the formation of well-developed classification of verbs which vary in their morphological features. Thus, like other IE languages, Germanic involved the gradation of vowels in differentiating basic forms of strong verbs. Unlike Indo-European, Germanic developed a dental suffix in building the preterite of weak verbs. The specific feature of East and North Germanic is the formation of the preterite of strong verbs in the second person sg according to the IE perfect with the second ablaut change, only Gothic had reduplication in the strong verbs of Class VII, etc.

Thus, morphological classification of Germanic verbs includes:

1. strong verbs;

2. weak verbs;

3. preterite-present verbs;

4. suppletive and anomalous verbs.

The majority of the old Germanic verbs belonged to the groups of strong and weak verbs (terms proposed by J.Grimm). Strong verbs were inherited from IE with the richness of their forms. Weak verbs are Germanic innovations.

The main difference between strong and weak verbs lies in the way they build the forms of the Present tense, the Preterite (singular and plural) and Participle II. For example, each strong verb has four stem- forms: 1) the present stem; 2) the stem of the preterite singular; 3) the stem of the preterite plural; 4) the stem of the Participle II.

Strong verbs build their principal forms by means of root vowel interchanges (ablaut), to which grammatical endings are added. The use of ablaut in strong verbs is inherited from Indo-European and some ablaut changes correspond to those in the Indo-European parent-language, though, being having undergone certain phonetic modifications specific to Germanic phonetic systems.

Ablaut is a system of vowel gradation both in stem and suffix (i.e. regular vowel variations) in Proto-Indo-European, which was caused by the Indo-European system of accentuation. Each form is characterized by a gradation series (i.e. different sounds that comprise the root of a verb and allow to distinguish the classes of strong verbs).

Ablaut series are well preserved in Gothic. Gothic strong verbs are introduced by seven classes. Each of the classes have peculiar vowel gradation series:

1. in Gothic Class I is formed by the ablaut series e + i, ai, i and i;

2. Class II has identical ablaut changes, but the root is different from that in Class I;

3. Class III is formed by e + sonorant + plosive in Stem I, a in Stem II, u in Stem III and u(o) in Stem IV, instead of a zero ablaut change in the last two stems;

4. in Class IV stems end in a single liquid or a nasal;

5. the prolonged vowel e, which originates from the prolonged form of IE perfect and, perhaps, aorist, is also found in Class V. Thus, in Classes IV and V stem-forms 1 and 2 are opposed as e – a (the feature shared with Classes I-III; but instead of a zero gradation series in stem 3 (as in Classes I-III), Classes IV and V have a quantitative vowel gradation which opposes stems 1 and 3. So, Classes IV and V were inherited from the IE parent-language, but their similarity in the stem-form 3 (the present plural) is a specific Germanic feature.

6. Class VI consists of the verbs whose root morpheme ends in a single consonant; in this class IE vowel gradation o – o: corresponds to Gmc a- o:.

7. Class VII is peculiar to Gothic, and is based on reduplication (i.e. in stem-forms of the preterite an unstressed syllable was added to the root morpheme). Reduplication is not found in other Germanic languages.

All in all the system of strong verbs in Germanic was inherited from PIE and preserved a lot of IE features, which were modified in Germanic. The modifications included 1) the transformation of the original series into the new gradation series caused by the changes in peculiar phonetic environment for the gradation vowels; 2) the splitting of the original gradation series into a number of series caused by the influence of the structure of a root-morpheme on the gradation in the root.

The oldest classes of Germanic strong verbs are Classes I-III; they show correspondences with the IE vowel gradation series. Germanic innovative peculiarity in Classes IV and V is that IE Class VI of strong verbs had quantitative gradation, while in PGmc it transformed into a quantitative-qualitative series. Class VII is specifically Germanic.

Weak verbs are a specifically Germanic innovation. They built the forms of the Past tense and Participle II with the help of the dental suffix –d (-t), the origin of which is uncertain.

Weak verbs were represented by several classes differentiated by means of different stem-suffixes, e.g. in Gothic the group of weak verbs includes 4 classes.

Class I of weak verbs includes verbs with a short stem-syllable/a long open syllable; verbs with a long closed syllable and polysyllabic verbs. Class II comprises denominative verbs with a stem-forming suffix –o-. Class II was rather productive.

Class III has a stem-forming suffix -ai- in Gothic preterite and Participle II, stem-forming suffix is –e- in OHG, etc. In other Germanic languages the linking vowel is absent. Class III is limited in number.

Class IV (-na- / -nō-) is represented in Gothic only.

Among Germanic languages there is the most young one – Afrikaans – which has only weak verbs.

The remaining group of verbs is often referred to as minor.

The most important group among minor verbs are preterite-presents. Preterite-presents are marked by two characteristics: 1) the present tense of these verbs structurally coincides with the preterite of strong verbs: like the strong verbs the preterite-presents have different vowel gradation series in the preterite singular and plural; 2) preterite-presents denoted past actions relevant to the present.

Preterite-presents are represented by 6 classes as far as their forms were built by vowel interchanges. There was a limited number of preterite-present verbs expressing volition, ability, possibility, and necessity.

Suppletive and anomalous verbs were also few in Germanic languages, though frequent in usage. They are marked by individual paradigms, i.e. have different roots to represent different grammatical forms.