Osthoff's law
Encyclopedia
Osthoff's law is an Indo-European sound law which states that long vowels shorten when followed by a resonant (PIE
*m, *n, *l, *r, *y, *w), followed in turn by another consonant (i.e. in a closed syllable environment). It is named after German Indo-Europeanist
Hermann Osthoff
who first formulated it.
The law operated in most of the Proto-Indo-European daughter languages, with notable exception being Indo-Iranian
branch in which the difference between long and short PIE diphthongs was clearly preserved.
Compare:
The term Osthoff's law is usually properly applied to the described phenomenon in Ancient Greek, which itself was an independent innovation from similar developments occurring in Latin and other Indo-European languages. However, often it is used in a loose sense, as a cover term referring to all shortening of long diphthongs in closed syllables.
Osthoff's law was in some version valid for Greek, Latin, Celtic and Balto-Slavic, but not for Indo-Iranian and Tocharian. It also probably applied in Germanic, although there is very little evidence to support or refute that claim.
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
*m, *n, *l, *r, *y, *w), followed in turn by another consonant (i.e. in a closed syllable environment). It is named after German Indo-Europeanist
Indo-European studies
Indo-European studies is a field of linguistics dealing with Indo-European languages, both current and extinct. Its goal is to amass information about the hypothetical proto-language from which all of these languages are descended, a language dubbed Proto-Indo-European , and its speakers, the...
Hermann Osthoff
Hermann Osthoff
Hermann Osthoff was a German linguist. He was involved in Indo-European studies and the Neogrammarian school. He is known for formulating the Osthoff's law.- Life :...
who first formulated it.
The law operated in most of the Proto-Indo-European daughter languages, with notable exception being Indo-Iranian
Indo-Iranian languages
The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. It consists of three language groups: the Indo-Aryan, Iranian and Nuristani...
branch in which the difference between long and short PIE diphthongs was clearly preserved.
Compare:
- PIE *dyēws "skyling, sky god" > Vedic dyā́us, but Ancient Greek , with ordinary diphthong.
- PIE *bʰerHǵeh₂ "birch" > PBSl.Proto-Balto-Slavic languageProto-Balto-Slavic is reconstructed proto-language descending from Proto-Indo-European and out of which all later Balto-Slavic languages and dialects descended, such as modern Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish and Russian.The Proto-Balto-Slavic language is not directly attested by any surviving texts...
*bḗrźās (laryngeal regularly dropped and root vowel lengthened) > *béržās > Lithuanian béržas, Serbo-Croatian brȅza (by liquid metathesis)
The term Osthoff's law is usually properly applied to the described phenomenon in Ancient Greek, which itself was an independent innovation from similar developments occurring in Latin and other Indo-European languages. However, often it is used in a loose sense, as a cover term referring to all shortening of long diphthongs in closed syllables.
Osthoff's law was in some version valid for Greek, Latin, Celtic and Balto-Slavic, but not for Indo-Iranian and Tocharian. It also probably applied in Germanic, although there is very little evidence to support or refute that claim.