Weak inflection
Encyclopedia
In grammar
, the term weak (originally coined in German: schwach) is used in opposition to the term strong
(stark) to designate a conjugation
or declension
when a language has two parallel systems. The only constant feature in all the grammatical usages of the word "weak" is that it forms a polarity with "strong"; there is not necessarily any objective "weakness" about the forms so designated.
s. In this context, "strong" indicates those verbs that form their past tenses by ablaut
(the vocalic conjugations), "weak" those that need the addition of a dental suffix (the consonantal conjugations). It is only in this context that the term would be applied to modern English.
By extension, the terminology was also applied to Germanic nouns. Here too, the weak noun was the consonantal declension, such as the German nouns
that form their genitive in -n. Examples:
Although the term "weak noun" is very useful in German grammar to describe this very small and distinctive group, the term "strong noun" is less commonly heard, since it would have to include many other noun types that should not necessarily be grouped together. Some of these have umlaut
plurals (die Männer), but most do not.
There are also strong and weak declensions of German adjectives
. This differs from the situation in nouns and verbs in that every adjective can be declined using either the strong or the weak declension. As with the nouns, weak in this case means the declension in -n. In this context, the terms "strong" and "weak" seem particularly appropriate, since the strong declension carries more information about case and gender, while the weak declension is used in situations where the definite article already provides this information. Examples:
, most verbs have three consonants known as radicals. These can be strong (able to carry a full syllable) or weak (likely to collapse under the weight of a prefix or suffix). Verbs with a weak radical are termed weak verbs, and form partially regular exceptions to the normal conjugation rule. The consonants he
, waw
, and nun
are among those likely to make a verb weak.
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, the term weak (originally coined in German: schwach) is used in opposition to the term strong
Strong inflection
A strong inflection is a system of verb conjugation or noun/adjective declension which can be contrasted with an alternative system in the same language, which is then known as a weak inflection. The term strong was coined with reference to the Germanic verb, but has since been used of other...
(stark) to designate a conjugation
Grammatical conjugation
In linguistics, conjugation is the creation of derived forms of a verb from its principal parts by inflection . Conjugation may be affected by person, number, gender, tense, aspect, mood, voice, or other grammatical categories...
or declension
Declension
In linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate number , case , and gender...
when a language has two parallel systems. The only constant feature in all the grammatical usages of the word "weak" is that it forms a polarity with "strong"; there is not necessarily any objective "weakness" about the forms so designated.
Germanic grammar
This terminology seems to have been used first in relation to Germanic verbGermanic verb
The Germanic language family is one of the language groups that resulted from the breakup of Proto-Indo-European . It in turn divided into North, West and East Germanic groups, and ultimately produced a large group of mediaeval and modern languages, most importantly: Danish, Norwegian, and...
s. In this context, "strong" indicates those verbs that form their past tenses by ablaut
Indo-European ablaut
In linguistics, ablaut is a system of apophony in Proto-Indo-European and its far-reaching consequences in all of the modern Indo-European languages...
(the vocalic conjugations), "weak" those that need the addition of a dental suffix (the consonantal conjugations). It is only in this context that the term would be applied to modern English.
By extension, the terminology was also applied to Germanic nouns. Here too, the weak noun was the consonantal declension, such as the German nouns
German nouns
A German noun has one of three specific grammatical genders and belongs to one of three declension classes, only partly dependent of gender. A fourth declension is used for plural declension. These features remain unaltered by inflection but must be considered in this process. The grammatical...
that form their genitive in -n. Examples:
- standard noun: der Mann, des Mannes - "man".
- weak noun (or n-declension): der Junge, des Jungen - "boy".
Although the term "weak noun" is very useful in German grammar to describe this very small and distinctive group, the term "strong noun" is less commonly heard, since it would have to include many other noun types that should not necessarily be grouped together. Some of these have umlaut
Germanic umlaut
In linguistics, umlaut is a process whereby a vowel is pronounced more like a following vowel or semivowel. The term umlaut was originally coined and is used principally in connection with the study of the Germanic languages...
plurals (die Männer), but most do not.
There are also strong and weak declensions of German adjectives
German adjectives
In German grammar, the correct inflection of adjectives depends on the case, number and gender of the noun phrase, as well as what kind of determiner introduces the noun phrase.Like articles, adjectives use the same plural endings for all three genders....
. This differs from the situation in nouns and verbs in that every adjective can be declined using either the strong or the weak declension. As with the nouns, weak in this case means the declension in -n. In this context, the terms "strong" and "weak" seem particularly appropriate, since the strong declension carries more information about case and gender, while the weak declension is used in situations where the definite article already provides this information. Examples:
- strong:
- guter Wein (nom)
- guten Wein (acc)
- gutem Wein (dat)
- - adjectives signal case with unambiguous inflections.
- weak:
- der gute Wein (nom)
- den guten Wein (acc)
- dem guten Wein (dat)
- - articles signal case, so adjectives need less inflectional specificity.
Other languages
In other languages the strong-weak polarity is used to express distinctions that may or may not be analogous. In HebrewHebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, most verbs have three consonants known as radicals. These can be strong (able to carry a full syllable) or weak (likely to collapse under the weight of a prefix or suffix). Verbs with a weak radical are termed weak verbs, and form partially regular exceptions to the normal conjugation rule. The consonants he
He (letter)
He is the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician , Aramaic, Hebrew , Syriac and Arabic . Its sound value is a voiceless glottal fricative ....
, waw
Waw (letter)
Waw is the sixth letter of the Northwest Semitic family of scripts, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic ....
, and nun
Nun (letter)
Nun is the fourteenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic alphabet . It is the third letter in Thaana , pronounced as "noonu"...
are among those likely to make a verb weak.
Regularity
The terms "weak" and "strong" rarely overlap with the idea of "regular" and "irregular"; some descriptions of English verbs contrast "weak" with "irregular", but this is misleading. It is true that most English or German weak verbs are regular, whereas Germanic strong verbs, despite the regularity of the system, are normally taught as irregular verbs; but there are also irregular weak verbs in English and German, and in Hebrew the weak verbs are the most irregular ones. In the case of the German noun, the strong noun is the norm, while the weak noun is usually taught as the anomalous form, though in fact it has its own regularity. In the German adjective, both systems are equally regular and equally common.See also
- Strong inflectionStrong inflectionA strong inflection is a system of verb conjugation or noun/adjective declension which can be contrasted with an alternative system in the same language, which is then known as a weak inflection. The term strong was coined with reference to the Germanic verb, but has since been used of other...
- Wiktionary appendix: Irregular English verbs for information on which English verbs belong to the various classes of strong and irregular weak verb.