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VIII.—“Free” and “Checked” Vowels in Gallic Popular Latin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2020

Extract

My reason for offering the present contribution to a subject no longer considered as affording opportunities for remarkable discoveries is the following: Among the characteristic terms employed by students of Old French philology there are two which, consecrated by long usage, occur more frequently, probably, than any others. These two are “free “(frei, libre) and “checked” (gedeckt, entravé); they are used to refer to the position of vowels in Popular Latin, the vowel being called “free” when standing before a single consonant or certain consonant combinations, “checked” in other circumstances. Now I dare say that there is no definition of such fundamental importance which betrays more inconsistencies and difficulties to the careful scholar than does this one as stated in its present form in the various manuals on Old French. After seeking in vain either to find any single definition that seemed satisfactory or to combine the statements of different scholars into one comprehensive presentation of the point in question, I concluded that there must be something radically wrong with the traditional method of expressing the definition, and determined to make an independent investigation of the whole matter.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1895

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References

page 306 note 1 Grammatik des Altfranzösischen, 2nd edition, § 55.

page 306 note 2 Romania, x, 37.

page 306 note 1 I and U maintain their original forms under all circumstances, and consequently are of no assistance in a consideration of the present topic. They will be spoken of only in my conclusions. Cf. p. 333.

page 306 note 1 For the quality of the E, cf. Meyer-Lübke, Grammaire des Langues Romanes, I, 246.

page 306 note 2 For this form, cf. Schwan, Gram., § § 40, 65 and 534, 2; Körting, Der Formenbau des Französischen Verbums, p. 239.

page 306 note 3 For the interchange of -ieu, -iu and -eu in Old French, cf. Suchier, Altfranzösische Grammatik, p. 54. Havet, in Romania, III, 332, says that because deu assonances with e, deu must be < dieu and not vice versa.

page 306 note 4 Cf. Romania, VII, 593.

page 306 note 1 Cf. Romania, X, 40.

page 306 note 2 These words keep Latin I in Italian also; cf. Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, VIII, 180-181.

page 306 note 3 Cf. Romania, IX, 126.

page 306 note 4 In which cases the results are different for A, E and o, as will be explained under III, 2, cf. pp. 319 and 324; results are the same, however, for E and o, as is noted under I, 4, p. 314, and III, 1, p. 315.

page 306 note 5 Cf. Seelmann, Die Aussprache des Latein, pp. 139 and 149.

page 306 note 6 For mal, car, etc., cf. Schwan, Gram., § 75. Ja and estas are probably latinisms.

page 306 note 7 LL, RR, RL, LR constitute checked position: vallem > val, terram > terre, Carolus > Charles, *perlam > perle; between L and R a d is intercalated in French: colere > colre > coldre. The same insertion of d takes place in the case of MR, SR, etc. Cf. Schwan, Gram., §§ 230, 4; Gutheim, Ueber Konsonanten-Assimilation im Französischen, p. 88; Passy, Étude sur les Changements Phonétiques, § 534.

page 306 note 8 Cf. Gram. d. lang. rom., I, 445.

page 306 note 1 For the change of U to o in this word, cf. Havet in Romania, VI, 433-436. His explanation is not accepted in all particulars by Paris in Ibid., x, 49, f. n. 4.

page 306 note 2 Cf. Körting, Wörterbuch, No. 5338.

page 306 note 3 Cf. Körting, Wtb., No. 6508.

page 306 note 4 Loutre is > luttra not lutra; cf. Romania, x, 42.

page 306 note 5 Cf. Suchier, Gram., p. 43.

page 306 note 6 Cf. Ibid., p. 55.

page 306 note 7 Saint Leger, 90.

page 306 note 8 In SAECULUM, *aboculum the consonant before L is a palatal, but does not develop as palatals usually do, hence the words are half learned. The and o in them diphthongize, however, and therefore I place them here. Regularly the French derivatives would be ∗ sieil, *avueil; cf. Romania, XVIII, 157.

page 306 note 9 Gram., § 55, 2.

page 306 note 10 Gram., § 167.

page 306 note 1 Konsonant.-Assim., p. 69.

page 306 note 2 Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 439.

page 306 note 3 Ibid., I, 442.

page 306 note 4 Cf. Neumann, Zur Laut- und Flexions-lehre des Altfranzösischen, p. 110.

page 306 note 5 Cf. Schwan, Oram., § 108.

page 306 note 6 Cf. Schwan, Oram., § 75, 2; Gutheim, Konsonant.-Assim., p. 71; Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 230.

page 306 note 7 Cf. Bartsch et Horning, La Langue et la Littérature Françaises, p. 39, § 158.

page 306 note 8 Cf. Suchier, Gram., p. 49; Paris, L’ Accent Latin, p. 97.

page 306 note 9 Zeitschrift für Romanische Philologie, XII, 197.

page 306 note 10 Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 125.

page 306 note 1 For which cf. Méyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 42, § 19; Italienische Grammatik, § 11; Gutheim, Konson.-Assim., p. 71, and especially Ascoli in Arehivio Glottologico Italiano, x, 1-17.

page 306 note 2 Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 480.

page 306 note 3 Konson.-Assim., p. 58.

page 306 note 4 Zt. f. Rom. Phil., XII, 207.

page 306 note 5 Gram., p. 55. For the later forms of the words, riule, ruile, tiule, tuile, cf. Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 116; règle is evidently learned; for reille cf. this paper, III, 3, p. 325.

page 306 note 6 Cf. Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 134; Bartsch et Horning, La Langue, etc., § 72; Romania, x, 42.

page 306 note 7 Cf. Suchier, Gram., p. 16.

page 306 note 8 Zt. f. Rom. Phil., III, 562.

page 306 note 9 Laut -und Flex., p. 48.

page 306 note 10 Cf. Körting, Wtb., No. 7779.

page 306 note 11 For the discussion cf. Marchesini in Studj di Filologia Romanza, II, 3; Meyer-Lübke in Zt. f. Rom. Phil., xi, 578; Paris in Romania, XIX, 124; Mackel, Die Germanischen Elemente in der Französischen und Provenzalischen Sprache, p. 24.

page 306 note 1 Archiv für Lateinische Lexicographie, I, 245.

page 306 note 2 There is some question as to this development for o in Ile-de-France. Cf. Suchier, Gram., pp. 64 and 73, where he claims it for this territory also. Schwan gives it for + M but doubts it for o + N; cf. his Gram., I 102, 2.

page 306 note 3 Cf. this paper, I, 3, b, p. 311.

page 306 note 4 Cf. Zt. f. Rom. Phil., XII, 194.

page 306 note 5 Cf. Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 468 and 268. For dialect forms of oleum cf. Matzke, Dialectische Eigenthümlichkeiten in der Entwickelung des Mouillierten L im Altfranzösischen, p. 92.

page 306 note 1 Cf. Körting, Wtb., Nos. 4776 and 8383; also Romania, v, 68.

page 306 note 2 Cf. Schwan, Gram., § 56, anm; Bartsch et Horning, La Langue, etc., § 63; Suchier, in Gram., § 33, in Le Français Et Le Provençal, p. 85, in Grundriss der Romanischen Philologie (Gröber), I, 601.

page 306 note 3 For this word cf. Grundriss, I, 361, § 15; Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 224, Ital. Gram., § 50; Förster, Romanische Studien, rv, 53; Waldner, Die Quellen des Parasitischen I im Altfranzösischen, p. 19.

page 306 note 1 Gram., § 91, 2.

page 306 note 2 Bartsch et Horning, La Langue, etc., § 32.

page 306 note 3 Zur Geschichte des Lateinischen C vor e und I im Romanischen, p. 22.

page 306 note 4 Gram., p. 27.

page 306 note 5 Ibid., p. 75, § 49.

page 306 note 6 Parasit. I, p. 31.

page 306 note 7. Zt. f. Rom. Phil., III, 502.

page 306 note 8 Cf. Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 472; Bartsch et Horning, La Langue, etc., § 21.

page 306 note 9 For statements as to the open quality of the accented vowel of these words, and its development > iei > i, cf. Grundriss, I, 361, § 15; 500, § 12; 524, § 48; Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 32 and 244, Ital. Gram., § 50; Thomsen, Romania, V, 67; Canello, Zt. f. Rom. Phil., I, 511; Förster, ibid., III, 502 and 513; Schwan, ibid., XII, 194; Horning, Lat. c, p. 22; Suchier, Gram., p. 61. For cl > gl in église cf. Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 442.

page 306 note 1 Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 158.

page 306 note 2 Lat. C, p. 22; Bartsch et Horning, La Langue, etc., p. 12, § 32.

page 306 note 3 Gram., p. 27.

page 306 note 4 Gram., § 92.

page 306 note 5 On the development of o > (uoi > uei >) ui, cf. the references given in foot-note to III, 1, p. 315. Havet in Romania, III, 336, ss., supposed that for oi to become ui it passed through the stages öi, oi. Schuchardt in ibid., IV, 119, proposed oi > uoi > ui. Thomsen adopted this development in ibid., V, 64 and 74; cf. ibid., XI, 605.

page 306 note 1 Cf. Waldner, Parasit. I, p. 32; Havet in Romania, III, 336; Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 290.

page 306 note 2 Cf. Suchier, Gram., pp. 64, § 35 and 75, § 48.

page 306 note 3 Cf. Bartsch et Horning, La Langue, etc., § 62; this paper, I, 4, p. 314.

page 306 note 4 Mackel in Germ. Elem., p. 21, says essoigne is < German sünja and that soin is formed on soignier.

page 306 note 5 Cf. Schwan, Gram., § 101.

page 306 note 6 Cf. Bartsch et Horning, La Langue, etc., § 64; Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 204, Ital. Gram., § 66.

page 306 note 7 Cf. III, 1 throughout.

page 306 note 8 Cf. Suchier, Fr. et Prov., p. 31, Grundriss, I, 576.

page 306 note 1 Cf. Darmesteter, Grammaire Historique de la Langue Française, 1ère Partie, Phonétique, p. 133; Suchier, Gram., p. 63, § 40.

page 306 note 2 For a résumé of the discussions on the development of this form, cf. Rydberg, Le Développement de Facere dans les Langues Romanes, p. 33.

page 306 note 3 Plaire' and taire may be later than plaisir, taisir. Cf. Suchier, Fr. et Prov., p. 104, Grundriss, I, 610.

page 306 note 4 Aigle and alaigre should probably be classed here also.

page 306 note 5 Gr. d. Lang. rom., I, 210.

page 306 note 6 Konson-Assim., p. 54.

page 306 note 7 Cf. Matzke, Moul. L, p. 68.

page 306 note 1 Cf. Rydberg, Dével. de Facere, p. 32.

page 306 note 2 Cf. Marchot, Solution de quelques Dificultés de la Phonétique Françoise, p. 33; Suchier, Fr. et Prov., p. 43, § 13, Grundriss, I, 582, Gram., p. 39; Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 221.

page 306 note 3 Cf. Ten Brink, Dauer und Klang, pp. 15-19.

page 306 note 4 For this etymology cf. Bugge in Romania, IV, 367. Schuchardt, in Zt. f. Rom. Phil., xiv, 183, posits for Old French malves, (é) a *malifatus, forming the latter upon the model of a bonifatus, an example of which he cites.

page 306 note 5 Cf. Romania, xviii, 534.

page 306 note 6 Cf. Romania, xviii, 551.

page 306 note 7 Fr. et Prov., p. 148, Grundriss, I, 631, § 70.

page 306 note 8 Grant., § 251, 2, anm. 2.

page 306 note 9 The last scholar to discuss the point is Horning, in Zt. f. Rom. Phil., xviii, 232-242. His article does not seem to me conclusive. The word abaye < abbatiam, not mentioned in any of the above discussions, is probably a formation on forms like foleie.

page 306 note 1 Developments of the suffix -arium are not mentioned here since they are irregular and, up to the present, not satisfactorily explained. A résumé of the state of the entire question, and a suggestion of a new solution were given by Marchot in Solution, etc., pp. 11-32 (his own explanation being republished in Zt. f. Rom. Phil., XVII, 288). Meyer-Lübke in Literaturblatt für Germ. und Roman. Phil., 1894, pp. 11-13, pronounces Marchot's explanation a failure. Marchot returns to the question in Zt. f. Rom. Phil., xix, 61-70.

page 306 note 2 Cf. Suchier, Gram., p. 49, 4.

page 306 note 3 Cf. Romania, v, 67.

page 306 note 4 Cf. Zt. f. Rom. Phil., XII, 197.

page 306 note 6 Gram., p. 26.

page 306 note 6 Cf. Cohn, Die Suffixwandlungen im Vulgärlatein, pp. 285-291.

page 306 note 7 Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 122, says the quantity of the tonic I of this word is uncertain. Suchier explains the retention of the first I by the influence of the second. Cf. his Gram., p. 26.

page 306 note 1 Cf. Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., II, 93.

page 306 note 2 Zt. f. Rom. Phil., xv, 240.

page 306 note 3 Cf., for example, Zt. f. Rom. Phil., VI, 264.

page 306 note 4 Romania, xiv, 575; cf. ibid., xvii, 95.

page 306 note 5 Cf. Romania, vi, 133; Suchier, Gram., p. 26.

page 306 note 6 On this section, E + tj, cf. references given in III, 2, b, A + tj, p. 320, and in addition, Suchier, Gram., p. 26.

page 306 note 7 Cf. Romania, xix, 592.

page 306 note 1 On this development cf. Waldner, Parasit. I, p. 29; Marchot, Revue des Langues Romanes, 1894, p. 182; Meyer, Romania, 1894, p. 611.

page 306 note 2 Cf. Suchier, Gram., p. 11.

page 306 note 3 Gram., p. 34.

page 306 note 4 Cf. Zt. f. Rom. Phil., xviii, 233. Curiously enough, Ascoli, in Arch. Glot. It., x, 84, says puiser is formed on puits!

page 306 note 5 Cf. Suchier, Gram., p. 11; Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 147.

page 306 note 6 Cf. Bartsch et Horning, La Langue, etc., § 75; for estuire cf. Romania, VI, 129, 255.

page 306 note 7 Cf. Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 144.

page 306 note 8 Cf. Zt. f. Rom. Phil., III, 502.

page 306 note 1 Gram., pp. 40 and 58. Cf. Meyer-Liibke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 139, It. Gram., § § 58 and 78; Schwan, Zt. f. Rom. Phil., xii, 197.

page 306 note 2 Grundriss, I, 361, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 455, Zt. f. Rom. Phil., x, 173.

page 306 note 3 Cf. Romania, XI, 605.

page 306 note 4 Cf. Waldner, Parasit. I, p. 21; Darmesteter, Gram. Hist., p. 137. For irregularities in the developments cf. Waldner, o. c., p. 32; Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 290; Zt. f. Rom. Phil., xv, 522.

page 306 note 5 The date and the manner of the nasalization of the French vowels, the difference between ai, ēi and ω (< o) are as yet open questions. Cf. Suchier, Fr. et Prov., p. 31, Grundriss, I, 576, Gram., p. 61. Some useful references may be found also in an article by Koschwitz in Compte Rendu du Congrès Scientifique International des Catholiques (Paris, 1891, Picard, Ed.), pp. 16-20.

page 306 note 1 For graisle, fraiste, cf. Romania, xv, 620; Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 478; Matzke, Moul. L, p. 91.

page 306 note 2 Cf. Gutheim, Konson.-Assim., p. 58.

page 306 note 3 For the initial o of orteil, cf. Arch. Glot. It., X, 270.

page 306 note 4 Cf. Gröber, Arch. f. Lat. Lex., V, 235.

page 306 note 5 Gram., p. 26.

page 306 note 6 Cf. Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 126.

page 306 note 7 For the r in vrille, cf. Zt. f. Rom. Phil., I, 481; Romania, III, 160 and VI, 133.

page 306 note 1 Cf. Cohn, Suffixwandl., pp. 152, 211 (−īculam for -iculam), p. 171 (−īculam for -eculum; here cf. Schuchardt, Der Vokalismus des Vulgärlateins, I, 286), p. 154 (−īliam for -iliam). Meyer-Lübke, Or. d. lang. rom., I, 126, mentions a substitution of -iliam for -iculam, without, however, specifying the quantity of the I in either case.

page 306 note 2 Cf. Suchier, Gram., p. 26; Cohn, Suffixwandl., pp. 152, 229; Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 107.

page 306 note 3 For the initial g, cf. Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 380.

page 306 note 4 Cf. I, 5, p. 314.

page 306 note 1 Cf. Schuchardt, Vokalismus, I, 105.

page 306 note 2 Cf. this paper, III, 1 and 2.

page 306 note 1 Cf. Matzke, Moul. L, p. 69.

page 306 note 1 For which cf. the following: Bartsch et Horning, La Langue, etc., § 32; Romania, XVIII, 156; Schwan, Gram., § 91, 2, anm. Suchier, Gram., pp. 44 and 17, Fr. et Prav., p. 148, Grundriss, I, 631; Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 158; Gröber in Miscellanea di Filologia e Linguistica (In Memoria di Caix e Canello), p. 46, Zt. f. Rom. Phil., xi, 287; Horning, Lat. c, p. 22; Ascoli, Arch. Glot. It., x, 84.

page 306 note 2 Cf. Meyer-Lübke, Gr. d. lang. rom., I, 145; Schwan, Gram., § 13; Romania, x, 398; Arch. f. Lot. Lex., iv, 134; Suchier (see references in preceding foot-note).