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By Mikhail Kissine

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Query:   sum: amendment to the summary of -heit/keit in German
Author:  Stefan Ploch
Submitter Email:  click here to access email
Linguistic LingField(s):   Morphology

Summary:   Re: Linguist 13.702

Recently, when I posted a summary of the responses I received in answer
to my query re. the distribution of -heit/keit in German, I forgot to
include one answer, i.e., the answer I received from Charley Rowe. My
apologies.

This is the missing answer:

Charley Rowe:

It is morphologically determined and morphophonological in origin.

The current state of affairs:

-keit attaches in all cases to -sam, -bar, and -ig, for example, and
presumably to all other suffixes as well. (Probably you can easily find
a list of suffixes to check this out).

-heit would be the default, attaching onto bare adjectives,
participials, and a few nouns.


-heit is older. It occurs in OHG, and the appearance of -keit is not
until MHG. Grimm says -keit derives from -heit via a reanalysis from
-ic [present-day adj. suffix -ig] + heit. So, e.g., einig + heit >
einicheit > einigkeit. It then spread to all other suffixes (presumably
via analogy) as well, hence -igkeit, -samkeit, -barkeit.

By the way, -heit derives from IE *k?i with the meaning
'bright/illuminated'. In Germanic it could stand alone as a noun with
the meaning 'rank, being, type, class, family' etc.

I do have references for you:

Klaus-Peter Wegera: Wortbildung des Fr?hneuhochdeutschen, in: Werner
Besch, Oskar Reichmann, Stefan Sonderegger (Hrsgg.): Sprachgeschichte.
Ein Handbuch zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und ihrer Erforschung,
Berlin 1984/85, 2. Bd., S. 134-8-1355. S. 1349.

Markus, Stefanie. MA Thesis, Uni. Bochum: "Untersuchungen zur
Wortbildung im Mittelhochdeutschen am Beispiel der Substantiv-Suffixe
-heit/-keit und -ung" (mit Susanne Tersteegen).

In general, Wolfgang Dressler's book _Morphonology_? There may be some
additional pearls of wisdom in there. Further research may be found via
the Bibliographie Linguistique.


- -----------------------------------------------------------------
Dr Stefan Ploch
Senior Lecturer
Linguistics (SLLS)
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Private Bag 3
WITS 2050
South Africa

stefan@linguistics.wits.ac.za (default/Normalfall), or/oder
stefan_ploch@hotmail.com (checked irregularly/wird unregelm??ig
durchgesehen)

http://languages.wits.ac.za/~stefan

LL Issue: 13.746
Date Posted: 21-Mar-2002
Original Query: Read original query


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