Summary Details
| Query: |
sum: amendment to the summary of -heit/keit in German
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| Author: | Stefan Ploch | |
| Submitter Email: | click here to access email | |
| Linguistic LingField(s): |
Morphology
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| 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 |
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| LL Issue: | 13.746 | |
| Date Posted: | 21-Mar-2002 | |
| Original Query: | Read original query | |
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