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Vowel Shortening

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A stem with a long vowel may show up with a short vowel in inflected forms, in derivations, and when it is the left-hand member of a compound. Just like Breaking, Vowel Shortening is an irregular process, both as to its contexts and the stems it applies to. Since it has also left its traces in Frisian, it merits a discussion here.

The contexts in which Vowel Shortening occurs are enumerated and exemplified in the overview in (1), which is largely based on Tiersma (1979:71-97):

Vowel shortening in inflected forms: noun plurals

kaam

/ka:m/

comb

kammen

[kamm̩]

combs

faam

maid

laam

lamb

baarch

pig

bân

/bɔ:n/

tyre

bannen

[bɔnn̩]

tyres

hân

hand

lân

land

strân

beach

hûs

/hu:z/

house

hûzen

[huzn̩]

houses

huzen

[hyzn̩]

houses

lûs

louse

mûs

mouse

beest

/be:st/

animal

bisten

[bɪstn̩]

animals

rôt

/rɔ:t/

rat

rotten

[rɔtn̩]

rats

[In a pair like hûs /hu:z/ house ~ huzen [hyzn̩] houses, shortening links up with a qualitative change, viz. between the back vowel /u:/ and the central vowel /y/. The same alternation is found in case these words are involved in derivation and compounding.]

Vowel shortening in inflected forms: verbal forms

lig(e)

/li:ɣ/

to lie, tell a lie

do lychst

[lixst]

[likst]

you lie, you tell a lie

hy lycht

[lixt]

he lies, he tells a lie

ik lygde

[liɣdə]

I lied, I told a lie

wy hawwe lygd

[lixt]

we have lied, we have told a lie

mig(e)

/mi:ɣ/

piss

bried(e)

/briəd/

to fry, to bake, to roast

bliede

bleed

liedesound

ring, toll

riede

advise; guess

sliepe

sleep

do bretst

[brɛst]

you fry, bake, roast

hy bret

[brɛt]

he fries, bakes, roasts

hja bretten

[brɛtn̩]

they fried, baked, roasted

hja hawwe bret

[brɛt]

they have fried, baked, roasted

Vowel shortening in inflected forms: adjectival forms

grut

/ɡr{øə/ø:}t/

big, large, tall

grutte

[ɡrøtə]

big, large, tall (inflected)

grutter

[ɡrøtr̩]

bigger, larger, taller

grutst

[ɡrøst]

biggest, largest, tallest

in grutten ien

[ɡrøtn̩]

a big one

Vowel shortening in derived forms: diminutives

kaam

/ka:m/

comb

kamke

[kamkə]

small comb

faam

maid

laam

lamb

baarch

pig

paad

path, track

bân

/bɔ:n/

tyre

bantsje

[bɔntsjə]

small tyre

hân

hand

lân

land

strân

beach

hûs

/hu:z/

house

hûske

[huskə]

small house

húske

[hyskə]

small house

lûs

louse

mûs

mouse

bêd

/bɛ:d/

bed

bedsje

[bɛtsjə]

small bed

glês

glass

nêst

nest

rêch

back, spine

stêd

town; city

piip

/pi:p/

pipe

pypke

[pipkə]

small pipe

priis

price

tsiis

cheese

wiif

woman; wife; bitch

twa

/twa:/

two

twake

[twakə]

two eggs in one nest

amer

bucket

lape

piece; rag

tafel

table

rôt

/rɔ:t/

rat

rotsje

[rɔtsjə]

small rat

trôch

troug

drúf

/dry:v/

grape

drúfke

[dryfkə]

small grape

skúf

slide

aai

/a:j/

egg

aike

[ajkə]

small egg

kaai

key

[The only cases of shortening of the long vowel /o:/ are found in knoop /kno:p/ button ~ knopke [knopkə] small button, hoon /ho:n/ dog ~ hontsje [hontsjə] small dog, and stoom /sto:m/ steam ~ stomboat [stom#bo.ət] steamboat. It should be noted that knopke and stomboat have become obsolete ‒ today's forms are knoopke and stoomboat, with a long vowel −, whereas hoon ~ hontsje is a dialectal pair (elsewhere: hûn /hu(:)n/ ~ hûntsje [huntsjə]).]

[A tendency concerning the occurrence of Breaking is that when the plural form of a noun shows Breaking, the diminutive tends to do so as well. The implicational relation is thus from plural to diminutive. If there is a comparable tendency as to Vowel Shortening at all, it works just the other way around: if the diminutive shows shortening, the plural form tends to do so as well.]

Vowel shortening in derived forms: diminutive verbs (with -/k/-)

From nouns

gers

/ɡɛ:z/

grass

gersk(je)

/ɡɛsk/

to graze

piip

/pi:p/

pipe

pypk(je)

/pipk/

smoke a pipe

From adjectives

fiis

/fi:z/

dirty, filthy

fysk(je)

/fisk/

to fart

From verbs

aai(e)

/a:j/

to stroke

aik(je)

/ajk/

stroke softly

drav(e)

/dra:v/

to run, to trot

drafk(je)

/drafk/

run along, to trot

gniz(e)

/gni:z/

to smirk (at)

gnysk(je)

/gnisk/

to smirk

gnuv(e)

/gny:v/

to look, to spy

gnúfk(je)

/gnyfk/

to look, to spy

Vowel shortening in derived forms with certain suffixes

With -lik -/lək/

iis

/i:z/

ice

yslik

[islək]

hideous, dreadful

siik

/si:k/

ill

syklik

[siklək]

sickly; morbid

tiid

/ti:d/

time

tydlik

[tidlək]

temporary

hûs

/hu:z/

house

húslik

[hyslək]

domestic

With -te -/tə/

breed

/bre:d/

broad

bridte

[brɪtə]

breadth, width

heech

/he:ɣ/

high

hichte

[hɪxtə]

height; pitch

leech

/le:ɣ/

low

lichte

[lɪxtə]

hollow; valley

grut

/ɡr{øə/ø:}t/

big

grutte

[ɡrøtə]

size

siik

/si:k/

ill

sykte

[siktə]

illness; disease

[If leech means empty, it has the nominalization leechte [le:xtə] emptiness; leechte, however, can also mean hollow; valley, which is the only meaning of lichte.]

[The pair heech /he:ɣ/ high ~ hichte [hɪxtə] height; pitch has the dialectal variant heuch /hø:ɣ/ ~ huchte [høxtə]; this is one of the few instances of shortening of /ø:/.]

With -ens -/əns/

grut

/ɡr{øə/ø:}t/

big

gruttens

[ɡrøtn̩s]

largeness, size

[Sipma (1913:30) mentions the pair siik /si:k/ ill~sikens [sikŋs] illness.]

With -ling -/lɪŋ/

hûs

/hu:z/

house

húsling

[hyslɪŋ]

helve hole (of an axe), handle hole (of a hammer, hoe, etc.)

With -eftich -/ɛftəɣ/

bern

/bɛ:n/

child

berneftich

/bɛn/

childlike; childish

[-eftich has all the morphological properties of a suffix, but phonologically it behaves as a word. berneftich, therefore, is both a derivation and a (kind of) compound.]

With -ich -/əɣ/

haast

/ha:st/

haste

hastich

[hastəx]

hasty

lêst

/lɛ:st/

trouble

lestich

[lɛstəx]

difficult

With -skip -/skɪp/

bliid

/bli:d/

cheerful

blydskip

[blitskɪp]

joy, gladness

With -sk -/sk/

grut

/ɡr{øə/ø:}t/

big; proud

grutsk

[ɡrøtsk]

proud; haughty

With -tich -/təɣ/

fiif

/fi:v/

five

fyftich

[fiftəx]

fifty

sân

/sɔ:n/

seven

santich

[sɔntəx]

seventy

With -t(s)jin -/t(s)jən/

fiif

/fi:v/

five

fyft(s)jin

[fift(s)jən]

fifteen

sân

/sɔ:n/

seven

sant(s)jin

[sɔnt(s)jən]

seventeen

With -de -/də/

fiif

/fi:v/

five

fyfde

[fivdə]

fifth

sân

/sɔ:n/

seven

sande

[sɔndə]

seventh

[fyfde [fivdə] has the (voiceless) variant fyfte [fiftə].]

With -enis -/ənɪs/

begrav(e)

/bəɡra:v/

bury

begraffenis

[bəɡrafənɪs]

burial

With -y -/i/ (in hypocoristics) full form of the name hypocoristic form

Saapke

[sa:pkə]

Sappy

[sapi]

Jabik

[ja:bək]

Jappy

[japi]

Haring

[ha:rɪŋ]

Harry

[hari]

Wibe

[vi:bə]

Wipy

[vipi]

Rinse

[rẽ:sə]

Rinny

[rɪni]

From nouns

baarch

/ba:rɣ/

pig

barg(je)

/barɣ/

make a mess

hûs

/hu:z/

house

ferhúz(je)

/fərhyz/

move (house)

reek

/re:k/

smoke

rik(je)

/rɪk/

to smoke

From adjectives

grut

/ɡr{øə/ø:}t/

big

fergrut(sje)

/fərɡrøt/

to increase; to enlarge

begrut(sje)

/bəɡrøt/

find too expensive; to pity, feel sorry for

[The pairs Rinse [rẽ:sə] ~ Rinny [rɪni] (b3m.) and reek /re:k/ ~ rik(je) /rɪk/ (b3n.) show once more that /ɪ/ is the short counterpart of /e:/ (see the realtion between short /ɪ/ and long /e:/).]

Vowel shortening in compounds

NaN.

The left-hand part

With the noun as such

aai

/a:j/

egg

ai#sykje

/aj/

look for eggs

amer

/a:mər/

bucket

ammer#fol

/amər/

bucketful

bêd

/bɛ:d/

bed

bed#stee

/bɛd/

box bed

bêd

/bɛ:d/

bed

bed#tiid

/bɛd/

bedtime

bôle

/bɔ:lə/

bread; loaf

bol#koer

/bɔl/

breadbasket

hân

/hɔ:n/

hand

han#fol

/hɔn/

handful

hûs

/hu:z/

house

hús#frou

/hyz/

housewife

hûs

/hu:z/

house

hús#hâlding

/hyz/

household

hûs

/hu:z/

house

hús#hin

/hyz/

stay-at-home

tiid

/ti:d/

time

tyd#skrift

/tid/

periodical

piip

/pi:p/

pipe

pyp#skoft

/pip/

short rest

piper

/pi:pər/

pepper

piper#nút

/pipə(r)/

ginger nut

blêd

/blɛ:d/

leaf

bled#side

/blɛd/

page

stêd

/stɛ:d/

town; city

sted#frysk

/stɛd/

Town Frisian

stêd

/stɛ:d/

town; city

sted#hûs

/stɛd/

town hall

stoom

/sto:m/

steam

stom#boat

/stom/

steamboat

With the noun extended

bern

/bɛ:n/

child

berne#boek

/bɛnə/

children's book

bern

/bɛ:n/

child

berne#tiid

/bɛnə/

childhood (days)

bern

/bɛ:n/

child

berne#wein

/bɛnə/

pram

mûs

/mu:z/

mouse

mûze#biter

/muzə/

marsh harrier

mûs

/mu:z/

mouse

mûze#hol

/muzə/

mouse hole

rôt

/rɔ:t/

rat

rotte#krûd

/rɔtə/

rat poison

rôt

/rɔ:t/

rat

rotte#sturt

/rɔtə/

rat's tail

With the noun extended with /s/

stêd

/stɛ:d/

town; city

steds#bern

/stɛds/

urban child

stêd

/stɛ:d/

town; city

steds#hûs

/stɛds/

town hall

Vowel shortening in compounds

tiid

/ti:d/

time

altyd

[ɔltit]

always

tiid

/ti:d/

time

hieltyd

[hiltit]

all the time

tiid

/ti:d/

time

krysttyd

[kristit]

Christmas time

tiid

/ti:d/

time

maityd

[ma.jtit]

spring(time)

extra

It is only the word tiid time which shows up in these compounds. This is an indication that we are dealing with an uncommon pattern here. Besides, the compounds at hand have compound stress, so there is vowel shortening in an unstressed syllable. Just like Breaking, however, shortening is associated with stressed syllables, which renders vowel shortening all the more exceptional here. The adverbs altyd and hieltyd have the variants altiten [ɔltitn̩] and hieltiten [hiltitn̩], in which word-final [-ən] makes for a favourable context for shortening.

Not all instances of shortening mentioned in the above overview are realized by all speakers. There is a great deal of individual and dialectal variation. Shortening is also receding in its spread; there has been extensive leveling, favouring the forms with the same vowel length as the Dutch homophone Tiersma (1979:79). Clearly, shortening no longer is a productive process.

Shortening and Breaking can be characterized as 'functionally equivalent'. This is also evident from the fact that they occur in by and large the same contexts.

extra

Vowel shortening was a common tendency in the whole of the Frisian language area. Tiersma (1979:72-73) gives examples from the (now extinct) East-Frisian dialect of the island of Wangeroog and from the (conservative) Frisian dialect of the town of Hylpen.

extra

One specific form of shortening affects the (long) vowel of the antepenultimate syllable of trisyllabic words, with a stressed final syllable and a penultimate schwa syllable (Tiersma (1979:92), Visser (2000:153-154)). This pattern is exemplified below:

kollesaal	[ˌkoləˈsa:l]	<	[ˌko:lɔˈsa:l]	colossal
liddekant	[ˌlɪdəˈkɔnt]	<	[ˌle:diˈkɔnt]	bedstead
risseltaat	[ˌrɪsl̩ˈta:t]	<	[ˌre:sølˈta:t]	result
tillefoan	[ˌtɪləˈfoən]	<	[ˌte:ləˈfoən]	telephone
tillegram	[ˌtɪləˈɡram]	<	[ˌte:ləˈɡram]	telegram

In order to fit in with the above pattern, the original form of the word gereformeard (Dutch) Reformed, viz. [ɡəˌre:fɔrˈmɪ.ət], had to be diminished by one syllable. This was the fate of the intial, unstressed syllable (bringing the incorporation of initial /ɡ/ into (the onset of) the syllable /(re:)./ in its wake). The vowel of the penultimate syllable, /(fɔr)./, had to undergo reduction (bringing the deletion of final /r/ in its wake). This resulted in the form griffermeard [ˌɡrɪfəˈmɪ.ət] − see Booij (1981:150-151; 1995:130 (footnote 6), 136 (footnote 13)) for the similar realization of the word gereformeerd in Dutch. The word dippetearre [dɪpəˈtjɛrə] < [ˌde:pyˈtjɛrə] delegate, deputy has four syllables, but for the rest it is in accordance with the pattern. The word serieus [ˌsɪriˈjø:s] < [ˌsɪəriˈjø:s] serious shows that also a centring diphthong can take part in shortening, by the deletion of its schwa portion. In the word dikketon [ˌdɪkəˈton] < [ˌdykaˈton] ducat, a silver coin (representing an amount of three guilders and fifteen cents), shortening of /y/ resulted in [ɪ]; this may be indicative of the fact that the close vowels /i,y,u/, despite their short duration, behave as long vowels phonologically.

According to Tiersma (1979:92) this kind of shortening has limited productivity. This is illustrated by the recent loanword kolesterol [ˌko:lɛsto:ˈrɔl] cholesterol, which may be realized as [ˌkoləˈstrɔl]. A likely course of events here seems to be that pre-stress [o:] reduced first, both in quantity and quality: [ˌko:lɛstəˈrɔl]. This form had to be diminished by one syllable (the penultimate schwa syllable): [ˌko:lɛsˈtrɔl]. As can be gleaned from the transcription, this caused the incorporation of /t/ into (the onset of) the final syllable). The vowel of the new penultimate syllable, [(lɛs)], had to reduce (bringing the resyllabification of final /s/ in its wake): [ˌko:ləˈstrɔl]. Finally, the long vowel of the antepenultimate syllable, [o:], underwent shortening: [ˌkoləˈstrɔl].

The initial part tele- [te:lə-] only underwent reduction when secondarily stressed, as in tillefoan [ˌtɪləˈfoən] telephone and tillegram [ˌtɪləˈɡram] telegram. In a word like telekommunikaasje telecommunication, with primary stress on tele-, the realization [*ˈtɪlə-] is out, so that only [ˈte:lə-] is allowed. The decisive role of stress sets this vowel shortening apart from the type of shortening dealt with in this section, for which it is crucial that the shortened vowel is part of a stressed syllable.

extra

Shortening is absent from the context preceding the word-final sequence /-n(s/z}/, where the vowel a) undergoes Vowel Nasalization and b) is systematically long. The noun kâns /kɔ:ns/ [kɔ̃:s] chance, for instance, retains its long vowel in the plural kânsen [kɔ̃:sn̩] [*kɔ̃sn̩] chances and the diminutive kânske [kɔ̃:snkə] [*kɔ̃snkə] small chance.

extra

Some words have either a long or a short vowel, examples of which are provided below:

dwaan	to do
j/a(:)/n	to give
d/ɪ/zze	or	d/e:/ze	this; these
s/ɪ/zze	or	s/e:/ze	to say
l/ɪ/zze	or	l/e:/ze	to lie; to lay (down)
st/ɔ(:)/k	stick
b/i(:)/bel	bible
f/u(:)/gel	bird
f/a/rre	or	f/a:/re	to sail
skr/a(:)/bje	to scrape
gl/i(:)/de	to slide
s/i(:)/kje	look for, search for
f/ɔ/lle	or	f/ɔ:/le	to fall
stj/ɛ/rre	or	stj/ɛ:/re	to die

This alternation is the result of diachronic vowel lengthening or vowel shortening; from a synchronic point of view, however, it is a matter of dialectal variation.

References

Booij, Geert1981Generatieve fonologie van het NederlandsAula paperbacksUtrecht / AntwerpenHet Spectrum
Sipma, Pieter1913Phonology and Grammar of Modern West FrisianLondon, New YorkOxford University Press
Tiersma, Pieter M1979Aspects of the phonology of Frisian based on the language of GrouMeidielingen fan de stúdzjerjochting Frysk oan de Frije Universiteit yn Amsterdam4
Tiersma, Pieter M1979Aspects of the phonology of Frisian based on the language of GrouMeidielingen fan de stúdzjerjochting Frysk oan de Frije Universiteit yn Amsterdam4
Tiersma, Pieter M1979Aspects of the phonology of Frisian based on the language of GrouMeidielingen fan de stúdzjerjochting Frysk oan de Frije Universiteit yn Amsterdam4
Tiersma, Pieter M1979Aspects of the phonology of Frisian based on the language of GrouMeidielingen fan de stúdzjerjochting Frysk oan de Frije Universiteit yn Amsterdam4
Tiersma, Pieter M1979Aspects of the phonology of Frisian based on the language of GrouMeidielingen fan de stúdzjerjochting Frysk oan de Frije Universiteit yn Amsterdam4
Visser, Willem2000Frjemd wurdt eigener. Oer de âlde Frânske lienwurden yn it FryskIt Beaken62141-218

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About this article

Author(s): Willem Visser

Category: Frisian Phonology

Keywords: vowel shorteningbreaking

Version: 1.0, December 2015

Version history:

version	editor(s)	date	remarks
1.0	Willem Visser	December 2015

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