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IE /u/ = GL /u/ if followed by 1) /u/, 2) nasal+consonant, else IE
/u/ = G /o/.

Example: Lat sunus – OE sunu (син) – ModE son.

2.5 Vowel gradation, or Ablaut
Vowel gradation, or ablaut (“ab” means reducing, “laut” –

sound) was inherited by GLs from ancient IE languages. There

are two kinds of vowel gradation: qualitative and quantitative.

Qualitative gradation:

Different vowels appear alternatively in various forms of
one and the same word: in IE /e/ and /o/, in GL /i/ and /a/.

Examples: везу – вози, беру – сбори, Goth hilpan – halp
(preterit sg).

Quantitative gradation:

is represented by the alternation of a short vowel with the

corresponding long one and also alternation of a short vowel
with the zero of the vowel.

Examples: беру – брати, OE findan → P2 fnden → fundan The
origin of gradation has been a matter of discussion for more than

100 years. The prevailing theory is that it might be caused by
different stressed conditions:

– the full stress brings the high degree /o/;

– the weakened stress causes the medium degree /e/;
– the unstressed position results in the zero of a vowel.

In GLs vowel gradation was used most constantly in deriving

grammatical forms of strong verbs.

2.6 The stress system in GLs
In IELs there were two types of stress: musical pitch and

force (dynamic) stress. Besides, in IE the word stress was free.
In the GLs it is fixed. It was discovered that in the course of the

Common Germanic Period word stress came to be fixed on the

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