The History of English Podcast Episode 22: Early Germanic Grammar
Mar 21, 2013
Exploring the evolving grammar of early Germanic tribes and the decreasing use of inflections. Identifying modern English grammar elements within the original Germanic language. Discussing the evolution of verb tenses, weak verbs, noun and pronoun inflections, subtle sound shift, and the impact of stress on multi-syllable words.
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Host Thanks Listeners And Shares Contact
- Kevin thanks listeners for buying the History of the Alphabet series and for feedback via email.
- He invites more reviews and provides his contact: Kevin@historyofenglishpodcast.com.
Inflection Loss Began In Early Germanic
- Early Germanic languages began simplifying Indo-European inflections, reducing complex endings across grammar.
- This loss started a long-term move toward analytic structures like verb phrases replacing many suffixes.
Verbs Kept Only Present And Past
- Germanic languages retained inflections only for present and past tense while other tenses were lost.
- Speakers compensated by creating verb phrases (e.g., will jump), a major step toward modern English structures.