# High German consonant shift

In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift is a phonological development (sound change) that took place in the southern parts of the West Germanic dialect continuum. The shift is used to distinguish High German from other continental West Germanic languages, namely Low Franconian (including standard Dutch) and Low German, which experienced no shift. The shift resulted in the affrication or spirantization of the West Germanic voiceless stop consonants /t/, /p/, and /k/, depending on position in a word. A related change, the devoicing of the voiced stopped consonants /d/, /b/ and /g/, was less widespread, with only the devoicing of /d/ being found in most dialects.
There is no consensus on when the High German consonant shift occurred; it probably began between the 3rd and 5th centuries and was complete before the first written examples in Old High German, the earliest recorded stage of High German, were produced in the 8th century. There is also no consensus on where or how the shift proceeded.
The degree of shift varies within High German. Dialects that experienced the most shift are referred to as Upper German, whereas those that only experienced some are referred to as Central German. Different dialects within Upper and Central German also received different levels of shift, with West Central German exhibiting what is known as the Rhenish fan, a gradual reduction of which consonants are shifted, as one moves north.

## General description

In most accounts, the High German consonant shift consists of two related changes:
* the Proto-West Germanic voiceless stop consonants /t/, /p/, and /k/ spirantize to /s/, /f/, /x/, or else affricate to /ts/, /pf/, /kx/, depending on their position in the word (Tenuesverschiebung). No shift takes place after a fricative (/sp/, /xt/, /st/, /ft/, etc. all remain unchanged) or in the combination /tr/ (/pr/ and /kr/ are still affected);
* the pre-Old High German voiced stop consonants /d/, /b/, and /g/ (Proto-West Germanic /ð/, /β/, and /ɣ/) devoice to the voiceless stop consonants /t/, /p/, and /k/ (Medienverschiebung).
All High German dialects have experienced at least part of the shift of voiceless stops to fricatives/affricates. The shift of voiceless stops to fricatives/affricates has traditionally been used to distinguish different German dialects: Upper German dialects experienced the greatest degree of shift, whereas Central German dialects only experienced a partial shift (other West Germanic languages experienced no shift). Only southern dialects experience the shift of voiced to voiceless stops, with the shift of /d/ to /t/ found in Upper German and in some Central German dialects, while the shift of /b/ to /p/ and /g/ to /k/ is only found consistently in (Old) Bavarian.
Modern standard German is based mostly on East Central German dialects and thus features many but not all of the shifted forms. In particular, of the Medienverschiebung consonants, only the shift of /d/ to /t/ is found in almost all instances in the modern standard. The shift results in characteristic differences between modern standard German and other Germanic languages, such as:
    German Wasser vs. English water, Dutch water, Swedish vatten (German /s/ vs. other Germanic /t/)
    German Zunge vs. English tongue, Dutch tong, Swedish tunga (German /ts/ vs. other Germanic /t/)
    German Schiff vs. English ship, Dutch schip, Swedish skepp (German /f/ vs. other Germanic /p/)
    German Apfel vs. English apple, Dutch appel, Swedish äpple (German /pf/ vs. other Germanic /p/)
    German gleich vs. English like, Dutch gelijk, Swedish lik (German /x/ vs. other Germanic /k/)
    German Tochter vs. English daughter, Dutch dochter, Swedish dotter (German /t/ vs. other Germanic /d/)
Excluding loanwords from Low German and foreign borrowings (e.g. Park from French parc, a doublet of German Pferch, both from Latin parricus), Modern Standard German has retained unshifted /p t k/ only after a fricative (e.g. Stein, English stone) or in the combination /tr/ (e.g. treu, English true).
Another change, the shift of /þ/ (/θ/) to /d/, is sometimes seen as related to the High German consonant shift. However, it also comes to encompass the other continental West Germanic languages. The relation of this change to the second consonant shift, as well as that of another change, that of initial /x/ to /h/, is disputed. Braune and Reiffenstein discount a connection entirely.

## Detailed description
### Shifts to voiceless stops

The result of the shift of the voiceless stops /p t k/ depends on their position in the word. The degree to which the stops are shifted also shows considerable variation between Upper German and Central German dialects. In particular, the shift of /p/ and /k/ in initial position is subject to dialectal variation.
* /t/ shifts
       to /t͡s/ initially, in geminates, and after another consonant:
          Old Saxon tehan : OHG zehan (English ten, modern German zehn)
          Old Saxon herta : OHG herza (English heart, modern German Herz)
          Old Saxon settian : OHG sezzen (English set, modern German setzen)
       to ⟨ʒʒ⟩ after a vowel, simplifying to ⟨ʒ⟩ at the end of a word, as well as frequently after a long vowel:
          Old Saxon etan : OHG ezzan (English eat, modern German essen)
          Old Saxon bîtan : OHG bîzan (English bite, modern German beißen)
          Old Saxon ût : OHG ûz (English out, modern German aus)
       Both shifts to /t/ occur in all High German dialects. However, the Central German Middle Franconian dialects show unshifted final /t/ for neuter pronouns (that, thit, it, wat, allet). Beginning in the 13th century, the fricative /ʒ/ merges with /s/ in most German dialects.
* /p/ shifts
       to /p͡f/ initially, in geminates, and after another consonant:
          Old Saxon piper : OHG pfeffar (English pepper, modern German Pfeffer)
          Old Saxon helpan : OHG helphan/helfan (English help, modern German helfen)
          Old Saxon skeppian : OHG skephen (English scoop, modern German schöpfen)
       to /ff/ after a vowel, simplifying to /f/ at the end of a word, as well as often after a long vowel:
          Old Saxon piper : pfeffar (English pepper, modern German Pfeffer
          Old Saxon grîpan : OHG grîf(f)an (English gripe, modern German greifen)
          Old Saxon skip : OHG scif (English ship, modern German Schiff)
       In Central German Middle and most Rhine Franconian dialects, the shift only takes place after a vowel:
          Different outcomes of /p/, according to Salmons 2018, p. 123 Old Saxon(most) FranconianRest of OHG padpadpfad appelappelapful kampkampkampf helpanhelpan/helpfanhelpfan/helfan opanof(f)anof(f)an upûfûf
       Additionally, some Middle Franconian dialects retain final /p/ in the preposition up.
* /k/ shifts
       to /k͡x/ initially, in geminates, and after another consonant:
          Old Saxon korn : Upper OHG chorn (English corn, modern German Korn)
          Old Saxon werk : Upper OHG werch (English work, modern German Werk)
          Old Saxon wekkian : OHG wecchan (English awake, modern German wecken
       to /xx/ after a vowel, simplifying to /x/ at the end of a word, as well as often after a long vowel:
          Old Saxon brekan : OHG brehhan (English break, modern German brechen)
          Old Saxon juk : OHG joh (English yoke, modern German Joch)
       All dialects shift /k/ to /xx/ after a vowel; only the Upper German Alemannic and Bavarian shift it in other positions:
          Different outcomes of /k/, according to Salmons 2018, p. 123 Old SaxonCentral OHGFar southern OHG kindkindchind starkstarkstarch makonmahhonmahhon ikihih
/p t k/ remained unshifted in all dialects when following the fricative consonants /s/, /f/, and /x/ (examples: OHG spinnan Engl. 'spin', OHG stein Engl. 'stone, OHG naht Engl. 'night'). /t/ likewise remained unshifted in the combination /tr/ (examples: OHG tretan Engl. 'tread', OHG bittar Engl. 'bitter' [from West Germanic *bitra]).

### Shifts to voiced consonants

In the so-called Medienverschiebung, the voiced consonsants /d b g/ devoice to /t p k/. Like the shift to the voiceless stops, the shift to the voiced stops varies by dialect and to some degree by position in the word. In those Upper German dialects that shifted all three stops, there was likely no longer any distinction between voiced and voiceless consonants.
* /d/ > /t/:
          Old Saxon dor : OHG tor (English door, modern German Tor)
          Old Saxon biodan : OHG biotan (no English equivalent, modern German bieten)
          Old Saxon biddian : OHG bitten (English bid, modern German bitten)
       This shift is found in Upper German and most Central German, but in Rhine Franconian only in geminates and word finally.
* /b/ > /p/:
          Old Saxon blōd : Upper OHG pluat (English blood, modern German Blut)
          Old Saxon sibbia : OHG sippa (English sib, modern German Sippe)
       This change is found most consistently in Bavarian, where it takes place in all positions. In Alemannic, it is consistently found word finally and word initially, but b often occurs word-internally. /bb/ shifts to /pp/ in all dialects except in (Central German) Ripuarian.
* /g/ > /k/:
          Old Saxon geban : Upper OHG keban/kepan (English give, modern German geben)
          Old Saxon hruggi : OHG rucki (English ridge, modern German Rücken)
       The change is found in Bavarian and Alemannic, most consistently word-initially, and in Bavarian also word-internally and finally. /gg/ shifts to /kk/ in all dialects except in (Central German) Ripuarian.
The effects of the Medienverschiebung are most visible in the shift of /d/ to /t/; this is the change with the widest spread and the only one that was not partially reversed in the Old High German period. On the other hand, while early Bavarian and Alemannic both show a shift of /g b/ to /k p/, by the 9th century in Alemannic reverts to writing /g/ and /b/ except for the geminated stops (/kk/ and /pp/ rather than /gg/ and /bb/), and in the 10th century, Bavarian also begins to write /g/ and /b/ more often. By the Middle High German period, Bavarian only consistently writes /p/ for single /b/ in word-initial position - the state preserved in modern southern Bavarian dialects.

### Table of changes

Examples of consonant changes resulting from the High German consonant shift, according to Polenz (2020), pp. 44–45 and Schweikle (1996), pp. 129–131 :
| Type of stop | Position | Proto-Germanic/Pre-Old High German Phoneme | Old High German Phoneme | Old High German word | modern standard German equivalent | Old Saxon equivalent | modern English equivalent |
| Voiceless | After vowels | /t/ | /ʒ(ʒ)/ | eʒʒan | essen | etan | eat |
| Voiceless | After vowels | /t/ | /ʒ(ʒ)/ | bîʒan | beißen | bîtan | bite |
| Voiceless | After vowels | /t/ | /ʒ(ʒ)/ | waʒ | was | wat | what |
| Voiceless | After vowels | /p/ | /f(f)/ | offan | offen | opan | open |
| Voiceless | After vowels | /p/ | /f(f)/ | grîfan | greifen | grîpan | gripe |
| Voiceless | After vowels | /p/ | /f(f)/ | ûf | auf | ûp | up |
| Voiceless | After vowels | /k/ | /χ(χ)/ | mahhôn | machen | makôn | make |
| Voiceless | After vowels | /k/ | /χ(χ)/ | brehhan | brechen | brekan | break |
| Voiceless | After vowels | /k/ | /χ(χ)/ | ih | ich | ik | I (Old English ic) |
| Voiceless | Initially, after consonants, and geminated | /t/ | /ts/ | zunga | Zunge | tunga | tongue |
| Voiceless | Initially, after consonants, and geminated | /t/ | /ts/ | herza | Herz | herta | heart |
| Voiceless | Initially, after consonants, and geminated | /tt/ | /ts/ | sezzen | setzen | settian | set |
| Voiceless | Initially, after consonants, and geminated | /p/ | /pf/ | phad | Pfad | pad | path |
| Voiceless | Initially, after consonants, and geminated | /p/ | /pf/ | helphan | helfen | helpan | help |
| Voiceless | Initially, after consonants, and geminated | /pp/ | /pf/ | aphul | Apfel | appul | apple |
| Voiceless | Initially, after consonants, and geminated | /k/ | /kχ/ | Upper German chorn | Korn | korn | corn |
| Voiceless | Initially, after consonants, and geminated | /k/ | /kχ/ | Upper German werch | Werk | werk | work |
| Voiceless | Initially, after consonants, and geminated | /kk/ | /kχ/ | Upper German wec(c)hen | wecken | wekkian | Old English weccen |
| Voiced | All positions | /d/ | /t/ | tohter | Tochter | dohtar | daughter |
| Voiced | All positions | /d/ | /t/ | wetar | Wetter | wedar | weather |
| Voiced | All positions | /d/ | /t/ | bintan | binden | bindan | bind |
| Voiced | All positions | /d/ | /t/ | alt | alt | ald | old |
| Voiced | All positions | /dd/ | /tt/ | bitten | bitten | biddian | bid |
| Voiced | All positions | /b/ | /p/ | Upper German peran | (ge)bären | beran | bear |
| Voiced | All positions | /b/ | /p/ | Upper German sipun | sieben | sibun | seven |
| Voiced | All positions | /b/ | /p/ | Upper German lîp | Leib | lîf | life |
| Voiced | All positions | /bb/ | /pp/ | sippa | Sippe | sibbia | Old English sib |
| Voiced | All positions | /g/ | /k/ | Upper German kast | Gast | gast | guest |
| Voiced | All positions | /g/ | /k/ | Upper German stîkan | steigen | stîgan | Old English stîgan |
| Voiced | All positions | /g/ | /k/ | Upper German tac | Tag | dag | day |
| Voiced | All positions | /gg/ | /kk/ | rucki | Rücken | hruggi | ridge |
* ↑ The precise value of this sound is unknown, but it was distinct from the sound written 
 (Braune & Reiffenstein 2004, pp. 167–168). Although often written as <ʒ> in modern grammars and textbooks, in original Old High German and Middle High German texts, it was usually written <z> and thus not distinguished from the affricate /ts/ (Braune & Reiffenstein 2004, p. 15)(Paul, Wiehl & Grosse 1998, p. 31).
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 The pre-Old High German phonemes /d/, /b/, /g/ are the results of an earlier shift of West Germanic /ð/ /β/ and /ɣ/ in all positions (Fulk 2018, p. 134).

## Chronology

There is no agreement about the time period in which the High German consonantal shift took place. Its completion is usually dated to just before the earliest attestations of Old High German (8th century CE). The change affects geminate consonants in a different manner than simple consonants, indicating that West Germanic gemination predated it; the gemination is usually dated to the 5th century CE. Additionally, Latin loanwords adopted into the language prior to the 6th century display the shift, whereas those adopted from the 8th century onward do not. The relative chronology of the different changes remains poorly understood. It is usually argued to have begun with /t/, then moved to /p/, then to /k/.

## Geographical distribution

Although the boundaries of the dialects have shifted since the Old High German period, the degree to which dialects underwent the High German consonant shift continues to form the basis for differentiating the different modern German dialects, and, in particular, for the division between Central German dialects, which have fewer shifted consonants, and Upper German dialects, which have more. The gradually increasing application of the shift from north to south is most extensive in the west. Here, the isoglosses defined by the occurrence of individual shifts are spread out in a fan-like manner, forming the Rheinischer Fächer ('Rhenish fan').
The northern border for the occurrence of the shift of /t/ to /(t)s/ in all positions (except in absolute final position in pronouns like dat, wat and the neuter ending -t) and the shift of /p/ and /k/ to /f/ and /x/ in intervocalic and root-final position is the Benrath line that separates the High German dialects to the south from the Low Saxon and Low Franconian dialects to the north. Further north, the consonant shift is only found with the adverb auch 'also' and a handful of pronouns that have final /k/ shifted to /x/ (ich 'I', dich 'thee', mich 'me') in the South Low Franconian dialect area, with the Uerdingen line as its northern border.
The shift of /p/ to /f/ after consonants (e.g. helpan > helfen 'help') sets off Moselle Franconian dialects from Ripuarian dialects with the latter having retained unshifted /p/. The shift of /t/ to /s/ in wat, dat > was, das etc. characterizes Rhine Franconian. The shift of root-initial and historically geminated /p/ to /pf/ (Pund > Pfund 'pound', Appel > Apfel 'apple') marks the transition from the West Central German to the Upper German dialects. East Central German is separated from West Central German through having shifted initial p (the "Pund-Fund" line); only far southern East Central German dialects retain initial /pf-/, whereas other East Central German dialects have simplified it to initial /f-/. The shift of root-initial and historically geminated /k/ to /kx/ (and further to /x/, as in Kind > Chind) occurs in the southern part of the Upper German dialect area.
Scope of the High German consonant shift in the major continental West Germanic dialect groups (Schrijver 2014, pp. 97–104) :
| | -C(-) /t/ > /s/ | #C- /t/ > /ts/ | -CC- /tt/ > /ts/ | -[l/r]C- /tt/ > /ts/ | -C# /t/ > /s/ | -C(-) /p/ > /f/ | #C- /p/ > /pf/ | -CC- /pp/ > /pf/ | -[l/r]C- /p/ > /pf/ | -C# /p/ > /f/ | -C(-) /k/ > /x/ | #C- /k/ > /kx/ | -CC- /kk/ > /kx/ | -[l/r]C- /k/ > /kx/ | -C# /k/ > /x/ |
| Low Saxon / North Low Franconian | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
| South Low Franconian | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y |
| Ripuarian | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | Y |
| Moselle Franconian | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | N | Y | N/Y | Y | N | N | N | Y |
| Rhine Franconian | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y |
| East Central German | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y |
| Upper German | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N/Y | N/Y | N/Y | Y |
| ↑ Only in *wat, *dat etc. ↑ In most dialects /f/ ↑ Only in *u(ː)p ↑ Only in *ik, *dik, *mik, *auk ↑ Only in the southeastern half of the Moselle Franconian area ↑ /pf/ only in the south, northern and central dialects have /f/ ↑ A small transitional area in Thuringia has shifted /pf/ ↑ Only in the southern part, in Swiss varieties mostly /x/ ↑ Only in the southern part ↑ Only in the southern part ||||||||||||||||||