Books by Roland Schuhmann
Der Sammelband umfasst Beiträge von Schülern, Mitarbeitern und Weggefährten der Indogermanistin u... more Der Sammelband umfasst Beiträge von Schülern, Mitarbeitern und Weggefährten der Indogermanistin und Linguistin Rosemarie Lühr, die die vielfältigen Forschungsinteressen der Jubilarin widerspiegeln. Die Aufsätze reichen thematisch von der Textphilologie und Graphematik über die traditionelle Indogermanistik bis zu Syntaxuntersuchungen im generativen Paradigma und Forschungen zur Informationsstruktur. Der Band dokumentiert damit den fächerübergreifenden Lehr- und Forschungsansatz von Rosemarie Lühr und zeigt, welche Möglichkeiten sich bei einem interdisziplinären Ansatz für alle beteiligten Forschungsdisziplinen eröffnen können.
Der Sammelband umfasst Beiträge von Schülern, Mitarbeitern und Weggefährten der Indogermanistin u... more Der Sammelband umfasst Beiträge von Schülern, Mitarbeitern und Weggefährten der Indogermanistin und Linguistin Rosemarie Lühr, die die vielfältigen Forschungsinteressen der Jubilarin widerspiegeln. Die Aufsätze reichen thematisch von der Textphilologie und Graphematik über die traditionelle Indogermanistik bis zu Syntaxuntersuchungen im generativen Paradigma und Forschungen zur Informationsstruktur. Der Band dokumentiert damit den fächerübergreifenden Lehr- und Forschungsansatz von Rosemarie Lühr und zeigt, welche Möglichkeiten sich bei einem interdisziplinären Ansatz für alle beteiligten Forschungsdisziplinen eröffnen können.
Papers by Roland Schuhmann
Germanisches Altertum und Europäisches Mittelalter. Gedenkband für Heinrich Beck. Herausgegeben von Wilhelm Heizmann und Jan Alexander van Nahl (RGA Ergänzungsbände 142). Berlin/Boston, 2023
In the article, four words found in the synchronic dictionaries of Old High
German are examined w... more In the article, four words found in the synchronic dictionaries of Old High
German are examined with regard to evidence, word formation and etymology: a. a new etymology is proposed for OHG renula f. ‘muscle’; b. the lemma OHG rosa f. ‘coarse coat’ is changed into ruosa, whereby the path of linguistic borrowing is followed; c. it is argued that the lemma OHG *skarno m. ‘(real) hemlock’ should be deleted from the dictionaries; d. OHG skeckunga f. ‘cot, stretcher’ is probably better changed to skeckung, but the assessment of the evidence remains difficult.
Mirjam Marti Heinzle & Luzius Thöny (Hg.), Swe gameliþ ist. Studien zur vergleichenden germanischen Sprachwissenschaft. Festschrift für Ludwig Rübekeil zum 65. Geburtstag, 35-40. Heidelberg: Universtitätsverlag WINTER, 2023
In the following article, two problems in two Gothic/East Germanic inscriptions are adressed: the... more In the following article, two problems in two Gothic/East Germanic inscriptions are adressed: the inscriptions on the torc of Pietroassa and on the lance head of Kovel. Firstly, the interpretation of the sequence gutanio on the torc of Pietroassa as gutani o 'inheritance of the Goths' is strengthened by the reference to the personal name Vithimiris, which also shows early -ī- for Biblical Gothic -ē-. Secondly, the traditional reading tilarids of the Kovel inscription is questioned in favour of the reading tilariþs, proposed already a few times in the past.
Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik, 2020
It is shown that the lemma Old High German skruba that is generally found in the dictionaries is ... more It is shown that the lemma Old High German skruba that is generally found in the dictionaries is a mistake for skuoba and that its meaning is not ‘scrubber’ but rather 'leather (skin)' or perhaps 'scraper'.
The Finnburg Fragment has been subject to manifold emendations in scholarly literature compared t... more The Finnburg Fragment has been subject to manifold emendations in scholarly literature compared to the version that was printed by Hickes. In this article two passages will be closely examined. The traditional interpunction in lines 13–17 is refuted and so is, as a result, the interpretation that Sigeferð and Eaha is an apposition to drihtlice cempan; they are rather seen as the subject of following hyra sword getugon. This solves the problem of the different prepositions to and æt in the text, as well as the question to whom him relates. In lines 18–20 it is shown that the text rendered by Hickes, which was subjected to multiple changes in the editions, can be defended as correct. As a consequence, gūþhere cannot be understood as a personal name but must be an appellative ‘army’ and he is another instance of the rare nominative plural form of the pronoun.
There is a growing acceptance that many words in the Germanic languages cannot be etymologized pr... more There is a growing acceptance that many words in the Germanic languages cannot be etymologized properly: it is assumed that a large part of the Germanic lexicon is of substrate origin. In this article a few such words are examined. It will be shown that in each case an Indo-European origin can be made likely, and the idea that they are borrowed from an unknown substrate language has to be dismissed, thus casting doubt on the idea of a vast substrate influence in the Germanic lexicon.
The last part of the runic inscription on the recently found bracteate of Trollhättan II‑C reads ... more The last part of the runic inscription on the recently found bracteate of Trollhättan II‑C reads wraitalaþo. It is proposed in this article that this sequence is best divided into wrait a laþo with the meaning ‘I wrote laþu in(to)’.
In this paper, the recently discovered Codex Bononiensis is linguistically analysed. First, the s... more In this paper, the recently discovered Codex Bononiensis is linguistically analysed. First, the scribal practice (abbreviations), some phonological features and the grammar in the fragment will be compared with what is found in standard Biblical Gothic. Second, the newly transmitted words (agisleiks*, dagands*, fairjan*, jiuht[s]*, skaps*, liuþ* and leiks) will be dealt with etymologically.
Ausgehend von der Annahme, dass es einen Zusammenhang zwischen Schrei-berschulen und einer regelm... more Ausgehend von der Annahme, dass es einen Zusammenhang zwischen Schrei-berschulen und einer regelmäßigen Setzung von Interpunktionszeichen gibt, werden zwei Inschriftenkorpora überprüft: 1. Die Runeninschriften und 2. Die venetischen Inschriften. Während für das erste Korpus Schreiberschulen ausgeschlossen werden können, sind im zweiten Korpus die Interpunktionszeichen regelmäßig. Scheinbar fehlerhafte Interpunkti-onssetzungen beruhen dagegen auf schwankenden Syllabifizierungen.
It is argued that the Old High German hapax legomenon urrea ‘tower’ can be interpreted as continu... more It is argued that the Old High German hapax legomenon urrea ‘tower’ can be interpreted as continuing Proto–Germanic *uz–jō(n)–, a derivation from PGmc. *uz– ‘out (of)’. This would be of some importance because the form shows the sequence <rre> standing for rrj. urrea would be the second example for the retention of the expected outcome of the development Proto–Germanic *–zj– > (with rhotacism) *–rj– > (with West–Germanic consonant gemination) –rrj– in Old High German.
Comprehensive editions of the oldest runic inscriptions are few and largely outdated; even the mo... more Comprehensive editions of the oldest runic inscriptions are few and largely outdated; even the more recent ones do not meet modern critical standards. Other runic publications that treat this material tend to concentrate on selected data only. An up-to-date scholarly edition of the oldest runic inscriptions is thus currently lacking. The question is: what criteria must a new edition fulfil?
Of course, information has to be provided concerning the rune-bearing object, such as (1) a description of the artifact, including the present place of keeping, (2) the find circumstances and (3) an archaeological dating. The description of the inscription itself has to be thorough, and must include (1) a plausible reading of the runes with remarks on runic forms and the textual composition,
and (2) a transliteration, which constitutes the basis for a transcription. The transcription is the starting point for the internal, viz. linguistic interpretation that has to contain etymological as well as syntactic information (where necessary). In the etymological component, all important proposals have to be reconsidered. The linguistic interpretation must be the starting point for any broader analyses, which of necessity will require an interdisciplinary approach. The paper shows how such an edition can be laid out by means of one selected example.
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Books by Roland Schuhmann
Papers by Roland Schuhmann
German are examined with regard to evidence, word formation and etymology: a. a new etymology is proposed for OHG renula f. ‘muscle’; b. the lemma OHG rosa f. ‘coarse coat’ is changed into ruosa, whereby the path of linguistic borrowing is followed; c. it is argued that the lemma OHG *skarno m. ‘(real) hemlock’ should be deleted from the dictionaries; d. OHG skeckunga f. ‘cot, stretcher’ is probably better changed to skeckung, but the assessment of the evidence remains difficult.
Of course, information has to be provided concerning the rune-bearing object, such as (1) a description of the artifact, including the present place of keeping, (2) the find circumstances and (3) an archaeological dating. The description of the inscription itself has to be thorough, and must include (1) a plausible reading of the runes with remarks on runic forms and the textual composition,
and (2) a transliteration, which constitutes the basis for a transcription. The transcription is the starting point for the internal, viz. linguistic interpretation that has to contain etymological as well as syntactic information (where necessary). In the etymological component, all important proposals have to be reconsidered. The linguistic interpretation must be the starting point for any broader analyses, which of necessity will require an interdisciplinary approach. The paper shows how such an edition can be laid out by means of one selected example.
German are examined with regard to evidence, word formation and etymology: a. a new etymology is proposed for OHG renula f. ‘muscle’; b. the lemma OHG rosa f. ‘coarse coat’ is changed into ruosa, whereby the path of linguistic borrowing is followed; c. it is argued that the lemma OHG *skarno m. ‘(real) hemlock’ should be deleted from the dictionaries; d. OHG skeckunga f. ‘cot, stretcher’ is probably better changed to skeckung, but the assessment of the evidence remains difficult.
Of course, information has to be provided concerning the rune-bearing object, such as (1) a description of the artifact, including the present place of keeping, (2) the find circumstances and (3) an archaeological dating. The description of the inscription itself has to be thorough, and must include (1) a plausible reading of the runes with remarks on runic forms and the textual composition,
and (2) a transliteration, which constitutes the basis for a transcription. The transcription is the starting point for the internal, viz. linguistic interpretation that has to contain etymological as well as syntactic information (where necessary). In the etymological component, all important proposals have to be reconsidered. The linguistic interpretation must be the starting point for any broader analyses, which of necessity will require an interdisciplinary approach. The paper shows how such an edition can be laid out by means of one selected example.
1. Nominative singular of the masculine a-stems;
2. 3rd singular indicative preterite of the weak verbs.
In literature there is not only a lot of discussion about the question how the two versions of the story go together, but it is also debated whether the Finnsburg Fragment is a lay (so that not much of the text would be missing) or only a short fragment of a longer epic.
In our talk we will present an analysis of selected parts of the corresponding lines from an information structural (IS) approach. In this linguistic approach the text is analyzed with respect to how the relevant information is packaged (Keywords: topic, focus, givenness, definiteness, context, saliency etc.). With this analysis we may shed some light on the following questions:
1. In which way do both texts differ from each other and how can the differences be explained?
2. Can IS contribute to the question whether the Finnsburg Fragment is a lay or an epic?
3. Can IS help to favor editing variants, different interpretations of meanings, and clarify referents?
Regarding the last point, for example, with the help of the centering theory and the saliency hierarchy, it becomes clear that the first falling warrior in the Fragment has to be a Dane. The Frisians have not been mentioned in the discourse for a few sentences. Hence, their saliency is low. Therefore, it is unlikely that they are referred to by the pronoun him, which rather refers to the Danes, whose fate in the battle has been in the foreground. Cf. the example in the appendix."
In my talk I will focus inside the Germanic languages on Old High German and within the ‘Wörter und Sachen’ on those words that denote textiles. The following questions will be addressed:
1. What is the proportion between inherited and borrowed terms for clothes and fabric in Old High German and in which areas are the respective groups mostly concentrated?
2. In what time can the highest influence be found and from which origin is this influence?
3. In what semantic fields are the loanwords found?
4. Can the integration of different loanwords in Old High German be determined?
5. Are there examples for inherited and borrowed words for the same concepts and how do they compete?
1. The interpretation of the side-by-side occurence of the endings ai and e;
2. The so-called consonant stems and West Germanic endings;
3. Probabilities in the overall interpretation of Runic inscriptions.
Letztere findet sich im Venetischen, einer italischen Sprache, die nur in Form von Inschriften überliefert ist. Allerdings wird im Venetischen wortintern punktiert. In der Umsetzung scheint die Punktierung zahlreiche Fehler und somit idiosynkratische Merkmale aufzuweisen.
In unserem Vortrag wollen wir zeigen, dass die angebliche Idiosynkrasie der venetischen wortinternen Interpunktion keine Ausnahme darstellt. Vielmehr richtet sie sich nach der venetischen Silbenstruktur. Vermeintliche Ausnahmen der Interpunktion ermöglichen somit Aussagen über die venetische Silbenstruktur.
Dazu wird eine Editionsprobe einer Neuedition der Runeninschriften im älteren Futhark vorgestellt.
Improvements and corrections of the English text are most welcome.
With small changes in Nr. 175. daufs* and Nr. 744. stubjus*.
I hope that I have mentioned everyone, who has helped me in some form. If someone misses him/herself, please let me know. This wasn't due to ill intent but I once clobbered a file where all the names were listed.
vor: *Bai(a)uariôz und *Bai(a)-xaim-uariôz. Durch eine von den Handschriften und vom Kontext geforderte Wiederherstellung des Textes von Tacitus' 'Germania', c. 28,3 kann gezeigt werden, dass die Übertragung des Namens Boii von Kelten auf Germanen schon damals - also etwa fünf Jahrhunderte vor dem bisherigen Erstbeleg des Namens - stattgefunden hat, da er von Boii, die ein germanischer Volksstamm sind, spricht. Dies macht es wahrscheinlich, dass die Übertragung über den Völkernamen und nicht über den Landesnamen verlief. Es ist dabei anzunehmen, dass diese Namensübertragung die Grundlage für die Benennung des Stammes der Bayern im 6. Jahrhundert bildete, dessen Etymologie damit als *Bai(a)uariôz anzusetzen ist.