Gripla - 01.01.1977, Page 159

MODERN ICELANDIC U-UMLAUT
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Arabi ‘Arab’ sb.: Aröb-um
dívan ‘couch’: dívön-um
fosfat ‘phosphate’: fosjöt{-um)
salat ‘salad’: salöt(-um)
serenaða, serenata ‘serenade’: serenöð-u, serenöt-u
smaragður ‘emerald’: smarögð-um
spítali ‘hospital’: spítöl-um
standarður ‘standard, flag’: standörð-um
túlípani ‘tulip’: túlípön-um
klóak ‘drain, sewer’: klóökf-um)
2.3. Initial u-umlaut. A polysyllabic stem is here said to undergo Initial
u-umlaut if it displays the alternation /a—ö/ in the syllable under
primary stress, and-or the alternation /a—Y/ in one or more remaining
syllables. For examples see (4).
(4) (a) /a—ö/ under primary stress. /a—y/ elsewhere
annar ‘other, second’, nom. sg. f. önnur
gamall ‘old’ gömul
(b) Only /a—y/ in at least one unstressed syllable, no u-umlaut
alternation in the stressed syllable
sumar ‘summer’, nom./acc. pl. sumur
hundrað ‘hundred’ hundruð
(c) Only /a—ö/ in the stressed syllable, no u-umlaut alternation
in the unstressed syllable(s)
fagur ‘fair’, nom. sg. f. fögur
mastur ‘mast’, nom./acc. pl. möstur2
Which stems undergo Initial umlaut? There are astonishingly few
reasonably unambiguous examples of stems undergoing Initial umlaut,
and no other type of umlaut. A hopefully exhaustive list of such cases
is given sub (5), q.v. (For cases such as pl. héruð—héröð see par. 2.5.)
All told, Initial umlaut seems to be limited to a few old and-or much
used, often idiosyncratic, preponderantly native lexical items. (Mark-
aður and mastur are pre-Reformation loanwords. The archaic atall,
now usually ötul- in all its case forms, with lexicalized u-umlaut, cannot
2 Here belongs also the substandard lp. pl. pres. öthugum and pret. pl. öthuguð-
(normal forms athugum, athuguð-) of athuga ‘examine’.