More on the “instability” of interdental fricatives: Gothic þliuhan ‘flee’ and Old English flēon ‘flee’ revisited

Abstract

Kjellmer (1995) uses phonological observations from a number of sources in order to resolve a problem of Germanic historical linguistics—the identity of the Proto-Germanic initial cluster from which both Gothic þliuhan and Old English flēon are derived. Kjellmer focuses on the articulatory motivation for the change [θ] > [f], and concludes that the data support the Gothic initial as historically older, i.e. Proto-Germanic had *θ1-. This response assesses the approach employed by Kjellmer, and, whilst upholding his general conclusions about directionality, rejects his articulatory view of the change, preferring instead an acoustic motivation. Full support for this view is presented. Finally, a different analysis of the Germanic data is proposed which supports an original *fl- in Proto-Germanic.