Variation between i and u in weakly-stressed position in Faroese

Abstract

In this article the author identifies the variation between i and u in weakly-stressed position in Faroese, and especially in morphological endings, as a result of specific changes which have taken place during the development from Old Norse to the modern language. An attempt is made to account for the changes, and it is conjectured that they are for the most part the result of a desire to make the grammatical system simpler and more transparent. Suggestions are also offered about when the changes took place, and where in the Faroes they originated. Attention is drawn to the fact that coalescence between i and u is not limited to a geographically continuous area, and that the innovation cannot therefore have begun in just one place and spread out from there, but must, as far as can be judged, have developed in both the southernmost and northernmost parts of the country. Particular emphasis is placed on showing that the changes occur in stages, and on the fact that the variation can be presented in the form of a scalogram, which indicates it is not arbitrary. Attention is finally directed at the influence the written language and school teaching have on the system which has developed in the language naturally.