grassman's law: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
Very LowTechnical/Academic
Quick answer
What does “grassman's law” mean?
A phonological law of ancient Greek and Sanskrit stating that two consecutive aspirated stops dissimilate, where the first loses its aspiration.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A phonological law of ancient Greek and Sanskrit stating that two consecutive aspirated stops dissimilate, where the first loses its aspiration.
In historical linguistics, a specific sound law describing the dissimilation of aspirates in Proto-Indo-European, particularly evident in the development of Greek and Sanskrit, and also applied more generally to similar dissimilatory processes in other languages.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No differences in meaning or usage. Spelling may occasionally be found as "Grassman's law" (with one 'n') in older or less careful texts, but "Grassmann's" is standard.
Connotations
None; purely technical term.
Frequency
Equally rare in both varieties, confined to advanced linguistic literature and courses.
Grammar
How to Use “grassman's law” in a Sentence
Grassmann's law states that...We can explain this via Grassmann's law.This is a classic example of Grassmann's law in action.Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “grassman's law” in a Sentence
adjective
British English
- a Grassmannian dissimilation process
- the Grassmann's law phenomenon
American English
- a Grassmannian dissimilation process
- the Grassmann's law phenomenon
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Never used.
Academic
Used in advanced linguistics, philology, and historical language studies.
Everyday
Never used.
Technical
The primary and only context of use; refers to a specific phonological principle.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “grassman's law”
Neutral
Weak
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “grassman's law”
- Misspelling as 'Grassman' (dropping the second 'n').
- Using it to refer to any phonological dissimilation, rather than the specific one concerning aspirated stops.
- Pronouncing the 'ss' as /s/ instead of /z/.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Hermann Grassmann (1809–1877) was a German polymath—a linguist, mathematician, and physicist—who formulated this law in 1863.
No, it does not apply synchronically in Modern English. It is a historical law that operated in ancient languages like Greek and Sanskrit, and in Proto-Indo-European.
In Greek, the root *thrikh- (meaning 'hair') appears with aspiration only on the second stop in some forms: nominative 'thríx' (/tʰriks/) but genitive 'trikhós' (/trikʰós/), where the first aspiration has been lost.
It is a specific type of dissimilation. Dissimilation is a general process where two similar sounds become less alike. Grassmann's law is the specific rule where two aspirated stops cannot occur consecutively in a word in certain ancient languages, causing the first to lose its aspiration.
Grassman's law is usually technical/academic in register.
Grassman's law: in British English it is pronounced /ˈɡrɑːsmənz ˌlɔː/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈɡræsmənz ˌlɔ/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a gardener named Grass-Man. He has two bags of seeds labelled 'H' for heavy (aspirated). He sows one, but the rule says he can't sow two heavy ones in a row, so the first bag loses its 'H' tag.
Conceptual Metaphor
A RULE or LAW (like a law of physics) governing sound changes.
Practice
Quiz
Grassmann's law is primarily concerned with which phonological feature?