Base Selection in Analogical Change in Yiddish

Abstract

A notable difference between Yiddish and German verb paradigms is that Yiddish has no vowel alternations in the present tense. Whereas Middle High German(MHG) and Modem German (NHG)often have alternations among the singular forms or between the singular and plural, Yiddish never does. The form that has been extended in Yiddish is always the expected 1 sg form. Interestingly, although this change is across the board in Yiddish, it is apparently unattested in any other German dialect.