That German has this feature practically, is proved by the fact that words apparently in sp-, st-, become schp-, scht-, when adopted into Russian, although this language has initial sp-, st-,--a transfer of _speech_ rather than of _spelling_, which is as old as the thirteenth century, when the Old High German 'spiliman' (an actor) went into Old Slavonic as (using German spelling) 'schpiljman,' where 'spiljman' would have been more in accordance with the genius of the language. § 7. _Vowel Changes._ Altho the pronunciation of many words is strictly as in High German, there are the following important variations. German _a_ becomes normally the vowel of _what_ and _fall_, but it has the Swiss characteristic of closing to 'o,' as in 'ool' (eel) G. _aal_; 'ee˛ mool' (once) G. _ein mal_; 'woor' (true) G. _wahr_; 'joor' (year) G. _jahr_; 'frooghǝ' (to ask) G. _fragen_; 'frook' (a question) G. _frage_; 'doo' (there) G. _da_; 'schloofǝ' (to sleep) G. _schlafen_; 'schtroos' (street) G. _strasze_; 'nooch' (towards) G. _nach_; 'hoor' (hair) G. _haar_, but 'paar' (pair) and others do not change. The vowel of _fat_ occurs in 'kschær' (harness) G. _geschirr_; 'hærpscht' (autumn) G. _herbst_; færtl (fourth) G. _viertel_; kærl (fellow) G. _kerl_. German 'o' becomes 'u,' as in 'kumǝ' (_u_ short, see § 2) _to come_, Austrian kuma, G. _kommen_; 'schun' (already) G. _schon_; 'fun' (of) G. _von_; 'wuunǝ' (to reside) G. _wohnen_; 'wuu' (where) G. _wo_; 'sun' (sun) Austr. sunn, G. _sonne_; 'suu˛' and 'suun' (son) G. _sohn_; 'númitaag' and 'nómidaak' (afternoon) G. _nachmittag_; 'dunǝrschtaag' (thursday) G. _donnerstag_; 'hunich' (honey) G. _honig_. German 'ei' is often 'ee,' as in 'heem' (home) G. _heim_; 'deel' (part) G. _theil_; 'seef' (soap) G. _seife_; 'bleech' (pale) G. _bleich_; eens (one) G. _eins_; 'tswee' (two) G. _zwei_. Irregular forms appear in 'maulwarf' (mole) G. _maulwurf_; 'blĕs' (pale, rhyming _lace_) G. _blass_; 'siffer' (tippler) G. _säufer_; 'schpoot' (late) G. _spät_, ä long; 'm'r wellǝ' (we will) G. _wir wollen_; 'dii úmeesǝ' (the ant) G. _die ameise_; 'ep,' 'eb' (whether) G. _ob_; 'dærfǝ' (to dare) G. _dürfen_; 'færichtǝrlich' (frightful) G. _fürchterlich_; 'ich færicht mich dat [or dart, G. _dort_] anǝ tsu gee˛.' _I fear me to go yonder._ 'Dat anǝ' is for G. _dort hin_, 'anǝ' being a Swiss adverb made of G. _an_ (on, towards). 'dat' is not common in PG. and it may have been brought from abroad, as it occurs in Suabian-- "Aepfel hott ma dott gsia, wie d' Kirbiss bey üss;" (Radlof, 2, 10.)--(Man hat dort gesehen) _Apples have been seen there like_ (G. Kürbisse, PG. kærǝpsǝ) _pumpkins with us._