UE History of English

OE Texts: King Ethelbert of Kent:
UE History of English
The Anglo-Saxon
laws (c. 614 AD)
Philipps-Universität Marburg
SoSe 2007
Astrid Lohöfer
21/05/07
Session 6: Old English III
OE Syntax & Vocabulary / Semantic Change
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
OE Texts: King Alfred‘s
Preface to his Translation of the Pastoral Care
(late 9th century)
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
OE Texts: The AngloSaxon Chronicle (c. 880)
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
OE Texts: Beowulf (c. 750)
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
Text Corpus during the OE period
Runic inscriptions (5th/6th century)
Latin manuscripts:
- Bede‘s Ecclesiastical History (completed 731)
- Lindisfarne Gospel (c. 715-720)
Old English manuscripts:
Latin-OE glossaries (c. 700)
Under the reign of Alfred:
- Alfred’s Preface to his Translation of the
Pastoral Care
- Translation of the Ecclesiastical History
- Anglo-Saxon Chronical (871-899 )
Beowulf (c. 750)
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
OE word order
OE word order
Her nam breohtric cining offan dohter eadburge.
A V
S
O
and on his dagum comon ærest .iii. scipu norðmanna of hereða lande.
A
V
A
S
A
and þa se gerefa þær to rad.
A
S
A
V
and he wolde drifan to ðes ciniges tune þy he nyste hwæt hi wæron.
S
V
A
S V
S
V
and hine man ofsloh þa.
O
S
V
A
Ðæt wæron þa erestan scipu deniscra manna þe angel cynnes land gesohton.
S
V
SC
The findings summed up:
S
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
O
A
A
A
S
O
S
S
V
V
S
V
S
V
O
S
A
A
A
V
C
V
O
S A
V
A
V
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
Excursus German word order : does this help us?
Excursus: German word order
Some patterns become clearer:
Hans küsste Grete gestern.
Gestern küsste Hans Grete.
Gestern hat Hans Grete
geküsst,
weil Hans Grete liebt.
S
A
A
S
V O A
V S O
V S O
O V
In main clauses, the inflected
verb comes second.
A
A
A
S
O
S
S
V
V S O
V A S A
S A V
V A
S V A
V C
O V
The verb is final in
subordinate clauses or if
it is uninflected.
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
OE word order
OE word order: does this help us?
Her nam breohtric cining offan dohter eadburge.
A V
S
O
and on his dagum comon ærest .iii. scipu norðmanna of hereða lande.
A
V
A
S
A
A
A
S
O
S
S
A
and þa se gerefa þær to rad.
A
S
A
V
and he wolde drifan to ðes ciniges tune þy he nyste hwæt hi wæron.
S
V
A
S V
S
V
and hine man ofsloh þa.
O
S
V
Some patterns become clearer:
A
V S O
V A S A
S A V
V A
S V A
V C
O V
Ðæt wæron þa erestan scipu deniscra manna þe angel cynnes land gesohton.
S
V
SC
S
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
O
V
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
OE word order
OE word order
Her nam breohtric cining offan dohter eadburge.
A V
S
O
and on his dagum comon ærest .iii. scipu norðmanna of hereða lande.
A
V
A
S
A
There are, however, a few regularities:
and þa se gerefa þær to rad.
A
S
A
The general word order is SVO
V
and he wolde drifan to ðes ciniges tune þy he nyste hwæt hi wæron.
S
V
A
S V
S
In main clauses, the verb tends to be in
second position.
V
and hine man ofsloh þa.
O
S
V
OE word order is generally more free than PDE
word order.
In subordinate clauses, the verb tends to be
final.
A
Ðæt wæron þa erestan scipu deniscra manna þe angel cynnes land gesohton.
S
V
SC
S
O
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
V
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
OE vocabulary: Latin influence
OE vocabulary: Scandinavian influence
During Christianisation:
general words (mostly beginning in /sk-/: skill,
skirt, sky, skin)
personal pronouns: they, them, their
family names ending in -son
toponyms in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, ending
in -by, -thorp(e), -thwaite, and -toft
…
accentus > accent
altaria > altar
historia > history
papyrus > paper
popa > pope
titulus > title
Before:
…
butyrum > butter
piper > pepper
cāseus > cheese
sēricus > silk
coprum > copper
pondo > pound
pl. mīlia > mile
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
Semantic Change
Besides borrowing, an important source for
lexical change is semantic change:
Extension/ widening: generalization of
meaning
dog ‘all Kinds of dogs’ < docga ‘a special
breed of dogs’ (Dogge)
Reduction/ narrowing: specialization of
meaning
girl ‘young person of female sex’ < gyrele
‘young person of either sex’
Semantic Change
Elevation/ amelioration: meaning receives
positive value
knight ‘a person of rank’ < cniht ‘youth,
military follower’
Degradation/ pejoration: meaning receives
negative value
lust ‘pleasure’ < lust ‘sexual appetite’
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
Reasons for Semantic Change
Homework
Polysemy:
Stage 1: A (write ‘to cut, to score’)
Stage 2: A, B (write ‘to cut, score’ + ‘to
write’
Stage 3: B (write ‘to write’)
Historical factors (changes in technology etc.):
pen ‘feather’ > pen ‘writin instrument of
metal or plastic’
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer
Read Fischer: 53-61 or Pyles/Algeo: 123-40 +
answer the following questions:
1) Why is the Middle English period called ‘middle‘?
(Pyles)
2) Which events led to the battle of Hastings?
3) Who were the Normans?
4) What led to the decline of the status of French in
Britain?
5) What is the minim problem?
6) What are the most important vowel changes from
OE to ME?
UE History of English - SoSe 07 - Lohöfer