LECTURE 3LECTURE 3

Old English:Old English:language (II)language (II)

Lei ZHUShanghai International Studies

University

ISTORY OF ENGLISHISTORY OF ENGLISH

5 Latin influence

Hoc tempore monasteriū scī benedicti a longobardis destructū ē. Her gregorius pa_pa sende to brytene augustinū mid wel manengummunucum þe godes word engla þeoda godspello∙don.

5 Latin influence Hoc tempore monasteriū scī benedicti a longobardis destructū ē. Her gregorius pa_pa sende to brytene augustinū mid wel manengummunucum þe godes word engla þeoda godspello∙don.

brytene Britainengla Anglesgodes god’sgodspellodon gospelled (=preached)gregorius Gregoryher here; in this yearmanengum many(scribal mis-spelling)

mid withmunucum monkspapa Popesende sentþe who(relative pronoun)þeoda nation, peoplewel well (=very)word word

5 Latin influence Hoc tempore monasteriū scī benedicti a longobardis destructū ē. Her gregorius pa_pa sende to brytene augustinū mid wel manengummunucum þe godes word engla þeoda godspello∙don. At this time the monastery of St Benedict was destroyed by the Lombards. In this year Pope Gregory sent Augustine to Britain with very many monks, who preached God’s words to the English nation.

5 Latin influence• Writing• Vocabulary (ca.450 words) Latin loan-words 1. Continental borrowings before migration 2. Early borrowings during settlement 3. Later borrowings due to Christianisation

5 Latin influence• Continental borrowings before migration ModE OE L street < strǣ;t < strāta (via) ‘paved (road)’ cheap < c>ēap < caupō ‘petty tradesman’ money < mynet < monēta < Juno Monēta wine < wīn < vīnum kitchen < cyc>ene < coquīna < coquere ‘to cook’ pea(s) < pise < pisum

back-formation

5 Latin influence• Continental borrowings before migration ModE OE L G church < c>iric>e < cyrīca < τὸ κυριακόν

(δῶμα) ‘the Lord’s (house)’

5 Latin influence• Continental borrowings before migration ModE OE L Saturday < Sǣternesdǣg> < Sāturnī diēs ‘Saturn’s day’cf. ModE OE L ModFr Sunday sunnandæġ� dies solis dimanche Monday mōnandæġ� lunae dies lundi Tuesday Tiwesdæġ� Martis dies mardi Wednesday Wōdnesdæġ� Mercurii dies mercredi Thursday Þu(n)resdæġ� Jovis dies jeudi Friday Frīġ�edæġ� Veneris dies vendredi Saturday Sæternesdæġ� Saturni dies samedi

日日月 月

战神 战神主神 使者神雷神 主神爱神 爱神

时间神

5 Latin influence• Early borrowings during settlement ModE OE L -wich < wīc> < vicus ‘village’ -chester < c>easter < castra ‘camp’ eg. Winchester, Dorchester, Manchester -caster < caster < castra ‘camp’ eg. Lancaster, Doncaster

5 Latin influence• Later borrowings due to Christianisation ModE OE L G angel < engel < angelus < ἄγγελος priest < prēost < presbyter < πρεσβύτερος ‘elder’ school < scōl < schola < σχολή ‘leisure’ silk < sioloc < Sēricus < Σῆρες ‘Chinese’ noon < nōn < nōna (hōra) ‘ninth hour’ from sunrise originally ca. 3pm

6 Reading practice (II)

Peterborough Chronicle for AD 787

6 Reading practice (II)

6 Reading practice (II) Her nam breohtric cining offan dohter eadburge ∙ in-this-year took Breohtric King Offa’s daughter Eadburh& on his dagum comoN ǣrest .iii. scipu norðmanna of hereðalande. & in his days came first 3 ships of-Northmen from Hordaland& þa se gerefa þǣrto rad. & he wolde drifan to ðes cininges tune& then the reeve to-there rode & he wanted to-drive to of-the-king townþy he nyste hwǣt hi wǣron & hine man ofsloh þa. Ðǣt wǣro∙n þa for he not-knew what they were & him one killed then that were thenerestan scipu deniscra manna þe angelcynnes land gesohton. first ships of-Danish-men that of-English-race land sought

6 Reading practice (II)

In this year Breohtric took King Offa’s daughter Eadburh (as wife). And in his days came first 3 ships of Northmen from Hordaland; and then the reeve rode there and want to compel them to go to the King’s town because he did not know what they were; and then they killed him. These were the first ships of the Danish men which sought out the land of the English race.

Her nam breohtric cining offan dohter eadburge ∙& on his dagum comoN ǣrest .iii. scipu norðmanna of hereðalande. & þa se gerefa þǣrto rad. & he wolde drifan to ðes cininges tuneþy he nyste hwǣt hi wǣron & hine man ofsloh þa. Ðǣt wǣron ∙þa erestan scipu deniscra manna þe angelcynnes land gesohton.

Dragon longship of the Vikings (image by Barry Ross)

7 Scandinavian loan-words• Place and personal names onomastics (study of proper names) OE ON (Old Norse) -by < by;r ‘farm, town’ e.g. Derby, Rugby, Grimsby -son < sonr ‘son’ e.g. Anderson, Johnson, Thomson

7 Scandinavian loan-words• Words used in everyday life OE ON (Old Norse) benc> banki ‘ridge, bank’ > bank ǣ;g> egg ‘egg’ > egg sweostor systir ‘sister’ > sister ēag>-þyrl vindauga > window heofon ský ‘cloud’ > sky sēoc illr ‘ill, ailing’ > ill c>eallian kalla ‘call’ > call beg>ietan geta ‘get, obtain’ > get g>iefan gefa ‘give’ > give niman taca > take

less palatalisation

7 Scandinavian loan-words• Pronouns and other structural words OE ON (Old Norse) hīe þeir > they hiera þeir(r)a > their him þeim > them bēg>en báðir > both fram/from frá > fro

7 Scandinavian loan-words• Verbs: origin of are OE Mercian Northumbrian ON sind(on) earun aron erum ‘(we) are’ eruð ‘(youpl.) are’ eru ‘(they) are’

Ādam ðā cwǣð: “þis is nū bān of mīnum bānum, & flǣ;sc>

of mīnum flǣ;sc>e. Bēo hēo g>ec>īg>ed fǣ;mne, for ðan ðe

hēo is of hyre were g>enumen.”

And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and fleshof my flesh: she shall be called Woman, becauseshe was taken out of Man.

OE (g>e)c>īeg>an replaced by call < ON

OE niman replaced by take < ON

L feminaOE wīf / wīfmann

8 Reading practice (III)

From Ælfric’s Colloquy

c>ildra children biddaþ beg ēalā oh lārēow master tǣ;c>e teach (subjunctive)sprecan to speak forþām because ung>elǣ;rede ignorant syndon areg>ewǣmmodlīce badly (i.e. ungrammatically) sprecaþ speak wille will (=want)rēc>e care būton as long as riht correct sprǣ;c> speech sy; is (subjunctive)behēfe proper nǣs not īdel frivolous oþþe or fracod base

bēon to be beswungen beaten on during leornunge learning (Dat.sg.)lēofre dearer ys is for for (the sake of) lāre leaning (Acc.sg.) þǣnne thanne not cunnan to know ac but witun know bilewitne kind wesan to benellan won’t (=ne+willan) onbelǣ;den to inflict upon swincgla blows (Acc.pl.)būton unless bī are (subjunctive, =bēo) tōg>eny;dd compelled fram by