Why Do We Say That? - Mansfield University of...

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WelcomeWelcome

Why Do WeSay That?

The Indo-European FactorThe Indo-European Factor

IE: 4000-2500 B.C.

Inherited Word StockInherited Word Stock

English night (OEniht)

eight (OEeahta)

garden (OEgeard)

guest (OEgiest)

meal (OEmelu)

mane (OEmanu)

German Nacht acht Garten Gast mahlen MähneGothic(Old Gmc)

nahts ahtau gards‘house

gasts malan mana(OHG)

Latin nox, noctis octo≠ hortus hostis molere mon|le‘neckband’

Greek nyktós (G.) okto≠ xórtos‘court’

m¥llo ≠

Old Indic(Sanskrit)

nák, naktam as˝t¸au grhá-‘house’

mrn˝a ≠ti mánya≠‘neck’

Old Irish -nocht ocht gort melim muin ‘neck’(Old) Welsh nos oeth garth

‘enclosure’malu mwn ‘neck’

Lithuanian naktis a£tuonì gar~das‘enclosure’

malù

Old Slavic no£t@ osm@ gradu` gost@ meljo monisto‘neckband’

Indo-European vocabulary correspondences

Vowel Gradation (Ablaut)Vowel Gradation (Ablaut)

Indo-European made frequent use of vowel gradation(Ablaut) to indicate tenses and various forms of words. Itseffects live on in the daughter languages and beyond.

From IE st(H)\-/st(H)a≠- ‘stand’:Lat. sta≠reOE standan, MnE stand (with present -n- infix)Lat status, OE sto ≠d, MnE stood (from perfect stem)From PrGmc sta∂iz:

E stead, G Stadt, Statt, StätteSkt sthíti ‘(the act of) standing’Lat statio≠, stationis, Gk stásisOE sto ≠d ‘group of animals, esp. for breeding’

> MnE stud, Ger StuteAlso E stall < Gmc sta∂laz; E stool, Ger Stuhl,

Rus stol ‘table’, Gk ste ≠le ≠ ‘column’Possibly E stem, G StammZero grade -st-: nest

Vowel Gradation (Ablaut)Vowel Gradation (Ablaut)

Why do we say SING - SANG - SUNG or

WRITE - WROTE - WRITTEN?

Vowel Gradation (Ablaut)Vowel Gradation (Ablaut)

Indo-European vowel gradations were of two typesqualitative (e.g., a/o, a/e,)quantitative (e.g., a/a≠, o/o≠, a/Ø that is, zero-grade)

Germanic retained the alternations very visibly in theverb system, with original IE vowels changed slightly butregularly in some instances. Gothic, the oldest Gmc languagefor which we have extensive records, shows the most regularpattern and is used to mirror the PrGmc situation. German andEnglish exhibit variations due to sound changes andthe effects of analogy.

Vowel Gradation (Ablaut)Vowel Gradation (Ablaut)

Traditional verb class IPrGmc pres | pret1 ai pret2 i p.p. iGothic steigan ‘rise’ stáig stigum stigansOHG tr|ban ‘drive’ treib tribun gitribanOE b|tan ‘bite’ ba≠t biton biten

Traditional verb class IIPrGmc pres eu pret1 au pret2 u p.p. uGothic kiusan kaus kusum kusansOHG sliofan ‘slip’ slouf sluffun gisloffanOE be ≠odan ‘command’ be ≠ad budon boden

Vowel Gradation (Ablaut)Vowel Gradation (Ablaut)

Traditional verb class IVPrGmc pres e pret1 a pret2 æ ≠ p.p. oGothic baíran (pron ‘e’) bar be ≠rum baúransOHG stelan ‘steal’ stal sta≠lun gistolanOE beran ‘bear’ bær bæ≠ron boren

Traditional verb class VPrGmc pres e pret1 a pret2 æ ≠ p.p. eGothic qiπan qaπ qe ≠πum qiπansOHG geban ‘give’ gab ga ≠bun gigebanOE metan ‘measure’ mæt mæ ≠ton meten

Preterite-PresentsPreterite-Presents

Preterite-present verbs have past-tense (preterite)forms for present-tense meanings. These verbs areancient, all the way from IE days.

In Germanic languages, as we have seen, preteritetenses had two different vowel gradations. In OE:

OE singan: ic/he≠ song πu≠ sunge (thou sangest)I/he sang we≠/ge≠/he≠o sungon

we/ye/they sang

Preterite-PresentsPreterite-Presents

In Germanic languages, preterite tenses had twodifferent vowel gradations:

OE singan: ic/he≠ song πu≠ sunge (thou sangest)I/he sang we≠/ge≠/he≠o sungon

we/ye/they sang

The OE verb witan (to know) uses similar forms witha present meaning:

OE witan: ic/he≠ wa≠t πu≠ witeI/he know(s) we≠/ge≠/he≠o witon

orig. ‘I have seen’ we/ye/they know

PRESENT meaning !

Preterite-PresentsPreterite-Presents

Preterite-present witan (to know) came from IE.

OE witan: wa≠t - witon know

Originally meant way back in IE ‘I have seen’, theperfect (past) tense. If I have seen something, I‘know’ it. In form it is thus past, but came to have apresent meaning.

It is related to Lat video≠, vide≠re ‘see’’!

Cf. also Russian vizhu, vidit, ‘I see, she sees’

Preterite-PresentsPreterite-Presents

Preterite-presents are largely modal auxiliary verbs:

Eng can OE can/cunnon G kann/könnenshall sceal/sculon soll/sollenmay mæg/magon mag/mögenwill wille/willa∂ will/wollenmust mo≠t/mo≠ton muss/müssen(durst) πearf/πurfon darf/dürfen

OE (mostly) retained the two-vowel past tense system inthese ancient verbs (but of course with PRESENT meaning).Modern German still does as well, but ONLY in the modalverbs and wissen (OE witan).

MnE has leveled them out to one vowel only.

Preterite-PresentsPreterite-Presents

Modern English, by way of Middle English, hasended up with just one vowel. In the case of witan,we have the remains of the verb ‘to know’ in:

witless ‘having no sense, knowing nothing’

unwittingly ‘without knowing’

witness > OE witnes ‘knowledge; testimony’

witling ‘person of little wit’

dull-witted, dim-witted ‘weak in the knowledgedepartment’

Preterite-PresentsPreterite-Presents

More modern traces of witan ‘to know’:

nitwit ‘know-nothing’ (or ‘brain the size of a louse’segg’)witty (formerly, ‘having great knowledge’)wits (brains, knowledge)at one’s wits’ end ‘not knowing what to do’’to wit ‘so that you know’, for example

wittol (ME wetewold): an archaic term for a cuckold,one who knows of his wife’s infidelity but doesnothing about it

More vowel gradationMore vowel gradation

Do these vowel gradations only show up

in verbs?

More vowel gradationMore vowel gradation

The IE Connection: not only verbs

fare drive Gk po≠s ‘foot’

ferry drift foot, Ger Fuß

wayfarer in droves Lat pe ≠s, pedis

ford pedal, podium,

firth tripod; in fetters

Ties that bind: Proto-Germanic

Ties that bind: Proto-Germanic

Ties that bind:Proto-Germanic

Development of GermanicDevelopment of Germanic

Proto-Gmc: 500 B.C. - 3C A.D.

PreGmc: 2500-500 B.C.

Germanic TribesGermanic Tribes

Off to Merry Olde England!(beginning around 400-450 A.D.)

IE to GermanicIE to Germanic

How did the Germanic language family become differentfrom Indo-European? What kinds of factors made it adifferent language family?

IE to GermanicIE to Germanic

Relatively complicated IE verb system simplified in Germanic topresent and past tenses only. (Compound tenses added later.)

Dental preterite (past tense formed by a t/d/π suffix) was a Gmcinnovation: origin of MnE -ed, now in the vast majority of our verbs

IE accent could be on any syllable; the accent became fixed on thefirst syllable in Germanic

Vowel changes:IE o > Gmc a (L octo ≠, Go ahtau)IE a ≠ > Gmc o ≠ (L ma ≠ter, OE mo ≠dor)

First Sound Shift: consonant changes:IE bh, dh, gh > Gmc b ≠, ∂, ©, later b, d, g in some positionsIE p, t, k > Gmc f, π, x (h initially)IE b, d, g > Gmc p, t, k

Some vocabulary not found in other IE languages

Germanic Sound ShiftGermanic Sound Shift

Examples of First Germanic Sound ShiftSeparated Germanic from other IE branchesGermanic changes shown in red in chart

IE bh > L f, Gk ph Gmc b

IE dh > L f, Gk th Gmc d

IE gh > L h, Gk ch Gmc g

fra ≠ter / brotherfiber / beaverfra(n)go≠ / breakGk pho≠gein / bake

fi(n)gere ‘mold’ /dough (OE d|ge)foris / doorGk thygate≠r / daughter

hostis / guesthortus / geardhomo / OE guma(cf. ME bridegome)Gk chole≠ / gall

IE/L/Gk p > Gmc f IE/L/Gk t > π IE/L/Gk k > Gmc hpater / fatherpiscis / fishportus / fordpullus / foalped- / footpecu ‘cattle’ / fee OE feoh

tre ≠s / threetu ≠ / thoutenuis / thintume≠re ‘swell’ / thumbtona≠re / thunder

cornu≠ / horncord- / heartquod / hwæt, whatcent- / hund-redcapere / heave,havecanis / hound

IE/L/Gk b > Gmc p IE/L/Gk d > Gmc t IE/L/Gk g > Gmc kG kannabis / hempturba / thorp ‘town’(IE b was very rare;little evidence leftof it)

duo ≠ / twodent- / toothdoma≠re / tamedecem / tenedere / eat

genu / kneeager ‘field’ / acregenus / kinG gyne≠ / queengra≠num / corn

Dental preteriteDental preterite

If we inherited a system of vowelalternations from Indo-European, why dowe put -ed on most of our verbs to formthe past tense without changing the vowelat all?

Dental preteriteDental preterite

Dental suffix to form past tense/past participleExamples from Germanic languages

Infinitive / 3s past / past participleGothic nasjan/nasida/nasiπs ‘save’ haban/habáida/habáiπs ‘have’OHG nerien(nerren)/nerita/ginerit habe≠n/habe≠ta/gihabe≠tOE fremman/fremmede/fremed ‘perform’ habban/hæfde/hæfdMnE save/saved/saved have/had/had keep/kept/kept rip/ripped/rippedMnG retten/rettete/gerettet haben/hatte/gehabtDan spise/spiste/spist ‘eat’ have/havde/haft bo/boede/boet ‘live, dwell’Ice dæma/dæmdi/dæmdur ‘deem’ hreyfa/hreyf∂i/hreyf∂ur ’move’

her∂i/herti/hertur ‘harden’ bor∂a/bor∂a∂i/bor∂a∂ur ‘eat

Fixed AccentFixed Accent

Greek retainedIE movable accent:

Nom pate≠r Sing.Gen patrosDat patriAcc pateraVoc pater

N/V pateres Plur.Gen patero ≠nDat patrasiAcc pateras

Gmc (here OE) fixedaccent on first syllable:

N/D/A fæder Sing.Gen fæder(es)

N/A fæderas Plur.Gen fæderaDat fæderum

This was to have dramaticeffects in Middle English.

Fixed AccentFixed Accent

Compare these words from Old English, featuring full vowel values inunstressed syllables, with their Middle English equivalents:

Old English Middle English ‘lame’ lama la≠me ‘go, fare’ faran, p.p. faren fa≠ren (both forms) ‘stone’ sta ≠nes (G), sta ≠nas (pl) sto≠ˆnes* ‘falleth’ fealla∂ falleth nacod na ≠ked ‘we made’ macodon ma≠keden ‘sure’ sicor se≠ker leng∂o lengthe ‘liquor’ medu me≠de

Unaccented vowels were leveled to the neutral -e.*In Middle English, the final -s came to be a plural signal.*It also retained its previous function of marking the genitive.

Verner’s LawVerner’s Law

Why do we say I WAS but YOU WERE?

Verner’s LawVerner’s Law

When the original IE accent FOLLOWED a syllable withGmc voiceless f, π, x and s were VOICED to b≠(v), ∂, g,z (which by OE had become r).

Similar things happen in modern English and German.Compare:

accent before accent after causes voicing

MnE éxecute (ks) exécutive (voiced to gz)

Ger Hannóver (f) Hannoveráner (voiced to v)

Verner’s LawVerner’s Law

IE,PrGmc: Voiceless VoicedAccent + f, π, x, s b≠(v), ∂(d), g, z(r) + Accent

cf. Skt vavárta, OE wearπ Skt vavrtimá, OE wurdon

Effects of Verner’s Law frequent in past tense plural and past participle ofverbs; accent used to be AFTER f, π, x, s in these forms:

OE fre ≠osan ‘freeze’, PAST fre ≠as / fruron PP frorence ≠osan ‘choose’ ce ≠as / curon corense ≠o∂an ‘seethe’ se ≠a∂ / sudon sodenfle ≠on ‘flee’ fle ≠ah / flugon flogensn|∂an ‘cut’ sna≠∂ / snidon snidenfe≠olan ‘reach’ fealh / fulgon fulgense ≠on ‘see’ seah / sæ ≠gon segenbe ≠on, wesan wæs / wæ ≠ron

Modern English has (sensibly?) eliminated all but was/were.

Mutating Vowels!Mutating Vowels!

Why do we say stone-stones, friend-friends,

but

goose-GEESE, mouse-MICE, foot-FEET?

Mutating Vowels!Mutating Vowels!

y≠

y

e≠e

ææ

u

o

u≠

o≠

a≠a

OE vowels

|,

, i

BackFront

Low

High

Mutating Vowels!Mutating Vowels!

y≠

y

e≠e

ææ

u

o

u≠

o≠

a≠a

In PreOE (PrGmc), base vowels are fronted (or just raised for æ>e)if |, i or j (semivowel as in yes) were in the following syllable.

The vocal organs anticipate the high front position of |, i or j .

BackFront

Low

High

Mutating Vowels!Mutating Vowels!

The effects of the earlier |, i or j remain by evidence of thechanged stem vowel. The mutation factor is usually lost by thetime of OE, appearing to be an exception unless you look backearlier. The umlaut factor often caused doubling of the consonantbefore disappearing, an additional ghost of its former presence.Gothic, for instance, shows us the closest information we have toProto-Germanic:Gothic example Old Engl/Modern Engl reflex(vowel unmutated) (showing mutated vowel)

certain verb classesnas-j-an ‘save’ neriansat-j-an ‘set, cause to sit’ set (from past tense), OE settanat-j-an etch (‘eat away at’), Ger ätzenhaf-j-an OE hebban, MnE heave

comparative & superlativesuffixes: -iz-, -ist- (alπiza) old,elder,eldest; < eald,ieldra,ieldesta

sceort, sciertra, sciertesta BUT:but no umlaut if -o ≠z-, -o ≠st- fægen, fægenra, fægnosta ‘fain, glad’

Mutating Vowels!Mutating Vowels!

Gothic example Old Engl/Modern Engl reflex(vowel unmutated) (showing mutated vowel)

certain noun classescf. PGmc *bo ≠k, pl. *bo ≠kiz mouse/mice, louse/lice

(OE mu≠s > pl. my≠s > m|s > mice)fo≠tus, fo≠tjus (PGmc pl *fo≠tiz) goose/geese, foot/feet

Umlaut is essentially inactive in modern English. Its remains areviewed as “irregularities” now.As a side note, modern Icelandic is in contrast to English soconservative that it has retained full case inflections from ON.Phonological processes like umlaut remain very much alive to thisday. These nouns, for instance, alternate 2 or even 3 vowels:

‘tooth’ NGA tönn, G tannar; (pl.) NA tennur, G tanna, D tönnum‘foot’ N fótur, G fótar, D fæti, A fót; (pl.) NA fætur, G fóta, D fótum

Mutating Vowels!Mutating Vowels!

In summary, the combination of original ablaut (vowel gradation) fromIndo-European and the effects of umlaut factors (i-, u-, w-mutation andsome other factors)--plus a few later developments having to do withsyllable structure--all serve to create the vowel alternations we see todayin various word families.

broad/breadth (OE bra≠d!)

long/length

wide/width

fall, fell, fallen; to fell a tree

heave, hove; have; heft, hefty

give, gave, given; giftetc. etc. etc.

Alliteration (Stabreim)Alliteration (Stabreim)

Why do we say things like

FRIEND or FOE?

Alliteration (Stabreim)Alliteration (Stabreim)

In Old Germanic oral tradition, alliteration(Ger. Stabreim), or repetition of initialsounds in successive words, was commoninstead of rhyme as we think of it.

Alliteration served:As a memory aid

For dramatic effect, emphasis onimportant words

Alliteration (Stabreim)Alliteration (Stabreim)

An example from Beowulf (translation by Seamus Heaney):

Ongeat πa ≠ se go ≠da grund-wyrgenne,mere-w|f mihtig; mægen-ræ≠s forgeafhilde-bille, hond sweng ne ofte ≠ahπæt hire on hafelan hring-mæ ≠l a ≠go ≠lgræ ≠dig gu ≠∂-le ≠o∂. (...)

The hero observed that swamp-thing from hell,the tarn-hag in all her terrible strength,then heaved his war-sword and swung his arm:the decorated blade came down ringingand singing on her head. (...)

Alliteration (Stabreim)Alliteration (Stabreim)

The mindset of Germanic alliteration survives in manyalliterative pairs, some of which are modern formations:

kith and kin tried and truetime and tide now or neverfriend or foe live and learnrough and ready hippety-hopwith heart and hand house and homewind and weather vim and vigorlife and limb no rhyme or reasondown and dirty hale and heartybed and breakfast come hell or high waterrest and relaxation

Word OrderWord Order

Why do we hear things in strange ordersin nursery rhymes that we’d never saynormally? You know, like

A merry old soul was he.

and

Then came his fiddlers three.

Word OrderWord Order

Although Subj-Vb-Obj was a typical word order in Gmc.,and very much so already in Old English, placinganother element first was common, especially since theinflections indicated grammatical function. The verbthen usually remained second if for instance an adverbcame first:

˜a≠ clipode he≠ and cwæ∂ ...Then called he and said ...(MnE: Then he cried out, saying) ...

Word OrderWord Order

Modern English retains the V-S inversion only in a fewfixed expressions:

“Give me wine!” said he. (Old King Cole?)Little did we know that a cliff lay ahead.Not only was she rich, but she was also smart.Never would I presume!No sooner had he said it ...

Otherwise, the S-V order prevails. Modern English, withno inflections, relies solely on word order to indicategrammar function.

Soon they saw a clearing ahead.“Give me some wine!” he said.

Word OrderWord Order

The V-S inversion was also typical in older English forquestions with question words:

Hu≠ clypode A±beles blo≠d to≠ Gode ... ?‘How called out Abel’s blood to God ... ?’

As well as in yes/no questions:

Gehy≠rst πu≠, sæ≠lida?‘Hear you, sailor?’

Word OrderWord Order

Modern English retains the V-S inversion in allquestions, but most often inserts a helping verb:

not How called out Abel’s blood to God ... ? but How did Abel’s blood call out to God ... ?

As well as in yes/no questions:

not Hear you, sailor? but Do you hear, sailor?

Word OrderWord Order

Generally, only auxiliary verbs (used with infinitives orparticiples as completions) are allowed to form a V-Sinversion in Modern English questions:

OK Can you bring me some tea? OK Must they always shout so much? OK Have you forgotten anything? OK Is Mrs. Jones coming to the social?

but Have you any change?seems quaint (or British!), and

Wish you anything else, Sir? orBrought Tom the pizza?

sound downright wrong in MnE.

Semantic shiftSemantic shift

OK, so, if German, Dutch, Danish and English all came fromthe same source, why does tide mean a different thing inEnglish from the other three, even though they wereoriginally the same word?

English tide (regular ebb and flow of the sea)

Danish tid (= time)

Dutch tijd (= time)

German Zeit (= time)

OE t|d also meant ‘time, hour’ and survives in such wordsas Yuletide, Whitsuntide, or “time and tide will admit nodelaying” (an alliterative doublet)

Semantic shiftSemantic shift

Many times words change their meanings slightly or agreat deal over centuries. This is semantic shift.

MnE deer // G Tier, Du dier, OE de ≠or ‘animal’

MnE wife - OE w|f ‘woman, wife’ // G Weib, Du wijf (now pej.)

Ice hross, MnE horse // G Ross, Du ros, ‘steed’

MnE town - OE tu≠n ‘enclosure, village’ // G Zaun ‘fence’ //Du tuin ‘garden’ // OIr du ≠n ‘fortress’

Frequent as -ton in English place & personal names:

Brighton, Newton, Flemington, Wellington, etc.

NWGmc & IngwaeonicNWGmc & Ingwaeonic

What’s the origin of bringvs. brought?

NWGmc & IngwaeonicNWGmc & Ingwaeonic

North Sea dialects (e.g., OE, Dutch, Frisian) shared certain charac-teristics. One was loss of nasal consonants (n, m) before a fricativesound. The vowel was lengthened in compensation for the loss.

IngwaeonicOE *finf > f|f, MnE five, Du vijf cf. Ger fünf

bring vs. brought (g was fricative)think vs. thought (k<x,h)

OE *tanπ > *tonπ > to≠π, tooth G Zahn (cf. Lat dent-)

Here Dutch has tand and mond (WITH the n). Why?

OE so ≠π (MnE forsooth) cf. Dan sand

stand vs. stood

OE *monπ > *munπ > mu≠π > mouth G Mund (cf. Lat mand-)

Second Sound ShiftSecond Sound Shift

Why does German seem so differentfrom English when it’s a relatedlanguage?

(You knew I had to sneak Germaninto this, didn’t you!)

Second Sound ShiftSecond Sound Shift

All Germanic languages shared the First Sound Shift.That’s how they split off from Indo-European.

Only Central and Southern German underwent somethingcalled the Second (or “High German”) Sound Shift whichfurther differentiated it from the remaining Germaniclanguages--including, incidentally, northern Germandialects. This “Zweite Lautverschiebung” occurred mostcompletely in remote Swiss mountain villages and spreadnorthward. Only some of the sounds shifted in centralGermany--or only in some words and not others--so thosedialects are a “mix” of shifted and unshifted sounds. Theprocess happened around 400-800 A.D.

Second Sound ShiftSecond Sound Shift

As with the First (Germanic) Sound Shift, consonants wereaffected in the Second (High German) Sound Shift:

English Dutch German (showing 2nd shift)

ten, two tien, twee zehn, zweiwater, that water, dat Wasser, daspepper, deep peper, diep Pfeffer, tiefmake, book maken, boek machen, Buch

Northern German dialects, along with Frisian and Dutch, aremore akin to English in their consonants. In fact, Frisian is theclosest relative to English.

Latin LeftoversLatin Leftovers

If Latin was so important in Europeuntil well into the 18th and even 19thcenturies, did English absorb anyLatin vocabulary?

Latin LeftoversLatin Leftovers

Latin loan words (examples from Pyles)early loans: common to all Gmc languagesoral loans, popular language

wine (OE w|n), Lat v|numcheap (EmnE good cheap, OE ce≠ap ‘marketplace, wares, price’; cf. name Chapman), Lat caupo ≠ ‘tradesman, wineseller’

Latin LeftoversLatin Leftovers

anchor (OE ancor), Lat ancorabutter (OE butere), Lat bu ≠tyrumchalk (OE cealc), Lat calc-cheese (OE ce ≠se), Lat ca ≠seus cf. Ger Käse, Frisian tjidish (OE disc), Lat discus cf. Ger Tisch ‘tablekettle (OE cetel), Lat catillus ’little pot’ cf. Ger Kessel’kitchen (OE cycene), L coqu|na cf. Ger Küchemile (OE m|l), L milia (passuum) ‘a thousand (paces)’mint (OE mynet ‘coin, coinage’), L mone ≠ta cf. Ger Münze-monger (OE mangere ‘trader, merchant, broker’), L mango ≠ cf. gossip monger, war monger mongrel is not from this root; probably from OE gemong ‘crowd’ > ME ymong, mong ‘mixture’pepper (OE piper, pipor), L piper cf. Ger Pfefferpound (OE pund), L pondo ≠ ‘measure of weight’) cf. Ger Pfundsack (OE sacc), L saccus)sickel (OE sicol), L secula’ cf. Ger Sichelstreet (OE stræ ≠t), L (via) stra≠ta ‘paved (road) cf. Ger Straßewall (OE weall), L vallum

These were all borrowed into Gmc after the first sound shift but beforethe second “High German” sound shift, as shown by German equivalentsof indicated words.

Latin LeftoversLatin Leftovers

Pyles lists as earlier loans (some acquired from British Celts):

Old English Latin source German/Dutch cognatetæfl ‘gaming board’ tabula Tafel, tafelcandel cande≠lasealtian ‘to dance’ salta ≠resealm psalmus (from Gk) Psalmeleahtric ‘lettuce’ lactu≠caeced ‘vinegar’ ace ≠tum Essig, edik/azijnLæden ‘Latin’ Lat|na Latein, latijnmægester ‘master’ magister Meister, meestercest ‘chest’ cista > cesta Kiste, kist/kastperu ‘pear’ pirum Birne, peersenop ‘mustard’ sina ≠pi Senf, sennepregol ‘rule’ re ≠gula Regel, regelmynster ‘monastery’ monaste ≠rium Münster, munsterearc ‘ark’ arca Arche, ark/arket|gle ‘tile’ te ≠gula Ziegel, tegelsicor ‘secure’ se ≠cu ≠rus sicher, zekerstær ‘history’ historiasegn ‘mark, banner’(MnE sign from Fr signe, later)

signum

ceaster ‘city’ Manchester, Gloucester,Worcester, Casterton,Chesterfield, Lancaster, Exeter (<Execestre)

castra ‘camp’

Latin LeftoversLatin Leftovers

Somewhat later loans, after about 650 A.D., do not exhibt the typical English sound changes:

Old English Latin source German cognateplaster emplastrum Pflasteralter ‘altar’ altar Altarmartir martyr Märtyrertempl templum Tempelde ≠mon daemon Dämonpaper papy ≠rus Papiermesse ‘mass’ missa > messa Messecircul circulus Zirkel ‘compass’ca ≠lend ‘month’s beginning’ calendae, Kalendae Kalendercome≠ta come≠ta Komet

There are more than 500 in OE up to the Conquest; later borrowings than this from Latin are massivein number in comparison. Some of them were ultimately from Greek, from which Latin borrowedextensively. (Pyles)

Latin LeftoversLatin Leftovers

Middle English borrowed heavily from French and Latin.Often not really possible to tell from which language the words were taken.

• ecclesiastical terms: dirge, mediator, redemptor, later Redeemer;• legal: client, subpoena, conviction;• scholarly: simile, index, library, scribe;• scientific: dissolve, equal, essence, medicine, mercury, opaque, orbit,

quadrant, recipe.• verbs: admit, commit, discuss, interest, mediate, seclude;• adjectives: legitimate, obdurate, populous, imaginary, instant,

complete.Pyles reports that there were hundreds of Latin words adopted between theConquest and 1500.

Latin LeftoversLatin Leftovers

The most Latin and Greek terms were borrowed in the Modern English period,after 1500.From 1500-1600 or so: area, abdomen, compensate, composite, data,decorum, delirium, denominate, digress, edition, education, fictitious, folio,fortitude, gradual, horrid, imitate, janitor, jocose, lapse, medium, modern,notorious, orb, pacific, penetrate, querulous, resuscitate, sinecure, series,splendid, strict, superintendent, transition, ultimate, urban, urge, vindicate. Some of these again may be via French.From Greek via Latin: allegory, anemia, anesthesia, aristocracy, barbarous,chaos, comedy, cycle, dilemma, drama, electric, epoch, enthusiasm, epithet,history, homonym, metaphor, mystery, paradox, pharyx, phenomenon,rhapsody, rhythm, theory, zone.From Greek via French: center, chronicle, character, democracy, diet,dragon, ecstasy, fantasy, harmony, lyre, machine, nymph, pause, rheum,tyrant.From Greek directly: acronym, agnostic, anthropoid, autocracy, chlorine,idiosyncrasy, kudos, oligarchy, pathos, phone, telegram, xylophone.

Celtic CarryoversCeltic Carryovers

How about the Celts? After all,they had settled Britain before theAngles and Saxons, right?

Celtic CarryoversCeltic Carryovers

Celtic loans are not numerous because they were the conquered people.Pyles states that it is likely ceaster (< L castra) was one, as was the –coln inLincoln (< L colo ≠nia; cf. here G Köln, Du Keulen). One is torr ‘peak’. Severalplace names are of Celtic origin: Cornwall, Devon, Avon, Usk, Dover, London,Carlisle, and many more.

A Case for CasesA Case for Cases

Old dative forms:methinks, me thoughte ‘it seems/seemed to me’me mette (ME) ‘it dreamed to me’

Old accusative:If you please ‘if it please you’ (Fr s’il vous plaît, D.O.)

Old instrumental forms (OE πy≠):the more, the merrier

‘by that (much) more, by that (much) merriernonetheless ‘nothing less by that’all the better to eat you, my dear

Old reflexive pronouns:Now I lay me down to sleep ... (myself)He set him down. = He sat (set himself) down.

Prepositional PlunderingsPrepositional Plunderings

Why do we say “to fight WITHsomeone”? Aren’t we really fightingagainst the person?

And why are thoroughbredscalled that? Are they bred tobe really hard workers or goodat detail?

Prepositional PlunderingsPrepositional Plunderings

wiπ in OE meant ‘against, opposite, from’:

withstand ‘stand against’’

to fight with someone

to break with one’s familyto break up with a boyfriend

withdraw ‘draw away from’’

withhold ‘hold away, back from’’

notwithstanding ‘not opposing that’

Prepositional PlunderingsPrepositional Plunderings

πurh (ME also πruh) gives us both ‘through’ and‘thorough’ in the same meaning:

thoroughbred ‘bred through a long line’

thorough bass ‘basso continuo’, playing all theway through the piece

throughly ‘(archaic) in a thorough manner’

thoroughfare ‘passage through’

through street, throughway

Old English Lives!Old English Lives!

100 most frequent words in Old EnglishThose with little or no change in form or meaning:god

mannheofoneor∂e

weoroldl|f

lufuword

weorcdæghandcynnπancengel

icπu ≠he ≠hitπæthwa ≠

GodmanheavenearthworldlifelovewordworkdayhandkinthankangelIthouheitthatwho

whatthisself, samewhichsitseekholdbeargivecomeseebe, wasdo, didgoodwidefastholyrichone, nonehigh, -er

hwætπisself

hwelcsittan

se ≠canhealdan

berangiefancuman

se ≠onbe ≠on, wæsdo ≠n, dyde

go ≠dw|d

fæstha ≠ligr|ce

a ≠n, na ≠nhe ≠ah, h|erra

micel, ma ≠ramæ ≠st

to≠eallswa ≠πæ ≠r

πannenu ≠æ ≠r

in, onto≠

forofer

underæfter

ætπurh

and, ondgif

πe ≠ah

much, moremosttooallso, astherethennowere, beforein, onto, towardforoverunderafteratthroughandifthough

Harder to RecognizeHarder to Recognize

100 most frequent words in Old EnglishThose with substantial change in form or meaning (modern cognate in parentheses):

cyningmo ≠dfolc

mynddo ≠m

fe ≠ondfæsten

ga ≠stso ≠π

burgwieldan

habban,hæfdemæg, meahtewillan, wolde

sculan, sceoldea ≠gan

king (Ger. König)(mood), courage(folk), people(mind), memory(doom), judgment(fiend), enemy(fastness), fortification(ghost), spirit(sooth), truth(borough), walled town(wield), controlhave, hadmay, mightwill, wouldshall, shouldown

be able, mustsay(fare), travel(can, couth), know(quoth), say, said(shape), createsuch(lieve), beloved(eke), also(so-like), likewiseaye; never, not at alllike(with), against, opposite

mo ≠tan, mo ≠stesecgan

farancunnan, cu ≠∂e

cwe∂an, cwæ∂scieppan

swelcle ≠ofe ≠ac

swelcea ≠, na ≠gel|c

wi∂

Old English Doesn’t LiveOld English Doesn’t Live

100 most frequent words in Old EnglishThose which are lost in modern English: (but not always inother Germanic languages):

dryhtenhyger|ceπe ≠od

wuldoræ∂eling

scopl|c

feorhwerhe ≠o

se ≠, se ≠oπe ≠s, πe ≠os

ha ≠tan, ha ≠tteweor∂anbeorgan

lord, Dan. drotningthought, Dan. hyggedominion, Ger. Reichpeople, nation, Ger. deutschglorynobleman, prince, Ger. edelpoet, singerbody, corpse, Ger. Leichelifeman (but werewolf)shethe (m. & f. forms)this(ME hight) be called, G heißen(ME worth), G werdenprotect, G bergen

(wit), know; G wissenremember, Ice. munaeternalstrongnoble, G edellater, Dan. efternot, neitherthen, when, G davery, extremelywith, G mit, Ice me∂but

witanmunan

e ≠cesw|∂

æ∂eleeftneπa ≠

sw|∂emid

ac

The Same but DifferentThe Same but Different

Words whose meanings have changed since medieval times:

now then compare withnaughty of no value naught (nothing)dip baptize Ger taufenknave young fellow, servant Ger Knabe ‘boy’lewd uncultured OE læ≠wede ‘laical, ignorant’crafty wise, knowledgeable witchcraft, know one’s craftnice foolish, silly, wanton Fr. niais ‘stupid, silly’silly blessed, innocent OE sæ Ł ≠lig ‘happy’, Ger seligcrude bloody L crudus, Fr cru ‘raw’hussy housewife OE hu ≠s ‘house’harlot drifter, no-goodnik Harley rider? Ha ha. OFr herlot

‘rogue’; herler ‘yell, make noise’farce stuffing; later, a filler Fr. farcir ‘stuff’

between acts of playflesh meat Ger Fleisch

Invading Danes: Old NorseInvading Danes: Old Norse

Wasn’t there a lot of Scandinavianinfluence in Old English? If so, do we stillsee any residual effects from that?

Invading Danes: Old NorseInvading Danes: Old Norse

Danes and Norwegians, speaking a tongue veryclose in many ways to OE (Old Norse, or ON),invaded, settled and thoroughly integratedthemselves into northeastern Britain starting inthe 9th century. Their contact with the nativepopulation was extremely intimate, and they wereassimilated into it thoroughly by intermarriage.Since ON was so closely akin to OE, manyconfusions and mutual influences arosebetween the two languages (grammar endingsand syntax as well as lexical items).

Invading Danes: Old NorseInvading Danes: Old Norse

One visible ON element in our vocabulary is the K or SKsound, which had become a CH or SH sound in English.Interesting doublets arise:

kirk / church raise / reardike / ditch shriek / screechskirt / shirt ship / skiff

Other loans from Scandinavian are:

kid, get, eggskill, skin, basksky (OE lyft, Ger Luft, Du lucht),take (OE niman, Ger nehmen, Du nemen)nay, swain

Invading Danes: Old NorseInvading Danes: Old Norse

Other Scandinavian loans, all part of our basic everyday vocabulary:

leg, neck, skincake, knife, window (‘wind-eye’)flat, ill, odd, ugly, wrongcall, cast, die, happen, raise, take, wantthough

An extremely important ON loan into English are the pronounsthey/them. OE had a rather ill-defined mess:

he/him OE: he≠, him, hine (Subj, I.O., D.O.)she/her he≠o, hire, he≠othey/them he≠o, him, he≠o

You can see why they/them won out!

Those Pesky NormansThose Pesky Normans

Why does it seem so easy to learnmany French words? They seem justlike English, just pronounceddifferently. How did this come about?

Those Pesky NormansThose Pesky Normans

William the Conqueror and his band of Normansshowed up in England in 1066 and took over thehelm at the Battle of Hastings. They were actuallyNorsemen originally who had invaded northernFrance and been assimilated. Their languagewas thus French.French rulers dominatee culturally and linguistic-ally for the next 200 years or so. French becamethe language of the feudal courts, church institu-tions, civilized life in general. Loan words reflectthis cultural importance--although Norse wordsstill enter the language faster until about 1132.ME has a vastly different look from that of OE.

French in Public LifeFrench in Public Life

noble, royal, juggler, castle, prince, duke, viscount, barongovernment, administer, attorney, chancellor, country,court, servicecrime, prison, estate, judge, jury, peasant, trespass,punish, oppress, prohibit, discipline, tax, penalty, torture,supplication, exile, treason, rebel, dungeon, execution,mortgage (lit. ‘death-pledge’)abbot, clergy, preach, sacrament, vestmentarmy, captain, corporal, lieutenant, sergeant, soldierdignity, enamor, feign, fool, fruit, horrible, letter, literature,magic, male, marvel, mirror, oppose, question, regard,remember, sacrifice, safe, salary, search, second, secret,seize, sentence, single, sober, solacecarriage, courage, language, savage, village

French SourcesFrench Sources

Fr gentil > gentle, later loans genteel, jaunty

Loans had different forms depending on original dialect:Anglo-Norman: c-, w- Central (Parisian): ch-, gu/g-

chapter (L caput) cattle chattel (L capita≠le) wage gage warranty guarantee

ME borrowings have ch pronounced as in OFr of the time: chase, chamber, chance, chant, change, champion, charge, chaste, check, choice

Later borrowings reflect the evolved French pronunciation: chauffeur, chamois, chevron,chic, chiffon, chignon, douche, machine

Those Pesky NormansThose Pesky Normans

English Old French Modern Frenchretains -s- from Old French has –s- -s- lost in later OFr;(pronounced at time of loan) (pronounced early) indicated by é-

school escole écolescholar escoler écolier (school pupil)strait estreit, estroit détroit (étroit = narrow)strange estrange étrangestable estable établespine espine épinespangle espingle épingle (pin)stallion estalon étalonstate; estate estat étatstanch estanchier étancherestablish establir établirspouse espos, espose époux, épousespice espice, espece épicespinach espinach, espinoch épinardespy espier épierspell espeldre, espeler (explain) épeler (spell)discourage descoragier découragerdiscover descovrir découvrirscout escolte (spy) écouter (listen)scale (of fish) escale, escaille écailledespoil despoillier dépouiller (skin; plunder)describe descrire décriresquire, esquire escuier écuyer (squire; rider)

Those Pesky NormansThose Pesky Normans

English Old French Modern Frenchretains -s- from Old French has –s- -s- lost in later OFr;(pronounced at time of loan) (pronounced early) indicated by circumflex

forest forest forêthostel hostel hôtel (now hotel)host hoste, oste hôtevested vesti vêtubeast beste bêtemaster maistre, mestre maîtremistress maistresse maîtresseghastly gast (ruined) dégâtpaste past, paste pâtepastry pastoirie pâtisseriehospital ospital hôpitalhostage ostage otage (no circumflex)priest prestre prêtreplaster plastre plâtre

French is FancyFrench is Fancy

French words are used to describe ‘cultured’ and official life. Everydaythings involved with lower classes retained the Anglo-Saxon words.

Prepared meats for eating at a fine table are for instance French, as arethe terms for their preparation. The animals from which the meats comeare Germanic:

French terms Anglo-Saxon termsbeef, pork, veal, mutton, pullet; steer, pig, calf, sheep, chicken(bœuf, porc, veau, mouton, poulet)boil, broil, fry, stew, roast

Also, the French terms are elegant: English ones earthy or crude:

odor, perspiration, dine, deceased smell, sweat, eat, deaddepart, return, desire, obtain go away, come back, want, getregard, receive, urine, excrement look at, get, ****, ****

Gallic TidbitsGallic Tidbits

Rotten Row in London’s Hyde Park is fromFrench ‘route du roi’, ‘king’s path’ (a riding path)

Hoity-toity refers to upper classes looking downat lower folks from their high roof, or ‘haut toit’

Mayday! perhaps from Fr. Venez m’aider!

Fun FactsFun Facts

beware: OE warian ‘preoccupy, claim the attention of’;ME war ‘on guard, attentive’OE weard ‘guardian, keeper’

lordPrOE *hla≠f-ward ‘keeper of the loaf’, > OE hla ≠ford >ME loverd > MnE lord

ladyPrOE *hla≠f-d|ge > OE hlæ≠f-d|ge ‘bread (loaf) kneader’> MnE lady(cf. OE da ≠g ‘dough’, ME dogh)

Fun FactsFun Facts

Hocus-pocus may come from Latin Hoc est corpus inthe Mass (“This is the Body”)

The “loo”: Garde à l’eau!

Cinderella’s slipper was made of squirrel fur (Fr. vair ),but mistranslated by retellers poor in French (or whocouldn’t afford fur) who thought it was verre, glass.

Vulgus is Latin for crowd. Vulgar referred originally tonon-nobles. French gentil gives us gentleman, gentility.

Willy-nilly from OE wille nylle (contraction of ne wille)‘if he wants or doesn’t want’

Hope you had fun!Hope you had fun!