The perceived lack of Celtic loanwords in English has generally been seen as proof that the Anglo-Saxon invaders made short notice of their Celtic predecessors when they took possession of Britain during the fifth century. Thus, the Celts simply would not have had the chance to leave their mark on the English language as they were either killed, driven into the sea or had to take refuge in the mountainous West and North of Britain. The possibility of any Celtic influence on the very structure of English has been discounted altogether. In recent years, this view has met mounting opposition from different fields of study. New archaeological evidence as well as a methodological reassessment have called for a examination of the history of the Anglo-Saxon immigration. Besides, new advances in contact linguistics provide tools with which a more detailed look on the history of the English language has become possible.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Definition of terms
2. The Historic Background
2.1 Written Sources
2.2 Archaeology
2.3 Genetic analyses
2.4 Conclusion on Sources
3. Language Contact
3.1 Rapid Shift with Imperfect Learning
3.2 How to Define Contact Features
4. English and Celtic in Contact
4.1 Application of Framework on Historical Situation
4.2 How Long Did ‘British’ Languages Survive in Britain.
4.3 Old English diglossia
4.4 Approach Towards Proposed Features
5. Syntax (in contact)
5.1 The Analyticisation of English
5.2 Clefting
5.3 The Northern Subject Rule
5.4 External vs. Internal Possessors
5.5 Periphrastic do
5.6 The Expanded Form
5.7 Varia
5.7.1 The definite article
5.7.2 Genitival groups
5.7.3 ‘To go’ as copula
5.7.4 Preposition stranding
5.7.5 Pronouns
6. Phonology
6.1 Interdental Fricatives
6.2 Retroflex /r/
6.3 Influence in American English
7. Celtic Words and Names in English
7.1 Loanwords
7.1.1 Dialects of English
7.2 Place-Names
7.2.1 Names for Britain
7.3 Personal Names
8. Conclusion
8.1 Outlook
Research Objectives & Topics
This work aims to evaluate the evidence for potential Celtic linguistic influences on the development of the English language, specifically addressing whether structural changes in English can be attributed to contact with Celtic languages during and after the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. The primary research question examines whether the traditional view of an English language developing in isolation from Celtic substratum influence remains tenable in light of modern linguistic and historical findings.
- The historical context of the Anglo-Saxon arrival and the sociolinguistic status of the Brittonic population.
- Methodological frameworks for analyzing contact-induced language change, specifically differentiating between borrowing and language shift.
- Analysis of specific morphosyntactic and phonological features in Present-Day English potentially linked to Celtic interference.
- The impact of language contact on the English lexicon and toponymy.
- Contrasting different academic perspectives on internal versus external causation for changes in the English language.
Extract from the Book
1. Introduction
The perceived lack of Celtic loanwords in English has generally been seen as proof that the Anglo-Saxon invaders made short notice of their Celtic predecessors when they took possession of Britain during the fifth century. Thus, the Celts simply would not have had the chance to leave their mark on the English language as they were either killed, driven into the sea or had to take refuge in the mountainous West and North of Britain. The possibility of any Celtic influence on the very structure of English has been discounted altogether.
In recent years, this view has met mounting opposition from different fields of study. New archaeological evidence as well as a methodological reassessment have called for a examination of the history of the Anglo-Saxon immigration. Besides, new advances in contact linguistics provide tools with which a more detailed look on the history of the English language has become possible.
These developments have lead to a new approach to the question of Celtic influence on the English language. The new argument runs that the dearth of Celtic loanwords in PDE can rather be seen as proof for the rapid shift of the indigenous peoples from Celtic to Anglo-Saxon speech, taking with them hardly any loanwords. Due to their ‘imperfect learning’ of the Anglo-Saxon language the Britons are assumed to have carried over a number of morphosyntactic and phonological features from Brittonic that, found their way into the general spoken language of the people due to the large number of British-influenced speakers of Anglo-Saxon. This linguistic interference is then assumed to have influenced a number of changes in the English language.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the research scope and the fundamental challenge to the traditional view of early Celtic-English contact.
2. The Historic Background: Examines the sociolinguistic landscape, archaeological findings, and genetic data concerning the survival of the British population after the Anglo-Saxon migration.
3. Language Contact: Discusses the theoretical framework of contact linguistics, distinguishing between borrowing and rapid language shift.
4. English and Celtic in Contact: Reviews various historical theories regarding the duration of the British language's survival and the potential for long-term contact influences.
5. Syntax (in contact): Provides an in-depth analysis of specific syntactic features, such as the analyticisation of English, clefting, and periphrastic 'do', and their potential Celtic origins.
6. Phonology: Explores phonological developments and the potential for substratum influence on English sound systems.
7. Celtic Words and Names in English: Details lexical borrowing and the significance of Celtic elements in place-names and personal naming conventions.
8. Conclusion: Summarizes the current state of debate and the necessity for a balanced view on multicausal linguistic developments.
Keywords
Celtic, English, Language Contact, Brittonic, Anglo-Saxon, Morphosyntax, Phonology, Loanwords, Substratum, Language Shift, Analyticisation, Clefting, Northern Subject Rule, Place-names, Historical Linguistics
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
This paper investigates the potential influence of Celtic languages on the development of the English language, focusing on whether structural changes in English could be a result of contact with Celtic-speaking populations during the early medieval period.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The study centers on contact linguistics, historical and archaeological evidence of the Anglo-Saxon migration, and specific linguistic subsystems, including morphosyntax, phonology, and the lexicon.
What is the primary goal of the research?
The goal is to determine if the traditional hypothesis—which claims that English developed independently of Celtic influence—can be revised in light of modern linguistic theories concerning substratum interference and language shift.
What scientific methodology is applied?
The work utilizes the framework established by Thomason and Kaufman (1988) and Thomason (2001) to distinguish between language contact scenarios (borrowing vs. shift) and evaluates the likelihood of external versus internal causation for various linguistic features.
What does the main body of the work cover?
It provides a comprehensive overview of the historic background, theoretical models of language contact, and detailed discussions on syntactic features (e.g., the analyticization of English, clefting), phonological developments, and the study of loanwords and place-names.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include Celtic, English, Language Contact, Brittonic, Anglo-Saxon, Morphosyntax, Phonology, Loanwords, and Substratum.
How does the author define the 'Celtic Englishes'?
The author uses the term to refer to regional varieties of English spoken in areas where Celtic languages were formerly—or still are—spoken by significant portions of the population, such as Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Man.
What is the 'New Debate' in archaeology mentioned in the text?
The 'New Debate' refers to the shift in scholarly consensus from the 'extermination and expulsion' model of the Anglo-Saxon invasion toward 'elite replacement' theories, which suggest a higher degree of continuity among the indigenous British population.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Jan Niehues (Autor:in), 2006, The Influences of the Celtic Languages on Present-Day English, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/117895
