Structure:
Part I – Textual Work on “Bede´s Account of the Poet Cædmon”
1. Provement of the claim: For a precise classification of Old English 1 - 2
inflexional forms it does usually not suffice only to look at the
respective form.
2. Formative relationship between OE lār and læran 2
3. Word formation and Compounding 2 - 3
Part II – Term paper: The Scandinavian Influence on Old English
1. Introduction 3 - 4
2. Historical Background – Viking Invasion on the British Isle 4 - 5
3. Language Family 6 - 7
4. Loanwords, loan-blends, loan-shifts 7 - 9
5. Norse-derived vocabulary 10 - 11
6. Conclusion 11
Bibliography 12
Erklärung über die selbstständige Abfassung einer schriftlichen Arbeit
Part I – Textual Work on “Bede´s Account of the Poet Cædmon”
1.)
It is unprofitable only to look at the respective form, because the –an declension of nouns contains five forms with the ending –an (Sg.a./g./d. - Pl.n./a.)
Examples: guma – engl.: man (masc.) cyrice – engl.: church (fem.)
Sg.n. guma cyrice
Sg.a. guman cyrican
Sg.g. guman cyrican
Sg.d. guman cyrican
Pl.n. guman cyrican
Pl.a. guman cyrican
Pl.g. gumena cyricena
Pl.d. gumum cyricum
Next I will specify case, number, gender, declensional/conjugational class, weak/strong inflexion of the following forms from the Cædmon text.
At a glance
- Grammatical analysis of forms from Bede’s account of Cædmon
- Compares related words in Old English, Old High German, Old Norse and Gothic
- Lists Scandinavian loanwords by word class
- Examines Scandinavian place-name endings including -by and -thorp
- 11 sources in the bibliography
Contents
Part I – Textual Work on “Bede´s Account of the Poet Cædmon”
1. Provement of the claim: For a precise classification of Old English inflexional forms it does usually not suffice only to look at the respective form.
2. Formative relationship between OE lār and læran
3. Word formation and Compounding
Part II – Term paper: The Scandinavian Influence on Old English
1. Introduction
2. Historical Background – Viking Invasion on the British Isle
3. Language Family
4. Loanwords, loan-blends, loan-shifts
5. Norse-derived vocabulary
6. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This work examines Old English forms and word formation in a text about Cædmon, then explores how Scandinavian contact shaped English vocabulary. It asks how historical contact and relationships between Germanic languages can help explain Scandinavian-derived words and names in English.
- Inflection and grammatical classification in the Cædmon text
- Old English word formation and compounds
- Viking settlement and the Danelaw
- Relationships among Germanic languages
- Loanwords, loan-blends and loan-shifts
- Norse-derived vocabulary and place names
Excerpt from the Book
Language family
If two languages are divergent continuations of a language, which was similarly spoken to a particular time in the past, said that they are genetically related, and they belong to the same language family. This means that there has to be a parent language and a daughter language, or rather daughter languages. The language which serves as a common ancestor is the proto-language, but in case of deviating from the language-family-model we better call it the parent language. Both languages, the parent language and the daughter language(s) constitute a language family. Frequently the proto-language can be proved and demonstrated with preserved texts. The Romance languages which include French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Rumanian, and others are the daughter languages of Latin. But the derivatives of Latin rather differ from each other, because each of them was an ethnic group who has its own language, for example, most of France originally spoke Celtic dialects. This is pretty the same with the Germanic languages. Here is one example which obviously indicates that Old High German, Old Norse and Gothic are related. I have also added Old English and Modern English for the recognizability that these languages do belong as daughter languages to this language family. These languages have got a large number of words which are similar in both sound and meaning, particularly the first sound of words is equal. We can see that the Modern English words “father” and “foot” have in each case an f as the initial letter. The chart for the words “three” and “thou” differs only in terms of the Old High German d as the initial letter, but one can assume that a language made a change from Þ to d, rather than three made a change the other way around.
Chapter Summaries
Part I – Textual Work on “Bede´s Account of the Poet Cædmon”: The first part classifies inflectional forms from the Cædmon text and discusses the relationship between lār and læran. It also examines examples of compounding in prose and poetry.
Part II – Term paper: The Scandinavian Influence on Old English: The second part presents the historical background of Viking contact, compares Germanic languages and discusses different forms of borrowing. It also provides examples of Scandinavian-derived vocabulary and considers the wider linguistic legacy of Norse contact.
Keywords
Old English, Old Norse, Scandinavian influence, Cædmon, inflection, word formation, compounding, Vikings, Danelaw, Germanic languages, loanwords, loan-blends, loan-shifts, historical linguistics, place names
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this work about?
It combines textual work on Old English with an exploration of Scandinavian influence on English.
What are its central themes?
Its themes include Old English grammar and compounds, Viking history, Germanic language relationships and vocabulary borrowing.
What is the main objective?
The work aims to examine Old English linguistic forms and explain aspects of Scandinavian influence on English vocabulary.
What method does the author use?
The author analyzes selected forms from the Cædmon text and uses historical linguistic literature and comparative word examples to discuss language contact.
What does the main discussion cover?
It covers Viking settlement, language families, types of borrowing and examples of Norse-derived words and names.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include Old English, Old Norse, inflection, compounding, Danelaw, loanwords and language contact.
How is the Cædmon text used?
It provides examples for classifying grammatical forms and examining compounds in prose and poetry.
How does the work approach Scandinavian place names?
It discusses endings such as -by, -thorp, -thwaite and -toft, with examples of English place names.
How are Scandinavian loanwords presented?
One list groups examples by word class, while another distinguishes Norse loans from probable and possible loans.
- Quote paper
- Kevin Theinl (Author), 2009, Old English - The Scandinavian Influence on Old English, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/179374
