Middle English word geography: Methodology and applications illustrated
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María José Carrillo Linares
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate two things: first, the methodology employed for the study of Middle English lexical dialectal material; and second, the possibility of carrying out some practical applications related to the geographical distributions of lexical items. For the methodology, we focus on the importance of undertaking a cumulative analysis, based on the collection of as much data as possible and from as many sources as we may find for any item. It is essential for the analysis of the data to be aware of the textual histories of the manuscript sources as well. As a practical application of the results obtained from our analysis, we propose to explore the possibility of redefining the localisation of a manuscript by using the lexical material. Localisation according to lexical material might not always agree with localisation according to orthographic criteria, but even if the lexical choices can be conditioned by different factors, the global study of the lexical information together with the phono-graphological features might help to localise some texts more precisely.
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate two things: first, the methodology employed for the study of Middle English lexical dialectal material; and second, the possibility of carrying out some practical applications related to the geographical distributions of lexical items. For the methodology, we focus on the importance of undertaking a cumulative analysis, based on the collection of as much data as possible and from as many sources as we may find for any item. It is essential for the analysis of the data to be aware of the textual histories of the manuscript sources as well. As a practical application of the results obtained from our analysis, we propose to explore the possibility of redefining the localisation of a manuscript by using the lexical material. Localisation according to lexical material might not always agree with localisation according to orthographic criteria, but even if the lexical choices can be conditioned by different factors, the global study of the lexical information together with the phono-graphological features might help to localise some texts more precisely.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction ix
- The early Middle English scribe: Sprach er wie er schrieb? 1
- Essex/Suffolk scribes and their language in fifteenth-century London 45
- Middle English word geography: Methodology and applications illustrated 67
- Northern Middle English: Towards telling the full story 91
- The origins of the Northern Subject Rule 111
- Dynamic dialectology and social networks 131
- The Celtic hypothesis hasn't gone away: New perspectives on old debates 153
- On the trail of "intolerable Scoto-Hibernic jargon": Ulster English, Irish English and dialect hygiene in William Carleton's Traits and stories of the Irish peasantry (First Series, 1830) 171
- Exceptions to sound change and external motivation 185
- Index of subjects 195
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction ix
- The early Middle English scribe: Sprach er wie er schrieb? 1
- Essex/Suffolk scribes and their language in fifteenth-century London 45
- Middle English word geography: Methodology and applications illustrated 67
- Northern Middle English: Towards telling the full story 91
- The origins of the Northern Subject Rule 111
- Dynamic dialectology and social networks 131
- The Celtic hypothesis hasn't gone away: New perspectives on old debates 153
- On the trail of "intolerable Scoto-Hibernic jargon": Ulster English, Irish English and dialect hygiene in William Carleton's Traits and stories of the Irish peasantry (First Series, 1830) 171
- Exceptions to sound change and external motivation 185
- Index of subjects 195
