Abstract noun ‘suffixes’ and text type in Old English
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Anne-Christine Gardner
Abstract
The present study investigates six elements (-dōm, -hād, -lāc, -nes, -rœden and -scipe) which can form abstract nouns with a noun as a first element in Old English. On the basis of West Saxon selections from the Helsinki Corpus, these elements are classified into two groups according to frequency and productivity, both synchronically and diachronically. Among high frequency elements -hād reaches a stronger productivity than -dōm and -scipe, whereas less frequent -nes is more productive than -rœden and -lāc. A particular focus lies on different prototypical text categories, which reflect general usage patterns while showing idiosyncratic characteristics and display conservative or progressive features in view of developments in Middle English. With its support of -lāc and -rœden religious writing can be shown to promote conservative aspects of language use more than non-fiction. The findings from this investigation form a basis of comparison for future studies on Middle English word formation.
Abstract
The present study investigates six elements (-dōm, -hād, -lāc, -nes, -rœden and -scipe) which can form abstract nouns with a noun as a first element in Old English. On the basis of West Saxon selections from the Helsinki Corpus, these elements are classified into two groups according to frequency and productivity, both synchronically and diachronically. Among high frequency elements -hād reaches a stronger productivity than -dōm and -scipe, whereas less frequent -nes is more productive than -rœden and -lāc. A particular focus lies on different prototypical text categories, which reflect general usage patterns while showing idiosyncratic characteristics and display conservative or progressive features in view of developments in Middle English. With its support of -lāc and -rœden religious writing can be shown to promote conservative aspects of language use more than non-fiction. The findings from this investigation form a basis of comparison for future studies on Middle English word formation.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & acknowledgements vii
- List of abbreviations ix
- Editors’ introduction xi
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Part I. Etymology
- Etymology and the OED 3
- On the etymological relationships of wank , swank , and wonky 21
- Base etymology in the historical thesauri of deverbatives in English 29
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Part II. Semantic fields
- The global organization of the English lexicon and its evolution 65
- Repayment and revenge 85
- Semantic change in the domain of the vocabulary of Christian clergy 99
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Part III. Word-formation
- Abstract noun ‘suffixes’ and text type in Old English 119
- The lexicalisation of syncope 133
- Oriented - ingly adjuncts in Late Modern English 147
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Part IV. Textlinguistics, text types, politeness
- Historical text linguistics 167
- Repetitive and therefore fixed? 189
- Politeness strategies in Late Middle English women’s mystical writing 209
- A diachronic discussion of extenders in English remedies found in the Corpus of Early English Recipes (1350–1850) 223
- “It is with a trembling hand I beg to intrude this letter” 237
- Genre analysis 255
- Index 267
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & acknowledgements vii
- List of abbreviations ix
- Editors’ introduction xi
-
Part I. Etymology
- Etymology and the OED 3
- On the etymological relationships of wank , swank , and wonky 21
- Base etymology in the historical thesauri of deverbatives in English 29
-
Part II. Semantic fields
- The global organization of the English lexicon and its evolution 65
- Repayment and revenge 85
- Semantic change in the domain of the vocabulary of Christian clergy 99
-
Part III. Word-formation
- Abstract noun ‘suffixes’ and text type in Old English 119
- The lexicalisation of syncope 133
- Oriented - ingly adjuncts in Late Modern English 147
-
Part IV. Textlinguistics, text types, politeness
- Historical text linguistics 167
- Repetitive and therefore fixed? 189
- Politeness strategies in Late Middle English women’s mystical writing 209
- A diachronic discussion of extenders in English remedies found in the Corpus of Early English Recipes (1350–1850) 223
- “It is with a trembling hand I beg to intrude this letter” 237
- Genre analysis 255
- Index 267
