Norse influence on English in the light of general contact linguistics
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Angelika Lutz
Abstract
This paper shows (1) that the Old English lexical evidence for Old Norse influence neatly reflects the contact situation in late Anglo-Saxon England, namely Danish dominance much beyond the Danelaw: Loans such as English law and earl, together with numerous words only attested in Old English texts, reflect extended foreign rule and must therefore be characterized as clearly superstratal, very much like later loans from Old French such as English justice and duke. Moreover, this paper demonstrates (2) that the lexical loans from Old Norse first attested in post-Conquest Danelaw texts, typically with very basic meanings, can be paralleled with much more intense borrowing of such basic words from Old French. Based on the findings of general contact linguistics, both types of lexical borrowing from Old Norse and Old French can be attributed to superstratal influence. Finally, this paper shows (3) that structural influences of Old Norse first attested in the (former) Danelaw, which include (a) the integration of function words into the morpho-syntactic system of English and (b) the accelerated reduction of inflections and the fixing of VO order due to attrition of unaccented syllables, must be attributed to the close genetic relationship between the two Germanic languages in contact, not to their stratal relationship. The earliest evidence for phonotactically determined attrition and its consequences for the morphological system occurs in the late10th-century Lindisfarne gloss.
Abstract
This paper shows (1) that the Old English lexical evidence for Old Norse influence neatly reflects the contact situation in late Anglo-Saxon England, namely Danish dominance much beyond the Danelaw: Loans such as English law and earl, together with numerous words only attested in Old English texts, reflect extended foreign rule and must therefore be characterized as clearly superstratal, very much like later loans from Old French such as English justice and duke. Moreover, this paper demonstrates (2) that the lexical loans from Old Norse first attested in post-Conquest Danelaw texts, typically with very basic meanings, can be paralleled with much more intense borrowing of such basic words from Old French. Based on the findings of general contact linguistics, both types of lexical borrowing from Old Norse and Old French can be attributed to superstratal influence. Finally, this paper shows (3) that structural influences of Old Norse first attested in the (former) Danelaw, which include (a) the integration of function words into the morpho-syntactic system of English and (b) the accelerated reduction of inflections and the fixing of VO order due to attrition of unaccented syllables, must be attributed to the close genetic relationship between the two Germanic languages in contact, not to their stratal relationship. The earliest evidence for phonotactically determined attrition and its consequences for the morphological system occurs in the late10th-century Lindisfarne gloss.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
- Norse influence on English in the light of general contact linguistics 15
- The Germanic roots of the Old English sound system 43
- Monetary policy and Old English dialects 73
- The order and schedule of nominal plural formation transfer in three Southern dialects of Early Middle English 95
- The temporal and regional contexts of the numeral ‘two’ in Middle English 115
- Grammaticalisation, contact and corpora 131
- Discourse organization and the rise of final then in the history of English 153
- The origins of how come and what…for 177
- “Providing/provided that” 197
- Prefer 215
- The 400 million word Corpus of Historical American English (1810–2009) 231
- Gender change from Old to Middle English 263
- “Please tilt me-ward by return of post” 289
- Multilingualism in the vocabulary of dress and textiles in late medieval Britain 313
- “No man entreth in or out” 327
- Beyond questions and answers 349
- The demise of gog and cock and their phraseologies in dramatic discourse 369
- Index 383
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
- Norse influence on English in the light of general contact linguistics 15
- The Germanic roots of the Old English sound system 43
- Monetary policy and Old English dialects 73
- The order and schedule of nominal plural formation transfer in three Southern dialects of Early Middle English 95
- The temporal and regional contexts of the numeral ‘two’ in Middle English 115
- Grammaticalisation, contact and corpora 131
- Discourse organization and the rise of final then in the history of English 153
- The origins of how come and what…for 177
- “Providing/provided that” 197
- Prefer 215
- The 400 million word Corpus of Historical American English (1810–2009) 231
- Gender change from Old to Middle English 263
- “Please tilt me-ward by return of post” 289
- Multilingualism in the vocabulary of dress and textiles in late medieval Britain 313
- “No man entreth in or out” 327
- Beyond questions and answers 349
- The demise of gog and cock and their phraseologies in dramatic discourse 369
- Index 383
