The development of compound numerals in English Biblical translations
-
Isao Hashimoto
Abstract
The history of the English compound numerals from 21 to 99 remains vague. The three basic types in the order in which they appeared are: the Old English (OE) type such as one and twenty, the middle type such as twenty and one and the modern type such as twenty-one. An analysis of data collected from eight English Bibles, the Vulgate and the Hebrew Bible demonstrates that the changes were caused and accelerated by successive biblical translations and not just by the language history of the time. The middle type was introduced into biblical English from the Latin of the Vulgate, where it appeared through the faithful translation of the Hebrew middle type. The modern type in English Bibles originates in the Latin modern type in the Vulgate.
Abstract
The history of the English compound numerals from 21 to 99 remains vague. The three basic types in the order in which they appeared are: the Old English (OE) type such as one and twenty, the middle type such as twenty and one and the modern type such as twenty-one. An analysis of data collected from eight English Bibles, the Vulgate and the Hebrew Bible demonstrates that the changes were caused and accelerated by successive biblical translations and not just by the language history of the time. The middle type was introduced into biblical English from the Latin of the Vulgate, where it appeared through the faithful translation of the Hebrew middle type. The modern type in English Bibles originates in the Latin modern type in the Vulgate.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of abbreviations vii
- Introduction 1
-
Corpus linguistics today and tomorrow
- Can’t see the wood for the trees? 13
- Spelling variation in Middle English manuscripts 31
-
Aspects of language change
- The development of compound numerals in English Biblical translations 49
- The complements of causative make in Late Middle English 59
- The pragmaticalization and intensification of verily , truly and really 75
- Concept-driven semasiology and onomasiology of CLERGY 93
- ANGER and TĒNE in Middle English 109
-
Middle and Modern English case studies
- The subjunctive vs. modal auxiliaries 127
- Some notes on the distribution of the quantifier all in Middle English 141
- Interjections in Middle English 157
- Why and what in Early Modern English drama 177
- Colloquialization and not -contraction in nineteenth-century English 191
-
Wright’s English Dialect Dictionary and thereafter
- The complexity and diversity of the words in Wright’s English Dialect Dictionary 209
- Etymology in the English Dialect Dictionary 225
- Towards an understanding of Joseph Wright’s sources 241
- The importance of being Janus 257
- ... ging uns der ganze alte Dialektbegriff in eine Illusion auf 269
- Index 285
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of abbreviations vii
- Introduction 1
-
Corpus linguistics today and tomorrow
- Can’t see the wood for the trees? 13
- Spelling variation in Middle English manuscripts 31
-
Aspects of language change
- The development of compound numerals in English Biblical translations 49
- The complements of causative make in Late Middle English 59
- The pragmaticalization and intensification of verily , truly and really 75
- Concept-driven semasiology and onomasiology of CLERGY 93
- ANGER and TĒNE in Middle English 109
-
Middle and Modern English case studies
- The subjunctive vs. modal auxiliaries 127
- Some notes on the distribution of the quantifier all in Middle English 141
- Interjections in Middle English 157
- Why and what in Early Modern English drama 177
- Colloquialization and not -contraction in nineteenth-century English 191
-
Wright’s English Dialect Dictionary and thereafter
- The complexity and diversity of the words in Wright’s English Dialect Dictionary 209
- Etymology in the English Dialect Dictionary 225
- Towards an understanding of Joseph Wright’s sources 241
- The importance of being Janus 257
- ... ging uns der ganze alte Dialektbegriff in eine Illusion auf 269
- Index 285
