<U> or <o>: A dilemma of the Middle English scribal practice
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Jerzy Welna
Abstract
The paper discusses the spread of the spelling variation 〈 u: o〉 in Middle English in all localized texts from the Innsbruck Corpus (Markus 2008). The present author’s aim is to determine the distribution of the replacement of 〈u〉 by 〈o〉 in the Corpus texts in order to reveal a temporal and regional conditioning of the change. The study covers eight high-frequency items (HUNDRED, HUNGER, HONEY, NUN, SOME, SUMMER, SUN, SON), five of which have restored the original grapheme 〈u〉. The examination of the above corpus has revealed the lack of a consistent universal rule governing the replacement of 〈u〉 by 〈o〉 in the graphically obscure contexts of the postvocalic graphemes 〈m, n〉. The earliest 〈o〉 spellings in the prose corpus belong to the westerly areas of England (Hali Meidenhad, Hali Maidhad, Ancrene Riwle), but the later selection of either traditional 〈u〉 (HUNDRED, HUNGER) or innovative 〈o〉 (HONEY, SON) appears to have been determined by the East Midland and London usage.
Abstract
The paper discusses the spread of the spelling variation 〈 u: o〉 in Middle English in all localized texts from the Innsbruck Corpus (Markus 2008). The present author’s aim is to determine the distribution of the replacement of 〈u〉 by 〈o〉 in the Corpus texts in order to reveal a temporal and regional conditioning of the change. The study covers eight high-frequency items (HUNDRED, HUNGER, HONEY, NUN, SOME, SUMMER, SUN, SON), five of which have restored the original grapheme 〈u〉. The examination of the above corpus has revealed the lack of a consistent universal rule governing the replacement of 〈u〉 by 〈o〉 in the graphically obscure contexts of the postvocalic graphemes 〈m, n〉. The earliest 〈o〉 spellings in the prose corpus belong to the westerly areas of England (Hali Meidenhad, Hali Maidhad, Ancrene Riwle), but the later selection of either traditional 〈u〉 (HUNDRED, HUNGER) or innovative 〈o〉 (HONEY, SON) appears to have been determined by the East Midland and London usage.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- At the crossroads of language change, variation, and contact 1
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PART I: Language change
- Knitting and splitting information 11
- The order of adverbials of time and place in Old English 39
- The demise of a preterite-present verb 61
- Gradience in an abrupt change 83
- Vowels before /r/ in the history of English 95
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PART II: Language variation
- “Pained the eye and stunned the ear” 113
- Watching as -clauses in Late Modern English 137
- Colloquialization and “decolloquialization” 163
- Letters of Artisans and the Labouring Poor (England, c . 1750–1835) 187
- New-dialect formation in medieval Ireland 213
- Tracing uses of will and would in Late Modern British and Irish English 239
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PART III: Variation and change in contact situations
- The subjunctive mood in Philippine English 259
- Revisiting a millennium of migrations 281
- <U> or <o>: A dilemma of the Middle English scribal practice 305
- Index 325
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- At the crossroads of language change, variation, and contact 1
-
PART I: Language change
- Knitting and splitting information 11
- The order of adverbials of time and place in Old English 39
- The demise of a preterite-present verb 61
- Gradience in an abrupt change 83
- Vowels before /r/ in the history of English 95
-
PART II: Language variation
- “Pained the eye and stunned the ear” 113
- Watching as -clauses in Late Modern English 137
- Colloquialization and “decolloquialization” 163
- Letters of Artisans and the Labouring Poor (England, c . 1750–1835) 187
- New-dialect formation in medieval Ireland 213
- Tracing uses of will and would in Late Modern British and Irish English 239
-
PART III: Variation and change in contact situations
- The subjunctive mood in Philippine English 259
- Revisiting a millennium of migrations 281
- <U> or <o>: A dilemma of the Middle English scribal practice 305
- Index 325
