old english summary
DESCRIPTION
Summary of the changes during the Old English PeriodTRANSCRIPT
Texts and sources
Main characteris1cs
• OE is a synthe1c language; it uses case • endings and other inflec1ons to mark syntax • n,v,adj,det, and pronouns all heavily inflected • weak and strong conjuga1ons of verbs • gender was gramma1cal, not natural
Spelling
Spelling Sound Name ȝ [j] yogh æ [æ] ash ð [th or ð] eth þ [th or ð] wynn or wen
[w] thorn
Phonology
Voicing Between two voiced sounds: [f] > [v] [s] > [z] [θ] > [ð]
wife – wives
Palataliza1on
[sk] > [ʃ] [k] > [tʃ] [g] > [j]
ska+er – shirt kirk – church
Breaking
When the front vowels æ, e and i become diphthongs.
hard – ‘heard’ Picts – ‘Peohtas’
Metathesis
Switch of sounds (consonant clusters)
acs – ask gars – grass
Fron1ng When a back or low vowel precedes an i
goose – geese fall – fell stank – stench,
Morphology Cases Nomina1ve – Subject
Geni1ve – Possessive Da1ve – Indirect object Accusa1ve – Direct Object
Ic eom Hroðgares ar ond ombiht. NOM – sing (I am) Wen ic þæt ge… NOM – plural *Pronouns and demonstra1ves
Nouns Endings for number, case and gender.
stan – stanes – stane – stan (sing) stanas – stana – stanum – stanas (pl) NOM – GEN – DAT – ACC
Gender is gramma1cal. wif, neuter mann, masculine wifmann (woman), masculine
Adjec1ves They are used in compara1ve and superla1ve construc1ons.
heard, heardra, heardost (hard)
Adverbs They are formed by several different endings: -‐e and –lice.
hlude
Verbs
Tense Past and present • Ic fremme (do) • Ic fremede (did)
Past ac1on Weak and strong verbs • ic drife • ic draf
Past ac1on is indicated through affixes.
• we … þrym gefrunon • ‘We have heard of the glory’
Irregular Verbs
Their forms are unrelated to each other in sound.
• ic eom/beo • þu eart/bist • he/o is/biþ • we/ge/hi sind(on)/beoþ
Syntax
Pronouns occur near the begining of the sentence
he þæs frofre gebad gebad. He was consoled
The verb oeen occurs in second posi1on or at the end.
swylc her ær beforan sæde. Which he had said here before
The auxiliary do is not used in ques1ons. gehyrest þu eadwacer Do you hear, Eadwacer?
The nega1ve adverb oeen immediately precedes the verb.
hleoþre ne miþe ‘I don’t conceal sound.’
Lexicon
Linguis1c change
Narrowing deer
Widening tail
Metaphorical extension crane
ShiH toilet
References
• Gelderen, E. (2006). A history of the English language. Filadelphia: John Benjamins.
• Svartvik, J. & Leech, G. (2006) English: One tongue, many voices. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.