The lexical effects of Anglo-Scandinavian linguistic contact on Old English
By: by Sara M. Pons-Sanz
Series: Studies in the early Middle Ages -- volume 1; Studies in the early Middle Ages -- v. 1.
Publisher: Brepols Publishers n.v.
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Turnhout, Belgium
Language: eng
Number of pages: 589
ISBN-13: 9782503534718
Subjects: English language; Etymology; Foreign words and phrases; Old Norse; Old Norse language; Influence on English; Languages in contact; History
Description: Anglo-Saxon England experienced a process of multicultural assimilation similar to that of contemporary England. At the end of the ninth century Old Norse speakers from present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden started to settle down in the so-called 'Danelaw' amongst the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants, and brought with them cultural traditions and linguistic elements that are still a very significant part of our lives and our speech in the twenty-first century. This book analyses the first Norse terms to be recorded in English. After revising the list of terms recorded in Old English texts which can be considered to be Norse-derived, the author explores their dialectal and chronological distribution, as well as the semantic and stylistic relationship which the Norse-derived terms established with their native equivalents (when they existed). This approach helps to clarify questions such as: Why were the terms borrowed?
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 503-560) and index.
Table of contents: title: Etymological study --; title: Lexico-semantic study --; title: The Norse-derived terms in their texts : some case studies --; title: Concluding remarks ---- Appendix I : record of the Norse-derived terms attested in old english texts-- Appendix II : old english texts recording Norse-derived terms-- Appendix III : terms and structures which are more likely to be native-- Appendix IV : terms in early middle english texts included in the OEC-- Bibliography-- Word index.