Old English Grammar and Phonology

Posted on Aug 6, 2024 in Latin

1. Grimm’s Law

Jacob Grimm formulated a law in 1822 by which he accounted for an explanation about Indo-European and Germanic consonants and their corresponding development. In other words, he explained how certain consonant sounds changed and developed. According to him, the original Indo-European voiceless stops p/t/k were changed to the fricatives f/þ/hin the Germanic languages. Also, the aspirates bh/dh/gh became voiced fricatives β/đ/y, and then, the voiced stops b/d/g.The original voiced stops b/d/g changed later to voiceless stops in the Germanic languages so b/d/g turned into p/t/k (h)The Germanic Sound Shift is the most distinctive feature marking off the Germanic languages from the languages to which they are related.

2. Verner’s Law

Karl Verner spotted a strange irregularity on Grimm’s Law. It was noted that the correspondence between c and h was according to the rule but not between t and d (in words such as centum>hundred).In other words, the d in hundred should have been the voiceless fricative þ. Therefore, Verner showed that when the Indo-European accent was not on the vowel immediately preceding, these voiceless fricatives became voiced in Germanic.Then, the voiceless fricatives f/θ/x/s should become respectively the Germanic voiced fricatives β/đ/y/z unless:-Being the first sound in a word.-Being next to another voiceless sound.-Having the Indo-European stress on the immediately preceding vowel.The effect of the position of stress on voicing can be observed in some Modern English words of foreign origin, such as ɘrt) and exist (igzíst).

4. Grammatical Gender

.The gender of Old English nouns is not dependent upon considerations of sex. Although nouns designating males are often masculine and those indicating females feminine, those indicating neuter objects are not necessarily neuter.  Stān(stone) is masculine, mōna(moon) is masculine, but sunne(sun) is feminine, as in German.Often the gender of Old English nouns is quite illogical. Words like mœgden(girl), wīf(wife), bearn(child, son), and cild (child), which are expected to be feminine or masculine, are neuter, while wīfmann(woman) is masculine because the second element of the compound is masculine.

5.NOMINAL DECLENSION IN THE O.E PERIODThe inflection of the Old English noun indicates distinctions of number and case. The OId English noun has only 4 cases and, even though the ending of these cases vary with different nouns, they fall into certain declensions.There is a consonant declension (weak)as well as a vowel declension (strong), according to whether the stem ended in Germanic and within each of these types are certain subdivisions.

6.ADJECTIVAL DECLENSION IN THE O.E PERIOD.The development of a twofold declension of the adjective is an important feature of the Germanic languages. The strong declension, used with nouns when not accompanied by a definite article or similar word, and the weak declension, used when the noun is preceded by a definite article. Thus, we have in Old English gōd mann (good man) but sē gōda mann(the good man).

7.‘YOD’ UMLAUT.There occurred in Old English, as in most of the Germanic languages, a change known as “i-umlaut” (umlaut is a German word meaning ‘alteration of sound’, which in English is sometimes called mutation). This change affected certain accented vowels and diphthongs (æ, ā, ō, ū, ēa, ēo and īo) (a,o,u,e,e,i with ^ al reves) when they were followed in the next syllable by an ī or j. Under such circumstances, æ andǎbecame ě, ā became ǣ, and ūbecame ȳ(los dos con ^ al reves). The diphthongs ēa, ēo and īo (e,e,i con ^al reves)became īe (con ^ al reves), later ī, ȳ (con ^ al reves).Thus, **mūsiz  > mȳs plural of mūs(mouse), etc.The change occurred in English in the 7^th century, and when we find it taking place in a word borrowed from Latin, it indicates that the Latin word had been taken into English by that time. Thus Latinmonēta (which became *munit in Prehistoric OE) > mynet (a coin, Mod. E. mint) and is an early borrowing.

3. THE STRONG CONJUGATION IN THE O.E PERIOD.The inflection of the verb in the Germanic languages is much simpler than it was in Indo-European times. A peculiarity of the verb in the Old English period is the division of it into two great classes, the weak and the strong (in Modern English as regular and irregular)The strong verbs (sing, sang, and sung) have the power of indicating change of tense by a modification of their root vowel. Their irregularity is due to the fact that they are less numerous than weak verbs (in OE over 300). In OE, the vowel of the past tense often differs in the singular and the plural: the first and third person singular have one vowel while the second person singular and all persons of the plural have another. In Old English the strong verbs can be grouped in seven general classes according to some variations: i. drīfan(drive)drāf/drifon/(ge)drifenii. cēosan (choose)cēas/curon/coreniii. helpan (help)healp/hulpon/holpeniv. beran(bear)bær/bæron/borenv.sprecan(speak)spræc/spræcon/sprecenvi.faran

(fare,go)fōr/fōron/farenvii.ēoll/fēollon/feallen

8.LATIN INFLUENCE OF THE ZERO PERIOD: CONTINENTAL BORROWINGThe first Latin words to find their way into the English language owe their adoption to the early contact between the Romans and the Germanic tribes on the continent. Several hundred Latin words found in the various Germanic dialects at an early date testify to the extensive intercourse between the two peoples. The Germanic population within the empire by the 4^th century was found in all ranks and classes of society, from slaves to commanders of the Roman army.Traders, Germanic as well as Roman, came and went, and such interactions between the two peoples were certain to carry words from one language to the other. The frequency of the interactions, as well as the intercommunication between the different Germanic tribes was frequent and made possible the transference of Latin words from one tribe to another. The adopted words naturally indicate the new conceptions that the Germanic peoples acquired from this contact with a higher civilization.The major occupation of the Germanic tribes was war, and this experience is reflected in words like camp (battle), segn (banner), weall (wall), pytt (pit) or miltestre (courtesan). They traded amber, furs, slaves and probably certain raw materials for the products of Roman handicrafts, articles of utility, luxury and adornment. The words cēap (bargain; cf. Eng., cheap, chapman), mangian (to trade), with its derivatives mangere (monger), mangung (trade, commerce), mangunghūs (shop) are fundamental, while pund (pound), mydd (bushel), sēam (burden, loan) or mynet (coin) are words likely to be employed. One of the most important branches of Roman commerce with the Germanic peoples was the wine trade: wīn (wine), must (new wine), ced (vinegar), flasce (flask, bottle), cylle (L. culleus, leather bottle), cyrfette (L. curcurbita, gourd), sester (jar, pitcher). A number of words related to domestic life: cytel (kettle; L. catillus, catīnus), mēse (table), scamol (L. scamellum, bench, stool; cf.modern shambles), teped (carpet, curtain; L. tapētum ), pyle (L. pulvinus, pillow), pilece (L. pellicia,  robe of skin), sigel (brooch, necklace; L. sigillum ), cycene (kitchen; L. coquīna), cuppe (L. cuppa, cup), disc (dish; L. discus ), cucler (spoon; L. cocleārium).In general, the great number of words that were acquired is a reflection of the relations that existed between the two peoples.

9.LATIN INFLUENCE OF THE SECOND PERIOD: THE CHRISTIANIZING OF BRITAINThe greatest influence of Latin upon Old English was due to the conversion of Britain to Roman Christianity in 597. The religion was not new in the island, because Irish monks had been preaching the gospel in the north since the founding of the monastery of Iona by Columba in 563. However, 597 marks the beginning of a systematic attempt on the part of Rome to convert the inhabitants and make England a Christian country. According to Bede’s records, the mission of St. Augustine was inspired by an experience of the man who later became Pope Gregory the Great. The Pope was looking for someone whom he could send to head a missionary band, so St. Augustine was chosen by him, as he was a very devoted and modest man. With the company of about 40 monks, Augustine set out to begin with the substitution of the country’s religion. The problem, however, was not so much the substitution of one ritual for another, but the change of the philosophy of the nation. It was not an easy task for Augustine to alter the habits of such a people, but fortunately, their arrival was in the kingdom of Kent, where a small number of Christians inhabited. There, the king Æthelberht was baptized and his example was followed by numbers of his subjects. The conversion of the rest of England was a gradual process, and within a hundred years of the landing of Augustine in Kent, all England was Christian.