Borrowed Words


Book Description

This book shows how, when, and why English took words from other languages and explains how to find their origins and reasons for adoption. It covers the effects of contact with languages ranging from Latin and French to Yiddish, Chinese, and Maori, from Saxon times to the present. It will appeal to everyone interested in the history of English.




Words Derived from Old Norse in Early Middle English


Book Description

"The influence exerted upon English vocabulary by words that derive from the Scandinavian languages is widespread and profound. These words entered English by Norse speakers in the Anglo-Saxon period, and they claim amongst their number some of the most frequent and important items of everyday modern usage. There nevertheless remains a great deal about this element that we do not properly understand. This book presents etymological and contextual studies of the lexical terms originally derived from Old Norse that are found in the principal early Middle English texts from the South-West Midlands. This is a region that contains some of the most celebrated literary works of the period when Norse-derived words first appear in significant numbers in written English (the late twelfth to the later thirteenth century); being outside the area of the Danelaw, it also presents crucial opportunities for us to understand the transmission of Norse-derived vocabulary to parts of England beyond those of the heaviest initial Scandinavian settlement. This book will be of interest to scholars of early English lexicology, semantics and dialectology, to those studying the background to and linguistic resources of early Middle English literature, and to all those fascinated by the Scandinavian contribution to the history of the English language." --




Scandinavian Loanwords and Their Equivalents in Middle English


Book Description

An investigation of the rivalry of a number of Scandinavian loanwords which entered the English language in late Old English or Middle English and survived in Modern English, and their synonyms in Middle English. It analyses the restructuring process taking place in a number of semantic fields and attempts to account for the survival of the loanwords. Of particular interest are the meaning, frequency and distribution of the Scandinavian borrowings and their equivalents.







The Language of Old and Middle English Poetry


Book Description

This book gives a linguistic overview of the first eight centuries of English poetry - years which produced such key works as Beowulf, Layaman's Brut and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It begins with chapters on the social and literary context, before turning in more detail to subjects such as poetic diction, rhymed and alliterative verse, borrowed words, recurrent phrases, rhetoric and linguistic variety. Aimed at the beginning student and general reader, the book seeks to enhance appreciation and enjoyment by making the linguistic resources of the poets better understood.




A Companion to the Early Middle Ages


Book Description

Drawing on 28 original essays, A Companion to the Early Middle Ages takes an inclusive approach to the history of Britain and Ireland from c.500 to c.1100 to overcome artificial distinctions of modern national boundaries. A collaborative history from leading scholars, covering the key debates and issues Surveys the building blocks of political society, and considers whether there were fundamental differences across Britain and Ireland Considers potential factors for change, including the economy, Christianisation, and the Vikings




Borrowed Words


Book Description

The rich variety of the English vocabulary reflects the vast number of words it has taken from other languages. These range from Latin, Greek, Scandinavian, Celtic, French, Italian, Spanish, and Russian to, among others, Hebrew, Maori, Malay, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, andYiddish. Philip Durkin's full and accessible history reveals how, when, and why. He shows how to discover the origins of loanwords, when and why they were adopted, and what happens to them once they have been. The long documented history of English includes contact with languages in a variety of contexts, including: the dissemination of Christian culture in Latin in Anglo-Saxon England, and the interactions of French, Latin, Scandinavian, Celtic, and English during the Middle Ages; exposure to languages throughout the world during the colonial era; and the effects of using English as an international language of science. Philip Durkin describes these and other historical inputs, introducing the approaches each requires, from the comparative method for the earliest period to documentary and corpus research in the modern. The discussion is illustrated at every point with examples taken from a variety of different sources. The framework Dr Durkin develops can be used to explore lexical borrowing in any language. This outstanding book is for everyone interested in English etymology and in loanwords more generally. It will appeal to a wide general public and at the same time offers a valuable reference for scholars and students of the history of English.




A Bibliography of Writings for the History of the English Language


Book Description

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