Central Irish language
| Middle Irish (Meán-Ghaeilge) | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Spoken in |
Ireland , Scotland , Isle of Man , approx. 900–1200 AD | |
| speaker | unknown | |
| Linguistic classification |
|
|
| Official status | ||
| Official language in | not applicable | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639 -1 |
- |
|
| ISO 639 -2 |
mga |
|
| ISO 639-3 |
mga |
|
As means Irish ( ir. Meán-Ghaeilge , English Middle Irish ) the speech level of the Irish is between the Old Irish and the Frühneuirischen designated. It begins roughly with the heyday of the Viking invasions in Ireland and ends soon after the Norman conquest of large parts of the island in the late 12th century . The more recent research puts the period between about 900 and 1200 for Central Irish .
Origin and meaning
The real characteristic of Central Irish, however, is the extensive dissolution of the standardization of Old Irish . Since it begins with this development and extends to the beginning of the so-called "classical" period of Irish from 1200 , it is viewed by many researchers as a kind of intermediate stage without any real essence.
The Vikings in Ireland, unlike in Scotland , for example , only settled in the cities and were therefore mainly perceived as pillagers, murderers, etc. According to tradition, this applies in particular to the monasteries , which, as (alleged or real) guardians of treasures and riches, were particularly popular targets of the raids. However, since the monasteries were the main places of origin of the traditional manuscripts until the beginning of the Norman era and probably also the bearers of the linguistic (and some cultural) norms , it is obvious that the unrest in the country had a changing effect on the quality of the spoken and written language . Presumably, many monasteries set other priorities (such as the defense and assertion of territorial claims), so that the linguistic and literary training of the monks could have been neglected. In the common people, the unrest is likely to have led to linguistic changes in the long run, the extent of which can no longer be assessed today. The fact that the dissolution of the relatively strongly standardized grammatical and orthographic system of Old Irish and the high point of the Viking Age took place at the same time cannot be disputed.
Despite the sometimes difficult external circumstances, a large number of works were created, translated, copied and often worked on with specific objectives in the Middle Irish period. A large part of these works probably goes back to old Irish originals or models. We know most of the early Irish sagas and stories from manuscripts that were written in the Middle or Early Modern Era. Often in these texts passages from Old and Middle Irish times as well as prose and poetry are mixed. In addition, annals , genealogies , legal texts and treatises on a variety of topics such as history , nature and medicine were written, translated (including Virgil's Aeneid ) or edited.
features
By and large, Middle Irish is characterized by a simplification of the sometimes very complicated Old Irish grammar . The most obvious development is probably the dissolution of the double verbal system in Old Irish. In most cases, the conjunct or prototonic (i.e. previously dependent ) verb forms now serve as the basic forms. Few exceptions have survived to this day as irregular verbs in modern Irish .
Further characteristics are the elimination of the neutral gender of nouns and adjectives , the hesitantly increasing use of analytical formations and forms of progression. The often irregular orthography also indicates that all unstressed short vowels are neutralized to the central vowel / ə / (this development began in Late Irish, from around 750 ). The sounds / ð / and / ɣ / , which are still differentiated in Old Irish, coincide with / ɣ / . The voiceless dental fricative / θ / was breathed into / h / . Otherwise, the irregular use of older and more modern word forms, which is often difficult to understand, as well as generally strong irregularities in spelling and grammar can be recorded.
literature
There is currently no up-to-date, comprehensive standard monograph on Central Irish.
- Georges Dottin: Manuel d'irlandais moyen . 2 volumes. Paris 1913. - Quite old, but dedicated exclusively to Central Irish. With reader (2nd volume).
- Kim McCone (Ed.): Stair na Gaeilge. In Ómós do Phádraig Ó Fiannachta. Má Nuad (Maynooth) 1994. - The history of the language of Irish from the beginning to the present day. With a chapter by Liam Breatnach on Central Irish (so far only in Irish).