North Humbrian

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Northumbrian or North Humbrian was a dialect of the Old English language spoken in the Kingdom of Northumbria .

Geographical distribution

Old English dialects (the subdivision into four dialect regions according to Baugh / Cable and Obst / Schlemann is shown. Weimann, on the other hand, distinguishes five dialects by separating East Anglic.)

Its distribution reached from the River Humber north to the Firth of Forth.

This area was settled by the Angles after the Anglo-Saxons took over , as were the areas south of the Humber where Merzisch was spoken. So these two dialects have certain common characteristics.

Since there is no way of directly verifying the spoken dialect, one has to rely on the analysis of the peculiarities of Old English manuscripts that originated in this area. Significant or at least well-known office rooms or administrative centers were:

Characteristics

When considering typical characteristics of the dialect, the classification as "Northern Humbrian" or "Anglish" (that is, common to Northern Humbrian and Merzian) should only be understood as an auxiliary concept. In reality there are no geographically clear-cut dialect features that have exactly the same distribution for all characteristics (vocabulary, phonetic level, inflection, etc.). Rather, it is usually about frequencies of certain spellings that are a focus in one or the other region or a handwriting. Features of different dialects can occur within the same text source. Abbreviations in the following sections: ws. = West Saxon, Germ. = Germanic, wgerm. = West Germanic.

vocabulary

Selected examples:

north humbrian:

  • æc-soð, afreon, aweorðan, asald, astyltan, bæersynnig, basnung, carr, dærstan, deadian, druncenig, drysn (i) an, eftbehealdan, eftsellan, eftersona, eftgemyndig, forlonge, forwost, of hoga, infindian ofstigan, ondælan, sunset, towesan, untrymig, winnung and much more.
  • northh. ēa from germ. * ahwō 'water'

anglish:

  • bebycgan (sell, ws. sellan), nemne (if not, ws. butane), -berende (marked with, ws. baere), e.g. B. atorbaerende (poisonous, ws. Atorbaere), oferhygd (arrogance, ws. Modignys)
  • acweðan, æswic, basnian, cofa, edwitan, embeht (ambeht), forcuman, geornness, giestærn, heonu, lixan, morðor, nænig, sceððan, symbel, telge, ðeofend, ðreatmb, wæccan, westig.

Flexion

north humbrian:

  • Infinitive ending -n is often omitted
  • Present mailings on -es
  • North Humbrian form of the 1st person Sg. Von habban: hafa (whs. Haebbe) in Waldere, fragment B (in general, in non-whs. The 1st person sg .: -u, -o, -a)
  • In the paradigm of strong verbs, -s (mostly realized as -st) is not only in the 2nd, but also in the 3rd person. Sg. (Cause unexplained). From this, ne develops. -s.
  • Nom. Pl. Exen (instead of e.g. merzisch oexen, zero level of the protoform germ. * Uksnes)
  • Retention of the zero level Gen. Sg. -ur / -or in old English Word for 'father'
  • 1st person Pl. Possessive ūsa (still in use today between York and Stafford)
  • Acc. Sg. Þene (next to þone) (e-vowelism in Acc. Sg.)
  • rare north-humbrian form 2nd pers. Sg. 'Is' (probably 3rd person Sg. Used for 2nd person)

anglish:

  • Nom. Acc. Pl. Of the ō-tribes: -e in Anglish (-a in white), from the original Acc. Germ. * -Ōns
  • reduplicated preterita heht ('called'), leolc ('played'), leort ('let'), reord ('advised')
  • more common r-forms in 'to be' e.g. B. (e) aron
  • 1.Sg.beom ('am')
  • dedon next to dydon ('did')
  • Spread of germ. * Waljan into the verb paradigm of 'will' (past tense angl. Walde, old Saxon. Walda)

Sound development and phonology

north humbrian:

  • Subjunctive form wælle instead of ws. will
  • Coincidence of the back vowels a and o / u in Schwa from the 10th century. (white only from 11th century)

anglish:

  • the Anglish smoothing makes the refraction of westgerm by monophthonging the refraction diphthong in front of velar consonants. * [e] undo:
    • e before [x] (added instead of berht in Boethius, Vom Consolst der Philosophie, Ms. Cotton Otho A. VI, actually white text)
    • before the velar consonants [k], [ɣ], [x] the diphthong [æa] becomes [e:], z. B. eac becomes ēk, cf. also in Middle English: Geoffrey Chaucer: Canterbury Tales, Introduction - The General Prologue, line 5: "Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth ..."
    • also [eo] is monophthongized to [e:]: sēc (instead of seoc)
  • before [l] + consonant no palatalization westgerm. * [a]> old English [æ] (ald instead of æld)
  • no break of * [æ], but restoration of [a] also before [r] in the labial environment (innewardan instead of innewærdan in Boethius, Vom Consolst der Philosophie, prose version Bodleian Ms. 180, actually white text)
  • Preferences of <o> instead of <a> in later texts for the denasalized vowel [ɒ̃]
  • wgerm. * [e] between [w] and [r] + consonant develops into [ɔ], e.g. B. worpan in Ælfrics Lives of Saints, Life of Saint Eugenia (aka white text); worc (instead of weorc), hworfan (instead of hweorfan) in Waldere, fragment A (Ny kgl. saml. 167b)
  • Preservation of the connecting vowel in 3rd pers. Sg. Ind .: findð (ws. Fint), standeð (no umlaut of the root vowel as in ws. Stent) in Waldere, fragment B (Ny kgl.

Language certificates

There are only a few language certificates of the North Humbrian dialect from the Old English period. The three main sources are:

  • the interlinear gloss of the Lindisfarne Gospels (Codex Lindisfarnensis, Cotton Nero D. IV), ascribed to the priest Aldred, from the period between 950 and 970, which is written in the late North Humbrian dialect, with a "mixture of conservative features and innovations". Some examples of striking word forms are ðone (instead of West Saxon þanon), ðe (instead of se), usig (instead of us), bedon (instead of bædon), diwble (instead of deofle). For further special features in the vocabulary see above in the corresponding section.
  • Aldred's interlinear gloss in the so-called Durhamer ritual. Durham Cathedral A. IV.19; 2nd half of the 10th century, probably around 970
  • the interlinear glossy in the so-called Rushworth Gospel (except for the glossing of Mt., Mk. 1-2,15 and Joh. 18,1-3). Bodleian, Auct. D. 2.19; 2nd half of the 10th century, probably 950 - 970.

Another well-known example is the Death Song of Beda Venerabilis from the eighth century, of which a North Humbrian version is available in a copy of the ninth century in Sankt Gallen. In that are the words

  • aeththa (instead of West Saxon oððe)
  • hiniongae (instead of West Saxon heonengange)
  • envy (instead of West Saxon nēd)
  • thoncsnotturra (instead of West Saxon þances snotera)
  • ymbhycggannae (instead of West Saxon Gehicgenne)

probably typically Northern Humbrian, and

  • tharf (instead of þearf)

at least Anglish (i.e. typically Northern Humbrian and Merzian). (The spelling of the letters thorn and eth as th (instead of ð) and of ash as ae (instead of æ) is not typical of the dialect.)

Also known is the creation hymn by Cædmon , the first versions of which are in the early North Humbrian dialect (the frequently cited version from Beda's Historia ecclesiastica , however, represents a West Saxon form). Recognizable dialect features are:

  • Retention of the unbroken a before r + consonant: barnum (instead of bearnum)
  • Vocabulary: aelda barnum (instead of eorðan bearnum)

North Humbrian dialect features also carry

  • an Old English runic inscription from the first half of the 8th century on Urswick Cross, Furness (Cumbria). It contains leveled [e:] in bekun (instead of beacn) and the ending -s in the present tense of the verb paradigm in gebidæs (instead of gebiddað) (Imp. 2nd pers. Pl.).
  • the Ruthwell Cross .

In the "Northumbrian Gloss to the Gospel of St. Mark" one can observe:

  • old reduplicated simple past of the strong verb ws. (on) -drædan appears without exception as ondreard
  • arð next to ws. eart
  • Gene. Pl. Scæ (ws. scoe)
  • Diphthongs ei and ai z. B. in fifteig, gefraign
  • Metathesis from r vor ht, comes in the northh. often before: brehi instead of berhto, frohto, frohtende, wrihtes (next to wyrihte and worhte)
  • very regular loss of final inflectional -n
  • three times hundrað next to hundradum
  • strangers next to strangers
  • northh. h instead of final c in unstressed syllables, e.g. B. ah, meh (next to mec), ðeh (next to ðec), usih (next to usic)

Finally, the hard pronunciation of c, for example in cald ('cold') compared to the soft pronunciation ċald / ċeald, which develops in West Saxon, can also be seen as a North Humbrian (and at the same time Merzian) dialect feature. After the Norman Conquest, this pronunciation became the English standard.

Such individual records, however, always represent a specific time of origin and a writing school. The dialectic structure of England was probably much more complex than the simplistic representation in four or five dialects suggests - a "pure form of the postulated dialects" was practically non-existent. Instead, a separate geographical and temporal distribution can and must be considered for each individual linguistic feature

Historical development

The time and cause of the emergence of Old English dialects are controversial. Probably the invading groups already brought some linguistic differences from the mainland with them, while others only developed on the island over the centuries. The theory that the dialects represent successive immigrants from the same region of origin has been refuted.

In the 7th century, Northern Humbria had a political and cultural priority, so that one can assume that the language used there had an effect beyond the region. The writing schools of Lindisfarne and Whitby monasteries played an important role. Loss of importance of the dialect, especially as a written language, can be assumed due to the sacking of Lindisfarne monastery in 793 and its abandonment in 875 and the destruction of Whitby monastery in 867. Almost all monastic structures in the north and east were destroyed during this time, until there were numerous restorations and new foundations in the late 10th and 11th centuries.

Scandinavian influence on the dialect has been noticeable since the Viking Age between 793 and 954. This influence can be assumed, for example, in Wulfstan's Sermo Lupi ad Anglos in words such as grið, griðian, lagu, þrael, nydgyld and þegengylde. Around 150 Old Norse words are recorded in the Old English vocabulary for this period. Presumably there was also a very high degree of bilingualism in the population of the Scandinavian occupied areas.

After the transition to Middle English , the dialect north of the Humber is known as 'Northern'. Even today these areas have their own linguistic characteristics; For example, the Northumbrian Language Society is involved in promoting the dialect of what is now the county of Northumbria, which covers part of the Old English dialect area.

literature

  • Albert C. Baugh, Cable, T .: A History of the English Language . Routledge, Abingdon 2002, ISBN 0-415-28099-0 .
  • J. Bosworth, TN Toller: An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary . Oxford, 1898. with supplements 1921 and addenda by A. Campbell, Oxford 1972.
  • Michelle P. Brown: Manuscripts from the Anglo-Saxon Age . The British Library, London 2007, ISBN 978-0-7123-0680-5 .
  • RD Fulk, CM Cain: A History of Old English Literature . Blackwell, 2003, ISBN 0-631-22397-5 .
  • PR Kitson: Old English Dialects and the Stages of the Transition to Middle English. In: Folia Linguistica Historica. 11 (1992 for 1990), pp. 27-87.
  • PR Kitson: The nature of Old English dialect distributions, mainly as exhibited in charter boundaries. In: Jacek Fisiak (Ed.): Medieval Dialectology. (= Trends in Linguistics - Studies and Monographs. 79). 1995, ISBN 3-11-089200-6 , pp. 43-136.
  • F. Kortlandt: The origin of the Old English dialects. In: Dieter Kastovsky, Aleksander Szwedek (Ed.): Linguistics across historical and geographical boundaries I: Linguistic theory and historical linguistics. de Gruyter Mouton, 1986, ISBN 3-11-010426-1 , pp. 437-442.
  • F. Kortlandt: The origin of the Old English dialects revisited. In: Amsterdam Contributions to Older German Studies. Volume 51, 1999, pp. 45-51.
  • EM Lea: The Language of the Northumbrian Gloss to the Gospel of St. Mark. In: Anglia - Journal of English Philology. Vol. 1894, No. 16, pp. 62-134.
  • Richard Marsden: The Cambridge Old English Reader . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2004, ISBN 0-521-45612-6 .
  • W. Obst, F. Schleburg: Textbook of Old English . Universitätsverlag Winter, Heidelberg 2004, ISBN 3-8253-1594-0 .
  • H. Schabram: Superbia - Studies on Old English Vocabulary. Part I: The dialectal and temporal distribution of verbal material . W. Fink Verlag, Munich 1965.
  • K. Weimann: Introduction to Old English . UTB Quelle & Meyer, Heidelberg / Wiesbaden 1995, ISBN 3-8252-1210-6 .
  • F. Wenisch: Specific Anglic vocabulary in the North Humbrian interlinear glossations of the Gospel of Luke . C. Winter Universitätsverlag, Heidelberg 1979, ISBN 3-533-02723-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ K. Weimann: Introduction to Old English . UTB Quelle & Meyer, Heidelberg / Wiesbaden 1995, p. 36.
  2. ^ Albert C. Baugh, T. Cable: A History of the English Language . Routledge, Abingdon 2002, p. 54.
  3. ^ Albert C. Baugh, T. Cable: A History of the English Language . Routledge, Abingdon 2002, p. 53.
  4. ^ PR Kitson: The nature of Old English dialect distributions, mainly as exhibited in charter boundaries. In: Jacek Fisiak (Ed.): Medieval Dialectology. (= Trends in Linguistics - Studies and Monographs. 79). 1995, p. 43.
  5. ↑ F. Wenisch: Specifically Anglic vocabulary in the North Humbrian interlinear glossations of the Gospel of Luke . C. Winter Universitätsverlag, Heidelberg 1979, p. 325 ff.
  6. ^ W. Obst, F. Schleburg: Textbook of Old English . Universitätsverlag Winter, Heidelberg 2004, p. 255.
  7. ^ Richard Marsden: The Cambridge Old English Reader . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2004, p. 167.
  8. ^ Richard Marsden: The Cambridge Old English Reader . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2004, p. 168.
  9. ^ Richard Marsden: The Cambridge Old English Reader . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004, p. 77.
  10. ^ Richard Marsden: The Cambridge Old English Reader . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2004, p. 80.
  11. ^ W. Obst, F. Schleburg: Textbook of Old English . Universitätsverlag Winter, Heidelberg 2004, p. 245.
  12. ^ EM Lea: The Language of the Northumbrian Gloss to the Gospel of St. Mark. In: Anglia - Journal of English Philology. Vol. 1894, No. 16.
  13. ^ Richard Marsden: The Cambridge Old English Reader . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2004, pp. Xxxiii.
  14. ^ W. Obst, F. Schleburg: Textbook of Old English . Universitätsverlag Winter, Heidelberg 2004, p. 22.
  15. ^ PR Kitson: The nature of Old English dialect distributions, mainly as exhibited in charter boundaries. In: Jacek Fisiak (Ed.): Medieval Dialectology. (= Trends in Linguistics - Studies and Monographs. 79). 1995.
  16. ^ F. Kortlandt: The origin of the Old English dialects. In: Dieter Kastovsky, Aleksander Szwedek (Ed.): Linguistics across historical and geographical boundaries I: Linguistic theory and historical linguistics. de Gruyter Mouton, 1986.
  17. ^ PR Kitson: The nature of Old English dialect distributions, mainly as exhibited in charter boundaries. In: Jacek Fisiak (Ed.): Medieval Dialectology. (= Trends in Linguistics - Studies and Monographs. 79). 1995, p. 123.
  18. ^ W. Obst, F. Schleburg: Textbook of Old English . Universitätsverlag Winter, Heidelberg 2004, p. 22.
  19. ^ RD Fulk, CM Cain: A History of Old English Literature . Blackwell, 2003, p. 21.
  20. ^ Richard Marsden: The Cambridge Old English Reader . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2004, p. 210.
  21. ^ W. Obst, F. Schleburg: Textbook of Old English . Universitätsverlag Winter, Heidelberg 2004, p. 114.
  22. ^ Albert C. Baugh, T. Cable: A History of the English Language . Routledge, Abingdon 2002, p. 189.
  23. ^ Northumbrian Language Society http://www.northumbriana.org.uk/langsoc/