1887
Volume 77, Issue 1
  • ISSN 0108-8416
  • E-ISSN: 2212-9715

Abstract

Abstract

This article discusses the historical form of the gerund in Old English, attested both as ‑ and ‑. The former is commonly considered to be the historical form, while the latter is thought to have resulted from analogical levelling on the basis of the infinitive that ended in ‑. The primacy of ‑ is based on the assumption that mutation in unstressed syllables worked to the same extent as in stressed ones, but it is argued that the working of sound laws can be dependent on stress and the quality of the mutation factor. In this paper, I propose that the order should be reversed and that ‑ is the historical form, while ‑ probably shows phonological reduction in word-internal position.

Available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/nowele.00082.ver
2024-04-18
2025-02-07
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/nowele.00082.ver.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1075/nowele.00082.ver&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Boutkan, D.
    1996A concise grammar of the Old Frisian dialect of the first Riustring manuscript. Odense: Odense University Press. 10.1075/nss.16
    https://doi.org/10.1075/nss.16 [Google Scholar]
  2. Boutkan, D. & S. M. Siebinga
    2005Old Frisian etymological dictionary. Leiden: Brill.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Bremmer Jr, Rolf H.
    2009An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, grammar, reader, glossary. Amsterdam: Benjamins. 10.1075/z.147
    https://doi.org/10.1075/z.147 [Google Scholar]
  4. Freeman, J.
    2018 Through many hands: The Vespasian Psalter. British Library Medieval Manuscripts Blog post, 8 November 2018. https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2018/11/through-many-hands-the-vespasian-psalter.html
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Fulk, R. D.
    2018A Comparative grammar of the Early Germanic Languages. Amsterdam: Benjamins. 10.1075/sigl.3
    https://doi.org/10.1075/sigl.3 [Google Scholar]
  6. Helten, W. L. van
    1890Altostfriesische Grammatik, von W. L. Van Helten. Herausgegeben im Auftrag des “Friesch genootschap voor geschied‑, oudheid‑ en taalkunde te Leeuwarden.”Leeuwarden: Meijer. archive.org/details/altostfriesisch00heltgoog
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Herren, M. W., D. W. Porter & H. Sauer
    2024 The Épinal-Erfurt Glossary Project. The Épinal-Erfurt Glossary Project. https://epinal-erfurt.artsci.utoronto.ca/index.php/edition/. (28 March 2024).
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Hoekstra, E.
    2012 Fries substraat in de syntaxis van het West-Fries: oorsprong en implicatie van het onderscheid tussen infinitief en gerundium en hun syntactische distributie. It Beaken741. 151–172.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Hoekstra, J. & G. Tigchelaar
    2014 kenna – kanna. The e/a-variation in Old Frisian and its Modern Frisian reflexes. InR. H. Bremmer Jr, S. Laker & O. Vries (eds), Directions for Old Frisian Philology. Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik731. 185–200. 10.1163/9789401211918_008
    https://doi.org/10.1163/9789401211918_008 [Google Scholar]
  10. Hogg, R. M.
    2011A grammar of Old English Vol. 1, Phonology. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Hogg, R. M. & R. D. Fulk
    2011A grammar of Old English Vol. 2, Morphology. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Kuhn, S. M.
    1943 The Vespasian Psalter and the Old English charter hands. Speculum18(4). 458–483. 10.2307/2853663
    https://doi.org/10.2307/2853663 [Google Scholar]
  13. Paul, H.
    1920Prinzipien der Sprachgeschichte. 5th edn.Halle (Saale): Niemeyer.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Philippa, M., F. Debrabandere, A. Quak, T. Schoonheim & N. van der Sijs
    2003Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. www.etymologiebank.nl/
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Ringe, D. & A. Taylor
    2014A linguistic history of English. Vol.II : The Development of Old English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Schulte, M.
    1998Grundfragen der Umlautphonemisierung: eine strukturelle Analyse des nordgermanischen i/j-Umlauts unter Berücksichtigung der älteren Runeninschriften. Berlin: De Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110801781
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110801781 [Google Scholar]
  17. 2018Urnordisch: eine Einführung. Wien: Praesens.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Sisam, K.
    1956 Canterbury, Lichfield, and the Vespasian Psalter. The Review of English Studies new series71. 113–131. 10.1093/res/VII.26.113
    https://doi.org/10.1093/res/VII.26.113 [Google Scholar]
  19. Tiefenbach, H.
    2010Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch = A concise Old Saxon dictionary. Berlin: De Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110232349
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110232349 [Google Scholar]
  20. Versloot, A. P.
    2008Mechanisms of language change: Vowel reduction in 15th century West Frisian. Utrecht: LOT. www.lotpublications.nl/mechanisms-of-language-change-mechanisms-of-language-change-vowel-reduction-in-15th-century-west-frisian
    [Google Scholar]
  21. 2017Mith frethe to wasane ‘to be in peace’: Remnants of the instrumental case in 13th and 14th century Old Frisian. Filologia Germanica–Germanic Philology91. 201–230.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. 2021 The historical phonology of Old English: A critical review. Papers in Historical Phonology61. 68–106. 10.2218/pihph.6.2021.6690
    https://doi.org/10.2218/pihph.6.2021.6690 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/nowele.00082.ver
Loading
  • Article Type: Research Article
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error