Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka - Anuradhapura-Scandinavian Influence on Old English

 Introduction

The history of English language is usually divided up into four major periods that can be justified both on the basis of linguistic differences and on the basis of historical events that influenced the later development of English language [1]. These periods are Old English (450-1150), Middle English (1150-1500), Early Modern English (1500-1700) and Modern English (1700-present). These years are not strict boundaries but rough approximations.

English has been influenced by many languages and one of them is Scandinavian (in the period of OE and ME). Scandinavian loans differ from other loans from the same period because they refer to common, everyday events and objects. Because of its extent, it is one of the most interesting of the foreign influences on the English language.

Historical background

The Viking Age lasted roughly from the middle of the eighth century to the beginning of the eleventh. The Vikings were the Germanic tribes of the Scandinavian Peninsula and Denmark. Vikings conquered large areas of England.

Scandinavians intermarried with the English, adopted many of their customs and accepted Christianity.

Scandinavian place-names

Many places in today England bear Scandinavian names (more than 1,400). These names are notable evidence that the Vikings once settled in England. These places are mostly situated in the district of the Danelaw. According to Baugh and Cable (98-99), there are more than 600 places with names ending in -by (such as Whitby, Grimsby). The Scandinavian word by means 'farm' or 'town'; the word can also be seen in by-law (town law). Some 300 place-names end in the Scandinavian word thorp that means 'village' (like Althorp, Bishopsthorpe, Linthorpe). There are almost as much place-names that contain the word thwaite, 'an isolated piece of land' (e.g. Applethwaite, Langthwaite). Around a hundred end in toft, 'a piece of ground, a messuage' (Brimtoft, Nortoft).

Even personal names bear witness to the Scandinavian influence. Names with the suffix -son like Stevenson or Johnson are the Scandinavian equivalent of OE patronymic -ing (as in Browning).

Borrowed words

As previously stated, Old English and Old Norse were similar languages; some common words of the two languages were even identical. Therefore, in some cases, it is difficult to determine whether a word in Modern English is native or a borrowed word. So, for example, native words like ship and fish have sh in Modern English, whereas words borrowed from Scandinavian are still pronounced with sk: sky, skin, skill, scrape, whisk. An interesting example is that of the OE word scyrte that became skirt in Modern English, whereas the corresponding ON form skyrta became skirt.

Scandinavian loanwords

Although the Scandinavian loan words began to enter the English language probably at the same time when the Vikings settled down (the period of Old English), the evidence in writing can be found mostly in Middle English texts. The loanwords were recorded long after they came in use because it took some time before they entered the Standard English. Baugh and Cable divided the early loanwords (in OE) into two groups. The first group constitutes words "associated with sea-roving and predatory people" (99). The second group is made out of "words relating to the law or characteristic of the social and administrative system of Danelaw" (99). After the Norman Conquest, most of the words from the second group were replaced by the French terms and thus can no longer be found in Modern English.

It was only after the Danes had begun to settle down that Scandinavian words started to enter in greater numbers into language. We cannot divide these words into different domains of thought or experience because Scandinavian loanwords are varied and simple (as opposed to the French or Latin loanwords). They include common, familiar, everyday words. The following list serves only illustrative purposes and is not in any way exhaustive, as there are around 900 Scandinavian words in Modern English.

NOUNS

axle-tree/band/bank/birth/boon/booth/brink/bull/calf (of leg)/crook/dirt/down (feathers)/dregs/egg/fellow/gap/girth/guess/hap/husband/kid/law/leg//link/loan/re/race/reef/reindeer/root/scales/score/scrap/seat/sister/skill/skin/skirt/sky/  slaughter/snare/stack/steak/thrift/trust/want/window

ADJECTIVES

Awkward/flat/ill/loose/low/odd/rotten/rugged/scant/sly/tattered/tight/weak/

VERBS

Bait/bask/clip/cow/crave/crawl/die/egg/get/give/hit/kindle/lift/raise/rake/screech/take/thrive/thrust

As already mentioned, these words are very common and of everyday use. There probably existed words for the same concepts in OE, so the new words could have supplied no real need in the English vocabulary. However, these words made their way into the English as the result of the mixture of two peoples. Scandinavian loanwords are very interesting because they refer to ordinary things and they retained in the language.

Some more examples are burn, drag, fast, hang, scrape and thick. If there were differences in form, the English word often survived. Some examples are bench, goat, heathen, yarn, few, grey, loath, leap, flay.

Sometimes, both the English and Scandinavian words survived with a difference of meaning or use (the English word is given first): no-nay, whole-hale, rear-raise, from-fro, craft-skill, hide-skin, sick-ill. (5) Some native words that were not in common use were reinforced or reintroduced from the Scandinavian. Examples are till, dale, rim, blend and run.

Form (grammatical) words

Scandinavian words that made their way into English were not only open class words (nouns, adjectives and verbs). The Scandinavian influence extended to grammatical words - pronouns, prepositions, adverbs, and even a part of the verb to be.

Conclusion

As we have seen, even today, after so many years, we can still see the evidence of Scandinavian influence on English. There are thousands of place-names of Scandinavian origin. Many common and everyday words have Scandinavian origin. We cannot even imagine the English vocabulary without them. What is even more fascinating is that Scandinavian left an imprint on grammatical words and possibly syntax, which is a rare case when it comes to borrowing. It can be concluded that Scandinavian has had significant impact on the development of the English vocabulary.