- •Module 6 old english vocabulary
- •1. Etymological survey of the Old English vocabulary
- •Etymological layers of the Old English vocabulary
- •1.2. Foreign element in the Old English vocabulary
- •1.2.1. Borrowings from Celtic
- •1.2.2. Latin influence on the Old English vocabulary
- •The first layer of Latin borrowings in Old English
- •The second layer of Latin borrowings in Old English
- •Word-formation in oe
- •2.1. Word structure
- •2.2. Ways of word-formation
- •Word-derivation
- •2.2.1.1. Suffixation
- •Substantive Suffixes
- •Adjective Suffixes
- •Verb Suffixes
- •2.2.1.2. Prefixation
- •Prefixes
- •2.2.2. Composition
- •3. Stylistic stratification of the Old English vocabulary
- •4. Conclusions
3. Stylistic stratification of the Old English vocabulary
OE words can be subdivided into three stylistically distinct groups: neutral words, learned words and poetic words.
Neutral words were characterised by the highest frequency of occurrence; the majority of these words – often in altered shape – have been preserved to the present day, e.g. OE mann, stān, blind, drincan, bēon, etc. Most words of this group are of native origin.
Learned words are found in texts of religious, legal, philosophical or scientific character. Among learned words there were many borrowings from Latin. Numerous compound nouns were built on Latin models as translation loans to render the exact meaning of foreign terms, e.g.: wrēendlic (L Accusativus), feorbold 'body' (L animæ domus 'dwelling of the soul'). In later periods of history many OE learned words went out of use being replaced by new borrowings and native formations.
Poetic words in OE are of special interest: OE poetry employs a very specific vocabulary. An important characteristic of OE poetry is abundance of synonyms. In BEOWULF, for instance, there are thirty-seven words for the concept "warrior", twelve for "battle”, seventeen for “sea”. Among the poetic names for “hero” are beorn, rinc, sec, þen and many metaphoric circumlocutions ("kennings") – compounds used instead of simple words: ār-berend lit. "spear-carrier", ar-wia ‘spear-warrior', sweord-freca 'sword-hero’, ūþ-rinc 'man of war, warrior', ūþ-wine 'war-friend', etc. Similarly, brēost-hord 'treasure of the breast' denoted 'heart' or 'thought'; ūþ-wudu 'battle-wood' stood for spear; bān-cofa 'chamber for bones', flæsc-hord 'hoard of flesh’ and ftæsc-hama 'covering for flesh' – all meant 'body'; hord-cofa 'treasure-chamber' was a metaphoric circumlocution for "secret thoughts". These compounds were used as stylistic devices – for ornament, for expressive effect, to bring out and emphasize a certain quality, and for the sake of alliteration.
Probably many poetic words were already archaic in late OE; some of the kennings were trite, conventional metaphors, while others were used only once in a certain text and therefore cannot be included in the basic OE vocabulary. And yet they constitute a unique feature of OE poetry and the OE language. With the decline of the genre OE poetic words went out of use.
4. Conclusions
1. The OE vocabulary was mostly Germanic; its largest part consisted of native words inherited from Proto-Germanic or formed from native roots and affixes.
2. The three main layers in the native OE words are: a) common IE words; b) common Germanic words; c) specifically OE words.
3. There were two basic sources of borrowings in OE vocabulary: Celtic and Latin.
4. Among the Latin borrowings two layers can be distinguished: 1) words which the Teutonic tribes brought from the continent when they came to settle in Britain, and 2) words pertaining to religion and education.
5. The system of word formation in OE was well developed. There were two ways of word formation in OE: derivation and word-composition.
6. The bulk of OE vocabulary contains three stylistically different groups: a) neutral words, which constitute the core of the vocabulary and are most frequently used; b) learned words, mostly borrowed from Latin; c) poetic words often used in metaphoric circumlocutions (kennings).