2.3.2 Scandinavian Borrowings

The next big linguistic invasion came as a result of the Viking raids on Britain, “which began in A.D. 787 and continued at intervals for some 200 years” (Crystal, p.25). However, the similarity between Old English and the language of Scandinavian invaders makes it sometimes very difficult to decide whether a given word in Modern English is native or borrowed. Many of the common words of the two languages are identical, and if there had been no Old English literature, it would be difficult to say whether a given word is of Scandinavian or native origin. As a result of the Scandinavian invasion, a large number of settlements with Danish names appeared in England, along with the personal names of Scandinavian origin. Sawyer (1962) counts 1,500 such place names, especially in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Over 600 end in suffix –by, the Scandinavian word for ‘town’ or ‘farm,’ e.g., Derby, Grimsby, Rugby, etc. Many place names end in –thorp (‘village’), e.g., Atlthorp, Astonthorpe; thwaite (‘clearing’), as in Braithwaite, Applethwaite; and toft (‘homestead’), as in Lowestoft, Eastoft, and Sandtoft (as cited in Crystal, 2003, p. 25). With the Viking invasions came an increase in personal names of Scandinavian origin. They express kinship or relationship to a parent or ancestor, e.g. Johnson, Robertson, Davidson, and they end in –son. In certain cases, there are reliable criteria by which words of Scandinavian origin can be recognized. One of the simplest ways to recognize words of Scandinavian origin is by the sound [sk], e.g., sky, skill, skin, ski, skirt. In Old English, this was early palatalized to sh (written sc) [?] in Modern English, whereas Scandinavian countries still retained the [sk] sound. The borrowings of Scandinavian origin are still pronounced [sk]: skill, scrape, scrub, and bask. The Old English scyrte has become shirt, while the corresponding Old Norse (O.N.) form skyrta gives us skirt. In the same way, the retention of the hard pronunciation [k] and [g] in such words as kid, get, give, gild, egg is an indication of Scandinavian origin.

2.3.3 Loans from French

Toward the close of the Old English period, an event occurred which scholars agree had a great impact on the English language. This event was the Norman Conquest, in 1066. The conquerors brought French to England, and French became the language of the ruling class. The Norman Conquest reduced the linguistic penetration of Scandinavian in the one major area where the Danes were superior to the native English: “national administration, in which equable division of governmental units, fair taxation, strong criminal law, regulated commerce, and a high sense of personal honor predominated” (Nist, 1966, p.100). The Norman Conquest made French an official language in England. The following French words penetrated English: government, attorney, chancellor, country, court, crime, estate, judge, jury, noble, royal; in the religious sphere: abbot, clergy, preach, sacrament, vestment, and many others. Some words designating English titles are of French origin: prince, duke, marquess, viscount, baron, and their feminine equivalents are also of French origin. Some military terms are of French origin: army, captain, corporal, lieutenant, sergeant, and soldier. French names were given to various animals when served up as food at Norman tables—beef, pork, veal, and mutton. Culinary processes were also named in French, for instance, boil, broil, fry, stew, and roast.

Later French borrowings are not as much assimilated as older borrowings as police, picnic, soup, and others. These borrowings include aide-de-camp, amateur, ballet, baton, beau, bouillon, boulevard, brochure, brunette, bureau, cafй, camouflage, champagne, chaperon, chemisette, chiffonier, chute, clichй, commandant, communiquй, crochet, detour, foyer, fuselage, genre, hors d’oeuvre, impasse, invalid, liaison, limousine, lingerie, massage, matinee, menu, morale, morgue, naпve, negligee, plateau, premiиre, protйgй, rapport, repartee, repertoire, reservoir, restaurant, risquй, rouй, rouge, saloon, souvenir, suйde, surveillance, tкte-a-tкte, and vis-а-vis (The Living Webster, 1977).