[Studies in the Early Middle Ages] Language and History in Viking Age England Volume 6 (Linguistic Relations between Speakers of Old Norse and Old English) ||

This is the first ever book-length study for the nature and significance of the linguistic contact between speakers of Old Norse and Old English in Viking Age England. It investigates in a wide-ranging and systematic fashion a foundational but under-considered factor in the history and culture of the Vikings in England. The subject is important for late Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age history; for language and literature in the late Anglo-Saxon period; and for the history and development of the English language. The work's primary focus is on Anglo-Norse language contact, with a particular emphasis on the question of possible mutual intelligibility between speakers of the two languages; but since language contact is an emphatically sociolinguistic phenomenon, the work's methodology combines linguistic, literary and historical approaches, and draws for its evidence on texts in Old English, Old Norse and Anglo-Latin, and other forms of linguistic and onomastic material. 'Matthew Townend's interdisciplinary study is a stimulating and in many ways ground breaking research work. It offers a profound analysis of one of the central issues of Viking Age England: the linguistic relations between and mutual intelligibility of speakers of Old Norse and Old English.' [Susanne Kries, Universitaet Potsdam] Introduction : Anglo-norse Language Contact -- The Languages : Viking Age Norse And English -- The Evolution Of Viking Age Norse And English -- A Phonological Comparison Of Viking Age Norse And English -- The Scandinavianisation Of Old English Place-names -- Theories Of Intelligibility : Two Models -- Norse Speakers And English Place-names -- Analysis And Discussion -- Corpus Of Scandinavianised Place-names -- Anglo-norse Contact In Anglo-saxon Sources -- 'the Voyages Of Ohthere And Wulfstan' In The Old English Orosius -- Æthelweard's Chronicle -- Ælfric And Wulfstan : De Falsis Diis -- Literary Accounts And Anecdotal Evidence -- Old Norse : The Witness Of The Sagas -- Old English And Anglo-latin : Interpreters In Anglo-saxon England -- The Old English Carta Dominica Homilies -- Old Norse In England : Towards A Linguistic History -- Review : Evidence For Intelligibility -- Societal Bilingualism In Viking Age England -- Old Norse Literacy In England -- Inflexional Loss In Old English And Old Norse -- Norse Loans In English And Old Norse Language Death. By Matthew Townend. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [213]-238) And Index. Front Matter ("Contents", "Acknowledgements", "Abbreviations", "Bibliographical Abbreviations", "Terminology and Conventions"), p. i Citation | PDF (257 KB) Free Access 1. Introduction: Anglo-Norse Language Contact, p. 1 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.4.00202 Citation | PDF (1435 KB) 2. The Languages: Viking Age Norse and English, p. 19 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.4.00203 Citation | PDF (2010 KB) 3. The Scandinavianisation of Old English Place-Names, p. 43 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.4.00204 Citation | PDF (2027 KB) Appendix 3.1. Corpus of Scandinavianised Place-Names, p. 69 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.4.00205 Citation | PDF (1102 KB) 4. Anglo-Norse Contact in Anglo-Saxon Sources, p. 89 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.4.00206 Citation | PDF (4786 KB) 5. Literary Accounts and Anecdotal Evidence, p. 145 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.4.00207 Citation | PDF (2901 KB) 6. Old Norse in England: Towards a Linguistic History, p. 181 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.4.00208 Citation | PDF (2636 KB) Back Matter ("Bibliography", "Index"), p. 213 Citation | PDF (2399 KB) This is the first ever book-length study of the nature and significance of the linguistic contact between speakers of Old Norse and Old English in Viking Age England. It investigates in a wide-ranging and systematic fashion a foundational but under-considered factor in the history and culture of the Vikings in England. The subject is important for late Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age history; for language and literature in the late Anglo-Saxon period; and for the history and development of the English language. The work's primary focus is on Anglo-Norse language contact, with a particular emphasis on the question of possible mutual intelligibility between speakers of the two languages; but since language contact is an emphatically sociolinguistic phenomenon, the work's methodology combines linguistic, literary and historical approaches, and draws for its evidence on texts in Old English, Old Norse and Anglo-Latin, and other forms of linguistic and onomastic material. This text is the first book-length study of the nature of the linguistic relations between speakers of Norse and English in Viking Age England, with particular focus on whether or not the two speech communities were mutually intelligible. The author examines the closeness of the historical evolution of the two communities and compares their phonological systems; analyzes the Scandinavianization of Old English place names and relates it to the process of dialect intelligibility; considers aspects of Anglo-Norse contact as reflected in three Anglo-Saxon sources; examines literary accounts and anecdotal evidence; and assesses future directions for further study of the Old Norse language in England. The text is derived from Townend's doctoral thesis. Distributed by The David Brown Book Company. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR