* * * * *
SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE
ON
SOUTHERN LOWLAND SCOTCH
A Contribution
to the Study of the Linguistic Relations
of English and Scandinavian
by
GEORGE TOBIAS FLOM, B.L., A.M.
Sometime Fellow in German, Columbia University
AMS PRESS, INC.
NEW YORK
1966
Copyright 1900, Columbia University Press,
New York
Reprinted with the permission of the
Original Publisher, 1966
AMS PRESS, INC.
New York, N.Y. 10003
1966
Manufactured in the United States of America
* * * * *
ERRATA.
P. vi, l. 10, for _norrnøe_, read _norrøne_.
P. viii, l. 5, for _Wyntown_, read _Wyntoun_ and so elsewhere.
P. x, l. 11 from bottom, for _Koolmann_, read _Koolman_ and so
elsewhere.
P. xi, l. 1, for _Paul_, read _Kluge_; l. 2, for _Hermann Paul_,
read _Friedrich Kluge_.
P. 5, l. 6 from bottom, for _in York_, read _and York_.
P. 13, last line, for or ǣ ę̄, read ǣ or ę̄.
P. 18, l. 3 from bottom, for _Skaif_, read _Skæif_.
P. 19, l. 13, for _is to_, read _is to be_.
P. 21, l. 10, for _Fiad_, read _Faid_.
P. 26, l. 2, _aparasta_ should be _aprasta_.
P. 31, under Bront (See Skeat _brunt_) should be See Skeat _brunt_.
P. 32, under _Byrd_, for bōræ, read böræ.
P. 47, under Hansel, for Bruce, V, 120, Hansell used ironically
means "defeat," read: Bruce, V, 120, hansell, etc.
P. 50, under _Laike_, for _i-diphthong_, read _æi-diphthong_.
P. 66, under _Swarf_, in the last line for O. Fr. read O.F.
P. 74, l. 19, for _e to a_, read _e to æ_.
[Transcriber's Note: The above changes, listed in the printed book,
have been made in the e-text without further notation.
The following apparent errors, not mentioned in the Errata, have not
been changed but are noted here:
P. 5, last line, the form _bỳr_
?should be the form _býr_
P. 28 _Bein, bene, bein_: duplication in original
P. 28 under _Bing_, Douglass
?should be Douglas
P. 29 under _Blout, blowt_, Douglas, III, 76; II,
?should be Douglas, III, 76, 11
P. 49 under _Irking_, Winyet, II, 76; I
?should be II, 76, 1
P. 55 under _Quey, quoy_: O. N. Norse
P. 69 under _Skyle_, Fer.
?should be Far.
P. 79 under _ǣ_, ǣ > e, e
?should be ǣ > a, e
]
To
Prof. WILLIAM H. CARPENTER, Ph.D.
Prof. CALVIN THOMAS, A.M.
Prof. THOMAS R. PRICE, LL.D.
of Columbia University in the City of New York
IN GRATITUDE
PREFACE.
This work aims primarily at giving a list of Scandinavian loanwords
found in Scottish literature. The publications of the Scottish Text
Society and Scotch works published by the Early English Text Society
have been examined. To these have been added a number of other works
to which I had access, principally Middle Scotch. Some words have
been taken from works more recent--"Mansie Wauch" by James Moir,
"Johnnie Gibb" by William Alexander, Isaiah and The Psalms by
P. Hately Waddell--partly to illustrate New Scotch forms, but also
because they help to show the dialectal provenience of loanwords.
Norse elements in the Northern dialects of Lowland Scotch, those of
Caithness and Insular Scotland, are not represented in this work.
My list of loanwords is probably far from complete. A few early
Scottish texts I have not been able to examine. These as well as the
large number of vernacular writings of the last 150 years will have
to be examined before anything like completeness can be arrived at.
I have adopted certain tests of form, meaning, and distribution.
With regard to the test of the form of a word great care must be
exercised. Old Norse and Old Northumbrian have a great many
characteristics in common, and some of these are the very ones in
which Old Northumbrian differs from West Saxon. It has,
consequently, in not a few cases, been difficult to decide whether
a word is a loanword or not. Tests that apply in the South prove
nothing for the North. Brate rightly regarded _leȝȝkenn_ in
the Ormulum as a Scandinavian loanword, but in Middle Scotch
_laiken_ or _laken_ would be the form of the word whether Norse or
genuine English. Certain well-known tests of form, however, first
formulated by Brate, such as _ou_ for O.E. _ea_, or the assimilation
of certain consonants apply as well to Scotch as to Early Middle
English. The distribution of a word in English dialects frequently
helps to ascertain its real history, and may become a final test
where those of form and meaning leave us in doubt. In the study of
Norse or Scandinavian influence on Lowland Scotch the question of
Gaelic influence cannot be overlooked. The extent of Norse
influence on Celtic in Caithness, Sutherland and the Western
Highlands, has never been ascertained, nor the influence of Celtic
on Lowland Scotch. A large number of Scandinavian loanwords are
common to Gaelic, Irish, and Lowland Scotch. It is possible that
some of these have come into Scotch through Gaelic and not directly
from Norse. Perhaps _faid_, "a company of hunters," is such a word.
There are no works bearing directly on the subject of Scandinavian
elements in Lowland Scotch proper. J. Jakobsen's work, "Det norrøne
Sprog på Shetland," has sometimes given me valuable hints. From
Brate's well-known work on the Ormulum I have derived a great deal
of help. Steenstrup's "Danelag" has been of assistance to me, as
also Kluge's "Geschichte der englischen Sprache" in Paul's
Grundriss, the latter especially with regard to characteristics of
Northern English. Wall's work on "Scandinavian Elements in English
Dialects" has been especially helpful because of the excellent list
of loanwords given. In many cases, however, my own investigations
have led me to different conclusions, principally with regard to
certain tests and the dialectal provenience of loanwords. Finally,
the excellent editions of Scottish texts published by the S.T.S. and
the E.E.T.S. have made the work less difficult than it otherwise
would have been. I may mention particularly "The Bruce," Dunbar,
and Montgomery, where Scandinavian elements are very prominent.
ABBREVIATIONS REFERRING TO TEXTS INCLUDED IN THIS INVESTIGATION.
[*Footnote: The publications of the Scottish Text Society and those
of the Early English Text Society are given first. The others
follow, as nearly as may be, in chronological order.]
K.Q. = The "Kingis Quair" of James I., ed. W.W. Skeat. S.T.S. 1.
Dunbar = Bishop Dunbar's Works, ed. by John Small, R.J.G. Mackay
and W. Gregor. S.T.S. 2, 4, 16, 21, 29.
Rolland = "The Court of Venus" by John Rolland, ed. W. Gregor. S.T.S. 3.
Dalr. = Leslie's History of Scotland, translated by Dalrymple,
ed. E.G. Cody. S.T.S. 5, 14, 19, 34.
Wallace = Henry the Minstrel's "Wallace," ed. James Moir. S.T.S.
6, 7, 17.
Montg. = Alexander Montgomery's Poems, ed. James Cranstoun. S.T.S.
9, 10, 11.
Gau = "Richt way to the hevinlie Kingdom," by John Gau, ed. A.F.
Mitchell. S.T.S. 12.
Winyet = "Certain Tractates," by Ninian Winyet, ed. J.K. Hewison.
S.T.S. 15, 52.
Sat. P. = Satirical Poems of the Time of the Reformation,
ed. J. Cranstoun. S.T.S. 20, 24, 28, 30.
Buchanan = Vernacular Writings of George Buchanan, ed. P. H. Brown.
S.T.S. 26.
Bruce = Barbour's "Bruce," ed. W. W. Skeat. E.E.T.S. Extra Series
II, 21, 29.
Lyndsay = Sir David Lyndsay's Works, containing "The Monarchie,"
"Squire Meldrum," "The Dream," and "Ane Satire of the Three
Estates," ed. F. Hall. E.E.T.S. 11, 19, 35, 37.
C.S.= "The Complaynt of Scotland," ed. J.A.H. Murray. E.E.T.S. 17.
L.L.= "Lancelot of the Laik," ed. W. W. Skeat. E.E.T.S. 6.
R.R. = "Ratis Raving" and other Moral and Religious Pieces in Prose
and Verse, ed. J. Rawson Lumby. E.E.T.S. 43.
Douglas = The Poetical Works of Gawain Douglas in 4 vols., ed. John
Small. Edinburgh. 1874.
Wyntoun = "The Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland," by Andrew of
Wyntoun, ed. David McPherson. 2 vols. London. 1795.
R. and L. = "Roswell and Lillian," ed. O. Lengert. Englische
Studien 16.
Gol. and Gaw. = "Golagros and Gawain," ed. Moritz Trautmann.
Anglia II.
Scott = The Poems of Alexander Scott, ed. Andrew Laing. Edinburgh.
1821.
Philotus = "Philotus, A Comedy imprinted at Edinburgh by Robert
Charters, 1603." Published by the Bannatyne Club. Edinburgh. 1835.
Anc. Pro. = Collection of Ancient Scottish Prophecies in
Alliterative Verse, 1603. Published by the Bannatyne Club. 1833.
Poet. Rem. = The Poetical Remains of Some of the Scottish Kings,
containing "Peblis to the Play," "Christ's Kirk on the Green,"
"The Gaberlunzie Man," and "Ane Ballad of Good Council," ed. George
Chalmers. London. 1824.
Sco. Poems = Scottish Poems in 3 vols. containing "The Tales of the
Priests of Peblis," "Ballads" (1508), Holland's "Howlate," "The
Bloody Sark" of Robert Henrison, and "Sir Gawain and Sir Galaron"
of Galloway. London. 1792.
A.P.B.S. = Ancient Popular Ballads and Songs, ed. Robert Jamieson.
Edinburgh. 1806.
Fergusson = The Works of Robert Fergusson, ed. David Irving.
Greenock. 1810.
Irving = History of Scottish Poetry, containing a number of
extracts, ed. David Irving. Edinburgh. 1874.
Scotticisms = Scotticisms Corrected. London. 1855.
Ramsay = The Poems of Allan Ramsay, in 2 vols. Printed by A. Strahan
for T. Cadwell and W. Davies. London. 1800.
Burns = The Works of Robert Burns, ed. Dr. Adolphus Wagner. Leipzig.
1835.
Isaiah = Isaiah, frae Hebrew intil Scottis, by P. Hately Waddell.
Edinburgh and Glasgow. 1879.
Psalms = The Psalms, frae Hebrew intil Scottis, by P. Hately
Waddell. Edinburgh and Glasgow. 1891.
M.W. = "Mansie Wauch," by D.M. Moir. Edinburgh. 1898. Centenary
Edition.
J.G. = "Johnnie Gibb of Gushetneuk," by William Alexander (1871).
Edinburgh. 1897.
ABBREVIATIONS REFERRING TO GRAMMARS, GLOSSARIES, DICTIONARIES,
AND THE LIKE.
Aasen = Norsk Ordbog, af Ivar Aasen. Christiania. 1873. Generally
referred to as Norse.
B-T. = The Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Referred to
generally as Old English.
B-S. = Bradley's Stratmann's Middle English Dictionary. References
to Middle English forms are to B-S., unless otherwise specified.
Brate = "Nordische Lehnwörter im Ormulum." Paul und Braunes
Beiträge, X. 1885.
Brem. W. = Bremisch-Niedersächsisches Wörterbuch. Bremen. 1767.
Bouterwek = Die vier Evangelien in alt-nordhumbrischer Sprache.
Karl Bouterwek. Gütersloh. 1857.
Cl. and V. = Cleasby and Vigfusson's Icelandic-English Dictionary.
Oxford. 1874. Old Norse words have been taken largely from Cl. and
V.
Cook = A Glossary of the Old Northumbrian Gospels. A.S. Cook.
Halle. 1894.
Craigie = Oldnordiske Ord i de gæliske Sprog. W.A. Craigie, in Arkiv
for nordisk Filologie X. pp. 149ff.
Curtis = An Investigation of the Rimes and Phonology of the Middle
Scotch Romance "Clariodus," by F.J. Curtis, in Anglia XVI and XVII.
Dickinson = A Glossary of the Words and Phrases of Cumberland.
William Dickinson. Whitehaven and London. 1859.
D.S.C.S. = The Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland, by
J.A.H. Murray. London. 1873.
Egge = Norse words in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Albert Egge.
Pullman, Washington. 1898.
E.D.D. = The English Dialect Dictionary, A to C, ed. Joseph Wright.
Oxford. 1898.
Ellis = On Early English Pronunciation. Vol. 5, by Alexander J.
Ellis. Early English Text Society, Extra Series 56.
Fritzner = Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog. Johan Fritzner.
Christiania. 1886-1896.
Gibson = The Folkspeech of Cumberland, by A.C. Gibson. London. 1873.
Haldorson = Lexicon Islandico-Latino-Danicum, Biornonis Haldorsonii.
Havniae. 1814.
Jakobsen = Det norrøne Sprog på Shetland, by J. Jakobsen. Köbenhavn.
1897. Shetland dialect forms are generally taken from this work.
Jamieson = Jamieson's Dictionary of the Scottish Language.
Jellinghaus = Angelsächsisch-Neuenglische Wörter, die nicht
niederdeutsch sind, by H. Jellinghaus, in Anglia XX. Pp. 46-466.
Kalkar = Ordbog til det ældre danske Sprog. Otto Kalkar. Köbenhavn.
1881-1892.
Lindelöf = Glossar zur altnordhumbrischen Evanglienübersetzung in
der Rushworth-Handschrift (in Acta Societatis Scientiarum Fennicae
Tome XXII., No. 5), von Uno Lindelöf. Helsingfors. 1897.
Kluge P.G.(2)I. = Kluge's "Geschichte der englischen Sprache," in
Paul's Grundriss, 2 Auflage, I Band.
Kluge and Lutz = English Etymology, by F. Kluge and F. Lutz.
Strassburg. 1898.
Koolman = Wörterbuch der ostfriesischen Sprache. J ten Doornkaat
Koolman. Norden. 1879-1884. Sometimes cited as Low German.
Luik = Untersuchungen zur englischen Lautgeschichte. Strassburg. 1896.
Molbech = Dansk Ordbog. C. Molbech. Kjöbenhavn. 1859. Referred to
generally as Danish.
N.E.D. = The New English Dictionary, A to Frankish, ed. J.A.H.
Murray.
Noreen P.G.(2)I. = Noreen's "Geschichte der nordischen Sprachen,"
in Paul's Grundriss, 2 Auflage, 1 Band.
Kluge = Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache. Friedrich
Kluge. Strassburg. 1894.
Richthofen (or O.F.) = Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, von Karl Freiherrn
von Richthofen. Göttingen. 1840.
Rietz (or Sw. dial.) = Svenskt Dialekt-Lexikon. J.E. Rietz.
Malmö. 1867.
Ross = Norsk Ordbog. Tillæg til Ivar Aasen's Ordbog. Hans Ross.
Christiania. 1895.
Schiller und Lübben = Mittelniederdeutsches Wörterbuch. Bremen.
1875-1880. Cited as M.L.G.
Schlyter = Glossarium til Skånelagen (Sveriges Gamle Lagar IX.).
C.J. Schlyter. Lund. 1859.
O.S. = Old Saxon. Schmellers Glossarium Saxonicum e Poemate Heliand.
Tübingae. 1840.
Sievers = Altenglische Grammatik. Eduard Sievers. 3 Auflage. 1898.
Skeat = Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. Oxford.
1882; and Concise Etymological Dictionary. Oxford. 1897.
Skeat's list = A List of English Words, the Etymology of which is
illustrated by Comparison with Icelandic. W.W. Skeat. Oxford. 1876.
Steenstrup = Danelag (Vol. IV. of "Normannerne"). J.C.H.R.
Steenstrup. Kjöbenhavn. 1882.
Sweet = Student's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Henry Sweet. Oxford. 1897.
Söderwall = Ordbok öfver svenska Medeltids Språket, A to L. K.F.
Söderwall. Lund. 1884-1890.
Thorkelson = Supplement til islandske Ordböger. Jon Thorkelson.
Reykjavik. 1876-1897.
Wall = "Scandinavian Elements in the English Dialects," by Arnold
Wall. Anglia XX.
Worsaae = Minder om de Danske og Normændene i England, Skotland,
og Irland, af J.J.A. Worsaae. Kjöbenhavn. 1851.
ABBREVIATIONS REFERRING TO LANGUAGES, GRAMMATICAL TERMS, ETC.
adj. = adjective.
adv. = adverb.
cp. = compare.
conj. = conjunction.
Cu. = Cumbrian, Cumberland.
Dan. = New or Modern Danish.
dem. pr. = demonstrative pronoun.
deriv. = derivative.
dial. = dialect, dialectal.
diall. = dialects.
E. Norse = East Norse.
Eng. = English, standard speech.
Far. = Faroese.
Fr. = French.
Gael. = Gaelic.
Germ. = German.
Gmc. = Germanic.
Goth. = Gothic.
id. = the same.
inf. = infinitive.
Ir. = Irish.
L.G. = Low German.
M. Dan. = Middle Danish.
M. Du. = Middle Dutch.
M.E. = Middle English.
M.H.G. = Middle High German.
M.L.G. = Middle Low German.
M. Sco. = Middle Scotch.
M. Sw. = Middle Swedish.
Norse = New or Modern Norse.
N. Sco. = Modern Scotch dialects.
O. Dan. = Old Danish.
O.E. = Old English.
O.F. = Old Frisian.
O. Fr. = Old French.
O. Ic. = Old Icelandic.
O.N. = Old Norse.
O. Nh. = Old Northern.
O. Nhb. = Old Northumbrian.
O.S. = Old Saxon.
O. Sw. = Old Swedish.
p. = page; pp. = pages.
p. p. = past participle.
pr. p. = present participle.
pret. = preterite.
pron. = pronounced.
prep. = preposition.
pl. = plural.
q.v. = quod vide.
Scand. = Scandinavian.
Sco. = Scotch.
S.S. = Southern Scotland.
sb. = substantive.
Sw. = Swedish.
vb. = verb.
W.Norse = West Norse.
W. Scand. = West Scandinavian.
W.S. = West Saxon.
> = developed into.
< = derived from.
E.D.S. = English Dialect Society.
E.E.T.S. = Early English Text Society.
S.T.S. = Scottish Text Society.
There has been considerable confusion in the use of the terms Norse
and Danish. Either has been used to include the other, or, again,
in a still wider sense, as synonymous with Scandinavian; as, for
instance, when we speak of the Danish kingdoms in Dublin, or Norse
elements in Anglo-Saxon. Danish is the language of Denmark, Norse
the language of Norway. When I use the term Old Danish I mean that
dialect of Old Scandinavian, or Old Northern, that developed on
Danish soil. By Old Norse I mean the old language of Norway. The
one is East Scandinavian, the other West Scandinavian. The term
Scandinavian, being rather political than linguistic, is not a good
one, but it has the advantage of being clear, and I have used it
where the better one, Northern, might lead to confusion with
Northern Scotch.
CONTENTS.
PART I. INTRODUCTION.
General Remarks §1
Place-Names and Settlements in Northwestern England §2
Scandinavian Settlements in Southern Scotland §3
Settlements in England, Norse or Danish? The Place-Name Test §4
_By_ in Place-Names. Conclusions as to this Test §5
Characteristics of Old Northern, or Old Scandinavian.
Early Dialectal Differentiations §6
Old Norse and Old Danish §7
Remarks §8
Characteristics of Old Northumbrian §9
Remarks. Metathesis of _r_ §10
The Question of Palatalization in Old Northumbrian §11
_Sk_ as a Scandinavian Sign. Certain Words in _sk_.
Palatalization in Norse §12
Conclusion as to the Test of Non-palatalization §13.
Old and Middle Scotch §14
Some Characteristics of Scotch. O.E. _ă ā_ §15
Curtis's Table §16
O.E. _ō_. A List of Illustrative Words
from the Aberdeen Dialect §17
Inorganic _y_ in Scotch §18
_D_ for the Spirant _th_ §19
O.E. _ā_ and O.N. _æi_. How far we can Determine
such Words to be of Native or of Norse Origin §20
A List of Some Words that are Norse. Further Remarks §21
Celtic, Lowland Scotch, and Norse §22
Some Words that are not Scandinavian Loanwords §23
Loanword Tests §24
Remarks on the Texts §25
PART II.
A List of Scandinavian Loanwords taken chiefly from "The Bruce,"
"The Wallace," Wyntoun's Chronicle, Dunbar, Douglas, Lyndsay,
Alexander Scott, Montgomery, Ramsay and Burns.
PART III.
1. The Dialectal Provenience of Loanwords.
2. (a) The Old Northern Vowels in the Loanwords. Short Vowels, Long
Vowels, Diphthongs.
(b) The Old Northern Consonants.
* * * * *
PART I.
INTRODUCTION.
1. GENERAL REMARKS.
Worsaae's list of 1400 place-names in England gives us an idea of
the extent, as well as the distribution of Scandinavian settlements
in the 9th and 10th centuries. How long Scandinavian was spoken in
England we do not know, but it is probable that it began to merge
into English at an early date. The result was a language largely
mixed with Norse and Danish elements. These are especially prominent
in the M.E. works "Ormulum," "Cursor Mundi," and "Havelok." We have
historical records of the Danes in Central and Eastern England. We
have no such records of Scandinavian settlements in Northwestern
England, but that they took place on an extensive scale 300 place-
names in Cumberland and Westmoreland prove. In Southern Scotland,
there are only about 100 Scandinavian place-names, which would
indicate that such settlements here were on a far smaller scale than
in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, or Cumberland--which inference, however,
the large number of Scandinavian elements in Early Scotch seems to
disprove. I have attempted to ascertain how extensive these elements
are in the literature of Scotland. It is possible that the
settlements were more numerous than place-names indicate, that they
took place at a later date, for instance, than those in Central
England. Brate showed that the general character of Scandinavian
loanwords in the Ormulum is East Scandinavian. Wall concludes that
it is not possible to determine the exact source of the loanwords in
modern English dialects because "the dialect spoken by the Norsemen
and the Danes at the time of settlement had not become sufficiently
differentiated to leave any distinctive trace in the loanwords
borrowed from them, or (that) neither race preponderated in any
district so far as to leave any distinctive mark upon the dialect of
the English peasantry." It is true that the general character of
the language of the two races was at the time very much the same,
but some very definite dialectal differentiations had already taken
place, and I believe the dialectal provenience of a very large
number of the loanwords can be determined. Furthermore, the
distribution of certain place-names indicates that certain parts
were settled more especially by Danes, others by Norsemen. The
larger number of loanwords in Wall's "List A" seem to me to be
Danish. My own list of loanwords bears a distinctively Norse stamp,
as I shall show in Part III. of this work. This we should also
expect, judging from the general character of Scandinavian place-
names in Southern Scotland.
2. PLACE-NAMES AND SETTLEMENTS IN NORTHWESTERN ENGLAND.
Cumberland and Westmoreland, together covering an area equal to
about two-thirds that of Yorkshire, have 300 Scandinavian place-
names. Yorkshire has 407 according to Worsaae's table. The character
of these names in Cumberland and Westmoreland is different from that
of those in the rest of England. It seems that these counties were
settled predominantly by Norsemen and also perhaps at a later date
than that which we accept for the settlements in York and
Lincolnshire. We know that as early as 795 Norse vikings began their
visits to Ireland; that they settled and occupied the Western Isles
about that time; that in 825 the Faroes were first colonized by
Norsemen, partly from the Isles. After 870 Iceland was settled by
Norsemen from Norway, but in part also from the Western Isles and
Ireland. The 'Austmen' in Ireland, especially Dublin, seem
frequently to have visited the opposite shore. It seems probable
that Northwestern England was settled chiefly by Norsemen from
Ireland, Man, and the Isles on the west. It is not likely that any
settlements took place before 900. It seems more probable that they
belong rather to the second quarter of the 10th Century or even
later, when the Irish began successfully to assert themselves
against the Norse kings in Dublin and Waterford. Perhaps some may
have taken place even as late as the end of the 10th Century.
3. SCANDINAVIAN SETTLEMENTS IN SOUTHERN SCOTLAND.
In Southern Scotland, Dumfriesshire, Eastern Kircudbright and
Western Roxburgh seem to have formed the center of Scandinavian
settlements; so, at any rate, the larger number of place-names would
indicate. The dialect spoken here is in many respects very similar
to that of Northwestern England, D. 31 in Ellis, and the general
character of the place-names is the same. These are, however, far
fewer than in Northwestern England. Worsaae gives a list of about
30. This list is not exhaustive. From additional sources, rather
incomplete, I have been able to add about 80 more Scandinavian
place-names that occur in Southern Scotland, most of them of the
same general character as those in Northwestern England. Among them:
Applegarth, Cogarth, Auldgirth, Hartsgarth, Dalsgairth, Tundergarth,
Stonegarthside, Helbeck, Thornythwaite, Twathwaite, Robiethwaite,
Murraythwaite, Lockerby, Alby, Denbie, Middlebie, Dunnabie, Wysebie,
Perceby, Newby, Milby, Warmanbie, Sorbie, Canoby, Begbie, Sterby,
Crosby, Bushby, Magby, Pockby, Humbie, Begbie, Dinlaybyre, Maybole,
Carnbo, Gateside, Glenholm, Broomholm, Twynholm, Yetholm, Smailholm,
Langholm, Cogar, Prestwick, Fenwick, Howgate, Bowland, Arbigland,
Berwick, Southwick, Corstorphine, Rowantree, Eggerness, Southerness,
Boness, etc. There are in all about 110 such place-names, with a
number of others that may be either English or Scandinavian. The
number of Scandinavian elements in Southern Scotch is, however, very
great and indicates larger settlements than can be inferred from
place-names alone. In the case of early settlements these will
generally represent fairly well the extent of settlement. But where
they have taken place comparatively late, or where they have been of
a more peaceful nature, the number of new names of places that
result from them may not at all indicate their extent. The
Scandinavians that settled in Southern Scotland probably at no time
exceeded in number the native population. The place-names would then
for the most part remain unchanged. The loanwords found in Southern
Scotch and the names of places resemble those of Northwestern
England. The same Northern race that located in Cumberland and
Westmoreland also located in Scotland. It is probable, as Worsaae
believed, that it is a second migration, chiefly from Cumberland.
Dumfriesshire, at any rate, may have been settled in this way. The
settlers of Kircudbright and Wigtown were probably largely from the
Isles on the west. Other independent settlements were made in
Lothian and the region about the Forth. That these are all later
than those of Cumberland and Westmoreland is probable. According to
what has been said above, the settlements in Dumfries, which seem to
have been the earliest, could not have taken place before about the
second quarter of the 10th Century, and probably were made later.
The other settlements in Southern Scotland may extend even into the
11th Century. The name Dingwall (O.N. _Ðingvöllr_) in Dumfries, the
place where the laws were announced annually, indicates a rather
extensive settlement in Dumfries, and the dialect of Dumfries is
also characterized by a larger number of Scandinavian elements than
the rest of the Southern counties.
4. SETTLEMENTS IN ENGLAND, NORSE OR DANISH? THE PLACE-NAME TEST.
That the Danes were more numerous than the Norsemen in Central and
Eastern England from Northumberland down to the Thames there can be
no doubt. The distinctive Norse names _fell_, _tarn_ and _force_ do
not occur at all, while _thorpe_ and _toft_, which are as
distinctively Danish, are confined almost exclusively to this
section. In Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland, Westmoreland and
Lancashire _thorpe_ is comparatively rare, while _toft_ is not found
at all. On the other hand, _fell_, _dale_, _force_, _haugh_, and
_tarn_ (O.N. _fjall_, _dalr_, _foss_ and _fors_, _haugr_, _tjörn_)
occur in large numbers in Northwestern England. _Beck_ may be either
Danish or Norse, occurs, however, chiefly in the North. _Thwaite_
Worsaae regarded as Danish "because it occurs generally along with
the Danish _by_." We find, however, that this is not exactly the
case. In Lincolnshire there are 212 _by's_, in Leicestershire 66, in
Northampton 26; _thwaite_ does not occur at all. In Yorkshire there
are 167 names in _by_ and only 8 in _thwaite_, and 6 of these are in
West Riding. It is only in Cumberland and Westmoreland that the
proportions are nearly the same, but on _by_ see below §5. _Tveit_
is far more common in Norway than _tved_ in Denmark. The form of the
word in place-names in England is, furthermore, more Norse than
Danish. In the earliest Scandinavian settlements in England, those
of Lincolnshire, for instance, _thwaite_ might be Danish if it
occurred, for monophthongation of _æi_ to _e_ did not take place in
Danish before about the end of the 9th Century; by about 900 this
was complete (see §6). The Scandinavian settlements in Northwestern
England, however, did not take place so early, consequently if these
names were Danish and not Norse we should expect to find _thwet_, or
_thweet_ (_tweet_), in place of _thwaite_. It is then to be regarded
as Norse and not Danish. _Thwaite_ occurs almost exclusively in
Northwestern England--43 times in Cumberland as against 3 in the
rest of England south of Yorkshire. _Garth_ (O.N. _garðr_, O. Dan.
_gardh_, later _gaard_), occurs very often in Cumberland. _With_,
_ness_, _holm_, _land_, and _how_, do not occur very often. _How_
reminds one of the Jutish _höw_ in Modern Danish dialect. The rest
of these may be either Danish or Norse. In Yorkshire we find a mixed
condition of affairs. East Riding, as we should expect, has
predominantly Danish names. _Thorpe_, which occurs 63 times in
Lincolnshire, is found 48 times in East Riding. _Fell_, _tarn_ and
_haugh_ do not occur. _Force_ is found twice, and _thwaite_ once.
_Dale_, however, occurs 12 times. West Riding was probably settled
by Danes from the East and by Norsemen from the West. _Thorpe_
occurs 29 times, _with_ 8, _toft_ 2, _beck_ 4, _fell_ 15, _thwaite_
6, _dale_ 12, and _tarn_ 2. In North Riding _thorpe_ occurs 18
times. _Force_, _fell_, and _tarn_ together 12. The large number of
names in _dale_ in North Riding is rather striking (40 in all), as
compared with 52 for Westmoreland and Cumberland. While _dale_ is
predominantly Norse, it may perfectly well be Danish, and it is not
rare in Denmark. Furthermore, the greater number of _dales_ in
Norway as compared with Denmark is largely accounted for by the
nature of the country. No conclusions can be drawn from names in
_force_ in Yorkshire, Cumberland and Westmoreland, as it is of too
infrequent occurrence. _Fell_ occurs 22 times in York, as against 57
in Cumberland and Westmoreland (42 in Westmoreland alone), but in
York occurs predominantly in West Riding, where everything points to
a mixed settlement. The distribution of _tarn_ is interesting.
_Tarn_ is as distinctively Norse as _thorpe_ is Danish. It occurs 24
times in Cumberland and Westmoreland, 3 in North Riding, and is not
found at all south of Westmoreland and York.
5. _BY_ IN PLACE-NAMES. CONCLUSIONS AS TO THIS TEST.
_By_ has been regarded as a sign of Danish settlement for the
following reasons: (1) O.N. _bör_ would have given _bo_. The O. Dan.
form _býr_ becomes _by_. (2) _By_ is peculiar to Denmark, rare in
Norway. (3) _Bö_ or _bo_ is the form found in Insular Scotland, in
the Faroes and other Norse settlements. First, the form _bỳr_ is
not exclusively O. Dan. It occurs several times in Old Norse sagas
in the form _býr_ and _bý_--in "Flateyarbók," III., 290, in
"Fagrskinna" 41, several times in the "Heimskringla," as well as
elsewhere. Again, J. Vibe (see Nordisk Tidskrift, 1884, 535, and
Norsk Historisk Tidskrift, 2 Række, 5 Bind), has shown that _by_ is
not peculiar to Denmark and rare in Norway. It occurs 600-700 times
in Denmark and Skåne, and 450 times in Norway. Finally, _by_ is
often found in Norse settlements in Scotland and elsewhere--in
Iceland, Shetland, Orkney, Man, and in the Western Isles. In fact,
_by_ seems to be the more common form outside of Iceland. All we can
say then is that _by_ is more Danish than Norse, but may also be
Norse. Where names in _by_ are numerous it indicates that the
settlements are rather Danish, but they may also be Norse. We have,
then, the following results: Predominantly Danish settlements:
Essex, Bedford, Buckingham, Suffolk, Norfolk, Northampton,
Leicester, Rutland, Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, East Riding. Mixed
Norse and Danish settlements: North Riding, West Riding, Durham,
part of Cheshire, and Southern Lancashire. Norse settlements:
Cumberland, Westmoreland, North Lancashire, part of Cheshire, and
parts of Northumberland. The number of Scandinavian place-names in
Northumberland is not large, only 22 in Worsaae's list. North of the
Cheviot Hills the names are again predominantly Norse.
6. CHARACTERISTICS OF OLD NORTHERN, OR OLD SCANDINAVIAN.
EARLY DIALECTAL DIFFERENTIATION.
On the characteristics of primitive Northern and the changes that
had taken place in the language before the Viking period, see
Noreen, P.G.(2)I, 521-526. On pp. 523-526 are summarized the
characteristics of General Northern. Until 800 the Northern tongue
was unitary throughout the Scandinavian North. In the Viking age
dialectal differentiations began to appear, especially in O. Dan.
These are as follows (from Noreen):
About 800, older _hr_ > _r_ in Denmark.
Soon after 800, older diphthongs became simplified in Denmark,
e.g.,
_au_ > _u_ cp. O. Ic. _þau_, O.Gutnic _þaun_ = O. Dan. _þusi_
pronounced _þøsi_.
_ai_, _ei_ > _i_ cp. O. Ic. _stein_, O.N. _stæin_, O.Gtnc.
_stain_ = O. Dan. _stin_.
_io_, _iau_ > _u_ cp. O.N., O. Ic. _briote_, O.Gtnc.
_briauti_ = O. Dan. _biruti_.
Before 1000, _ē_ > _æ_ cp. O.N., O. Ic. _sér_ = O. Dan. _sær_
(written _sar_).
About 1,000, appears in O. Sw.--O. Dan. an excrescent _d_ between
_nn_ and _r_, e.g., _mantr_, pronounced _mandr_ (see Noreen,
p. 526).
7. OLD NORSE AND OLD DANISH.
Not until the year 1,000, or the beginning of the 11th Century, do
dialectal differentiations seem to be fully developed. O.N., which
in general preserves best the characteristics of the old Northern
speech, undergoes at this time a few changes that differentiate Dan.
and Norse still more. O. Sw. remains throughout closer to O. Dan. The
two together are therefore called East Scandinavian. Old Icelandic,
that is, Norse on Icelandic soil, develops its own forms, remaining,
however, in the main very similar to O.N. These two are then called
West Scandinavian. The following are some of the chief differences
between West and East Scandinavian at the time (from Noreen,
P.G.(2)I, 527):
1. _I_--(_R_) and _U_--_Umlaut_ in W.S. Absence of it in E.S.,
e.g.,
W.S. _hældr_ E.S. _halder_.
3 sg. pres. of _halda_, "to hold."
W.S. _i gær_, "yesterday," E.S. _i gar_.
W.S. _lǫnd_, pl. "land," E.S. _land_.
2. Development of _i_, _e_, _y_ into a consonantal _i_ in
diphthongs in W. S., not so in E. S., e.g.,
W.S. _siá_, "to see," E.S. _sēa_.
W.S. _fiánde_, "enemy," E.S. _fiande_.
W.S. _biár_, "of a village," E.S. _býar_.
3. Assimilation of _mp_, _nk_, _nt_, respectively, to _pp_, _kk_,
_tt_ in W.S., retention of them in E.S., e.g.,
W.S. _kroppen_, "crippled," E.S. _krumpin_.
W.S. _ækkia_, "widow," E.S. _ankia_.
W.S. _batt_, "bound," E.S. _binda_.
pret. of _binda_,
4. The Medio-passive:
W.S. _sk_, e.g., _kallask_, E.S. _s_, _kallas_.
5. Pronominal forms:
W.S. _ek_, _vér_ (_mér_), E.S. _iak_, _vīr_,
_ér_ (_þer_), _sem_, _īr_, _sum_.
8. REMARKS.
Assimilation of _mp_ to _pp_ and _nk_ to _kk_ appears also quite
early in Danish and Swedish, e.g., _kap_ (_kapp_) and _drocken_ (see
Kalkar), _kapp_ and _drokken_ (Sw.). _U--Umlaut_ seems to be more
limited in O.N. than in O. Ic. O. Ic. _hl_, _hn_, _hr_ initially
appear early as simple _l_, _n_, _r_ in O.N. (see Noreen 528), e.g.,
O. Ic. _hlaupa_, O.N. _loupa_; O. Ic. _hniga_, O.N. _niga_; O. Ic.
_hringr_, O.N. _ringr_; O. Ic. _fn_ appears in O.N. as _bn_ or _mn_,
e.g., O. Ic. _nafn_, O.N. _namn_ (N. Norse _navn_, _nabn_, _namn_).
Initial _hv_, which was a heavy guttural spirant, became _kv_ in
Western Norway, _kv_ and _khv_ in Iceland (though written _hv_
still), e.g., O.N., O. Ic. _hvelva_, Norse _kvelva_. O.N. _ø_ became
_æ_ in Iceland, _døma_ > _dæma_. O.N. _æi_ became _ei_ in Iceland,
e.g., O.N. _stæin_ > O. Ic. _stein_, O.N. _bæin_ > O. Ic. _bein_
(_stin_ and _bin_ in O. Dan.).
9. CHARACTERISTICS OF OLD NORTHUMBRIAN.
The following are some of the chief differences between O. Nhb. and
W. S:
1. Preference in O. Nhb. for _a_ in many cases where W. S. has _e_.
2. _A_ sometimes appears in closed syllable where W.S. has æ.
3. _A_ before _l_ + consonant is not broken to _ea_ (Sievers
§121.3, and Lindelöf: Die Sprache des Durham Rituals).
4. _A_ before _r_ + consonant very frequently not broken, cp.
_arm_, _farra_. Breaking occurs more often, however.
5. _E_ before _l_ + consonant not broken in the Ritual (see
Lindelöf).
6. _E_ before _r_ + consonant is broken and appears as either _ea_
or _eo_, cp. _eorthe_, _earthe_.
7. _A_ before _h_, _ht_, _x_ (_hs_) becomes _æ_. Sievers §162.1.
In W.S. _a_ was broken to _ea_, cp. O. Nhb. _sax_, W.S. _seax_.
This Lindelöf explains as due to the different quality of the
_h_--in W.S. it was guttural, hence caused breaking; in Nhb. it
was palatal and hence the preceding _a_ was palatalized to _æ_.
8. Nhb. umlaut of _o_ is _œ_. In W. S. it was _e_, cp.
_dœma_, _sœca_, W. S. _dēman, sēcan_. See Sievers §§27
and 150.4. Bouterwek CXXVII, and Lindelöf. This difference was,
however, levelled out, Nhb. _œ_ becoming also _e_, according to
Sievers.
9. Special Nhb. diphthongs _ei_, _ai_, cp. _heista_, _seista_,
W.S. _hiehsta_, _siexta_.
10. Influence of preceding _w_ was greater than in the South.
A diphthong whose second element was a dark vowel was simplified
generally to a dark vowel (Lindelöf), e.g., _weo_ > _wo_,
_wio_ > _wu_, cp. _weorld_ > _world_, _weord_ > _word_, etc.
11. W.S. _t_ is represented quite frequently by _ð_ or _d_,
regularly so when combined with _l_, often so when combined with
_s_. See Lindelöf above.
12. W.S. _ð_ frequently appears as _d_ in the North; the reverse
also occurs. See Bouterwek CXLII-CXLV. In a few cases _ð_ > _t_.
13. _C_ before _t_ where W. S. regularly has _h_. See Bouterwek.
14. Metathesis of _r_ less extensive than in W. S.
15. Preceding _g_, _c_, _sc_ did not cause diphthongation in Nhb.
as often as in W. S.
16. Generally speaking, less extensive palatalization in Nhb. than
in W. S.
17. Dropping of final _n_ in infinitives in Northumbrian.
10. REMARKS. METATHESIS OF _R_.
The above characteristics of O. Nhb. will not only explain a great
many later Scotch forms, but also show that a number of words which
have been considered loanwords are genuine English. Sco. _daw_,
"day," need not necessarily be traced to O.N. _dagr_. The W.S. _dæg_
gave Eng. _day_. _Dæg_ is also the Northern form. _Daw_ may of
course be due to _a_ in the oblique cases, but according to 2 _dag_
may have appeared in the nominative case early in the North. This
would develop to _daw_. Sco. _daw_, verb, "to dawn," is easily
explained. W.S. _dagian_ > _dawn_ regularly, Nhb. _dagia_ (see 17
above) > _daw_. The O.N. _daga_, "to dawn," is then out of the
question. Sco. _mauch_, "a kinsman"; the O.E. form was _mæg_, which
would have given _may_. In the North the _g_ was probably not
palatal. Furthermore a Northern form _mag_ would regularly develop
to _maw_, might also be _mauch_ (cp. _law_ and _lawch_, adj., "low,"
O.N. _lagr_). O.N. _magr_, "kinsman," may, however, be the source of
_mauch_. Sco. _hals_ is not from O.N. _hals_, but from O. Nhb. _hals_
which corresponded to W. S. _heals_; Sco. _hawse_, "to clasp,"
(Ramsay, II, 257); comes from O. Nhb. _halsiga_, W. S. _healsian_.
(Sco. _hailse_, "to greet," is a different word, see loanword list,
part II.). Forms that appear later in standard English frequently
are found earliest in the North (cp. §10). No. 13 explains some
differences in the later pronunciation of Sco. and Eng. No. 12 is a
characteristic that is much more common in Middle and Early New
Scotch. Many words in this way became identical in form with their
Norse cognates, cp. _broder_, _fad(d)er_, etc. This will be
discussed later. No. 14, Metathesis of _r_, was carried out
extensively in W. S. (see Sievers, 179), e.g., _beornan_ "burn";
_iernan_, "run"; _burn_, "a stream"; _hors_, "horse"; _forsk_,
"frog"; _þerscan_, "to thrash"; _berstan_, "to burst"; _fierst_,
"a space of time," (cp. Norse _frist_, Germ. _Frist_). This
progressive metathesis of _r_ is very common in the South. In the
North, on the contrary, metathesis of _r_ has taken place before
_ht_ in _frohtian, fryhtu_, etc. (Sievers, 179, 2). In addition to
these a large number of words appear in Old and Middle Sco.
differing from literary English with regard to metathesis, sometimes
showing metathesis where Eng. does not. A list of words will
illustrate this difference: _thyrldom_, "thraldom"; _thirl_, "to
enthrall"; _fryst_, "first"; _brest_, "to burst"; _thretty_,
"thirty"; _thrid_, "third"; _thirl_, "to pierce thirl"; _gyrs_,
"grass"; _krul_, "curl"; _drit_, "dirt"; _warsill_, "to wrestle";
_scart_, "to scratch"; _cruddled_, "curdled"; _birde_, O.E. _brid_,
"offspring." The result is that many of these words are more like
the corresponding O.N. words than the Anglo-Saxon (cp. O.N.
_fristr_, _brenna_, Norse _tretti_, _tredie_, etc.), hence they
have in many cases been considered loanwords. Sco. _braist_ and
_landbrest_, "breakers," (cp. O.N. _bresta_, _landbrest_), are not
from the Norse but from the corresponding O. Nhb. words. _Cors_ which
occurs in Gau may be a similar case and like Eng. _cross_ derived
from O. Fr. _crois_, but Gau otherwise shows considerable Danish
influence and Gau's form may be due to that. Eng. _curl_ and _dirt_
(from O.Du. _krul_ and O.N. _drit_) have undergone metathesis. The
Sco. words have not.
11. THE QUESTION OF PALATALIZATION IN O. NHB.
Just to what extent _g_, _c_, _sc_ were palatalized in O. Nhb. is not
definitely known. Until this has been ascertained the origin of a
number of dialect words in the North will remain uncertain. The
palatal character of _g_, _c_, _sc_ in O.E. was frequently
represented by inserting a palatal vowel, generally _e_, before the
following guttural vowel. Kluge shows (in Litteraturblatt für germ,
und rom. Philologie, 1887, 113-114) that the Middle English
pronunciation of _crinǧen_, _sinǧen_, proves early
palatalization, which was, however, not indicated in the writing of
the O.E. words _cringan_, _singan_. And in the same way
palatalization existed in a great many words where it was not
graphically represented. Initial _sc_ was always palatalized (Kluge,
114 above). In the MSS. _k_ seems to represent a guttural, _c_ a
palatal sound of older _c_ (Sievers, 207, 2). Palatalization of _c_
is quite general. _K_ became palatalized to _c_ in primitive Eng.
initially before front vowels, also before Gmc. _e_ and _eu_ (Kluge,
P.G.(2)I, 991). Kluge accepts gutturalizing of a palatal _c_ before
a consonant where this position is the result of syncopation of a
palatal vowel. In the South palatal _c_ became a fricative _ch_.
According to Kluge it never developed to _ch_ in Northern England
and Scotland, but either remained _c_ or recurred to a guttural _k_.
The same is true with regard to _g_. The exact extent of such
palatalization is very difficult to determine. It is possible that
the sound always remained a guttural in the North. We have seen that
_c_ or _g_ did not cause diphthongation of the following vowel in
the North as often as in the South. In view of the fact that
palatalization was not always indicated, this may not prove
anything, but may, however, indicate less palatalization than in the
South. The fact that _e_ or _i_ was sometimes inserted before a
following dark vowel, cp. _ahefgia_, "gravare," _gefragia_,
"interrogare," proves that palatalization in these words, at least,
existed.
12. _SK_ AS A SCANDINAVIAN SIGN. CERTAIN WORDS IN _SK_.
PALATALIZATION IN NORSE.
Wall argues that non-palatalization cannot be regarded as a sign of
Scand. influence and cites a number of words in support of this
conclusion (see Wall, §30). With regard to _dick_, "ditch," and
_sag_, "sedge," Wall is probably right. Those in _sk_ are, however,
not so easily disposed of. The presence of certain words with _sk_
in the South or those cited in _sh_ in the North does not prove the
case. While the presence of a word in South Eng. diall. is in favor
of its genuine Eng. origin, it does not prove it, for certain words,
undoubtedly Scand., are found in the Southern dialects. _Shag_,
"rough hair," Skeat regards as Norse rather than Eng. _Scaggy_,
"shaggy," with initial _sk_, I would regard as Norse from O.N.
_skegg_, not from O.E. _sceagga_. _Shriek_ Skeat regards as Scand.
Bradley derives it from O.L.G. _scricon_ which is found once in the
Heliand. Eng. dial. _skrike_. Wall on the other hand derives it from
O.E. _scricon_, since _scric_ is found. _Scric_ occurs in O.E. as
the name of the shriekbird. The vb. is not found. Whether we regard
"shriek" native or not, _scrike_ is to be derived from O.N.
_skrika_. _Skeer_ is from O.N. _skera_; _sheer_ from O.E. _sceran_.
In form if not in meaning, we have an exact parallel in the M.E.
_skir_, "bright," from O.N. _skir_, and _schir_ from O.E. _scir_. In
a few cases words that seem Scand. appear with _sh_, not _sk_. The
etymology of such words, however, becomes rather doubtful. This is
especially the case where in the Norse word a guttural vowel
followed the _sk_. Where, however, the Norse or Dan. word had a
palatal vowel after the _sk_ the change to _sh_ is not at all
impossible, and here arises the question of palatalization in O.N.
O.N. _skiól_, pron. _sk-iól_, with _sk_, = Norse _skjūl_ (pron.
_shūl_). _Ski_ thus becomes _sh_ in O.N. _skilinn_, Norse _shil_,
O.N. _skilja_, Norse _shilja_ (or _skille_), O.N. _skipta_, Norse
_shifta_. West Norse also shows change of _k_ to _ch_ before _i_
where the _k_ has been kept in East Scand., e.g., O. Ic. _ekki_ =
W.Norse (dial.) _ikkje_ or _intje_, pron. _ittje_, _intje_,
Dan. _ikke_ (_igge_). _I_ between _sk_ and a dark vowel early became
_j_ in Norse, which then gave the preceding _sk_ something of a
palatal nature. The development of O.N. _skiól_ into _shiel_ in
Scotland and England may be explained in this way, as _skiól_ >
_shul_ in Norway. This is, however, to be understood in this way,
that if an _i_ or _e_ followed the _sk_, this was in condition to
become palatalized, not that it was at all palatal at the time of
borrowing. The sound was then distinctly guttural, and the guttural
character of _sk_ has in nearly every case been kept in Scand.
loanwords in English, for palatalization of O.E. _sc_ was completed
before the period of borrowing. This palatalization of _sk_ was
general in Scotland as well as in England, and such words in _sk_
must be regarded as Scand. loanwords.
13. CONCLUSION AS TO THE TEST OF NON-PALATALIZATION.
As initial _sk_, corresponding to O.N. _sk_, O.E. _sc_, is due to
Scand. influence, so, in general, medial and final _sk_ may be also
so regarded: cp. here Sco. _harsk_, "harsh," _bask_ (adj.), _mensk_,
_forjeskit_, etc. The guttural character of _g_ and _k_ in Sco. is
not to be regarded as due to Scand. influence. Thus _mirk_, _reek_,
_steek_, _streek_, _breek_, _dik, rike_, _sark_, _kirn_, _lig_,
_brig_, _rig_, etc., are to be derived from the corresponding O. Nhb.
words, not from O.N. There is something of uncertainty in these
words, however, as they all could come from the O.N. O.N. _hryggr_,
for instance, would become _rig_ in Sco., just as would O. Nhb.
_rycg_ (_rygg_). O.N. _bryggia_ would become _brig_, just as well as
O. Nhb. _brycg_ (_brygg_). The _i_ after _g_ in _bryggia_ does not
hinder this, since, as we know, the O.N. word was pronounced
_brygg-ia_, not _bryddja_, as a later form would be.
14. OLD AND MIDDLE SCOTCH.
After Chaucer, Northumbrian English became a mere popular dialect
no longer represented in literature. But the form of Northumbrian
spoken north of the Tweed, Lowland Scotch, has during the next three
hundred years quite a different history. From the Scottish war of
Independence to the Union of the Crowns, Scotland had its own
literary language. It is customary to speak of three periods of
Scottish language and literature as Old, Middle and New: Old Scotch
extending down to about 1450; Middle Scotch to the Union of the
Crowns; and New Scotch covering the period after the Union. This is,
of course, simply a Northern and later form of the Northumbrian we
have discussed above.
15. SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF SCOTCH. O.E. _ă_, _ā_.
There are no monuments in O.Sco. dating back to the 13th or first
half of the 14th Century. The first of any importance that we have
is "The Bruce" of 1375. By this time the language of Scotland had
already undergone many changes that made its general character quite
different from literary or Midland English. None of these changes
tended so much to differentiate the two as the very different
development of O.E. long and short _a_. In the south O.E. _a_ >
_ē_ (_name_ > _nę̄m_ > _nēm_); but O.E. _ā_ > _ǭ_,
later _ō_ (_stān_ > _stǭn_ > _stōne_, _hām_ >
_hǭm_ > _hōme_). The change of _ā_ to _ǭ_ (probably
about 1200) took place before that of _ă_ to _ā_, else they
would have coincided and both developed to _ō_ or _ē_. The
last is precisely what took place in Scotland. O. Nhb. _ă_ >
_ā_ and early coincided with original _ā_, and along with it
developed to later _ē_, as only short _a_ did in the south. The
two appear together in rhyme in Barbour. Their graphic
representation is _a_, _ai_, _ay_. The sound in Barbour is probably
_ǣ_ or _ę̄_. In "Wallace" Fr. _entré_ is also written
_entray_, _entra_. Fr. _a_ and _ei_ and Eng. diphthong _ai_ (< _æg_)
rhyme regularly with Sco. _a_, _ay_, _ai_, from O.E. _ā_. On O.E.
and O.N. _ā_- and M. Sco. _ē_-sounds in general see Curtis,
§§1-165.
16. CURTIS'S TABLE.
The following (see Curtis §§144-145) illustrates the development of
O.E. _ă_, and _ā_, in England and Scotland:
1. Central Scotland. {O.E. _ă_}
{ } > an _ē_-vowel.
{O.E. _ā_}
2. S. Scotland and {O.E. _ă_}
Ellis's D. 31* { } > _ē_ > an _i_-
in England. { } fracture in
{O.E. _ā_} the mdn. diall.
{ > an _ē_-vowel.
3. The rest of Northern { O.E. _ă_ { > _ē_, later
England and Midland. { { _ī_-fracture in
{ { D 25, 26, 28, 29.
{
{ O.E. _ā_ > _ō_ or _ū_,
with fracture.
4. Southern England { O.E. _ă_ > an _e_-fracture or
{ _i_-fracture.
{ O.E. _ā_ > _ū_ or _ō_.
[*Footnote: Ellis's D 31 = N. W. Yorkshire, Cumberland,
Westmoreland and N. Lancashire.]
In 1. O.E. _hām_ > _hēm_, _năme_ > _nēm_.
In 2. _hām_ > _hēm_ > _hiǝm_, _năme_ > _nēm_ >
_niǝm_.
In 3. _hām_ > _hōm_, _hoǝm_, _hoᵘm_ or _hūm_ with
fracture.
_năme_ > _nēm_.
_năme_ > _nēm_ > _niǝm_ in certain dialects.
In 4. _hām_ > _hūm_, or _hom_.
_năme_ > _neǝm_, _niǝm_.
The intermediate stage of this development, however, is explained
in two ways. According to Curtis it was (in 2) _ā_ > _ę̄_ >
_ē_ > _ī_ > _iǝ_. Luik (§244) shows that
das Vorrücken zum Vocalextrem ist an die Abstumpfung gebunden;
wir finden es nur dort, wo auch Abstumpfung zu constatieren
ist, wäbrend diese selbst ein weiteres Gebiet hat. Schon
daraus folgt, dass die Abstumpfung das Primäre ist, dass also
ihre Basis _e_ war, nicht _i_. Dies wird bestätigt
durch eine einfache Erwägung. Hätte die Abstumpfung die
Lautstufe _i_ ergriffen, so hätte sie auch das _e_
treffen müssen, das ja schon seit Beginn der neuenglischen
Zeit in allen Dialekten durch _i_ vertreten ist. Endlich
bieten die frühesten Zeugnisse nur _e_, nicht _i_,
auch für solche Striche, die heute _i_ haben.
According to this, then, the development is more probably _ā̆ >
ę̄ > ēǝ > iǝ_, or, as Luik thinks, _ā̆_ >
_æ_ > _æǝ_, or _ę̄ǝ_ > _ēǝ_ > _iǝ_.
17. O.E. _ō_.--A LIST OF ILLUSTRATIVE WORDS
FROM THE ABERDEEN DIALECT.
Another Northern peculiarity relates to O.E. _ō_. While in the
south O.E. _ō_ developed to an _ū_-vowel or an _ū_-
fracture, in Scotland it became _ee_ (_ui_, _ee_, _i_). The process
involved here does not yet seem to be fully understood. The modern
dialect of Aberdeen is most pronounced in this respect, older _i_
also frequently becoming _u_, _o_. The following examples taken from
"Johnnie Gibb" (Aberdeen. 1871) will illustrate:
1. Words with an _u_ (o)-vowel in English that have _i_ in
Aberdeen dialect: _ither_, "other"; _mither_, "mother"; _tribble_
(O. Fr. _troble_), "trouble"; _kwintra_ (O. Fr. _contree_),
"country"; _dis_, "does" (3. s. of "do"); _hiz_, "us"; _dizzen_
(O. Fr. _dozaine_), "dozen"; _sipper_ (O. Fr. _soper_), "supper."
Here we may also include, _pit_, "to put"; _fit_, "foot." _Buik_,
"book," seems to show the intermediate stage, cp. also _tyeuk_,
"took." On the other hand O.E. _broðer_ > _breeder_;
(_ge_)_-don_ > _deen_; _judge_ (O. Fr. _juger_) > _jeedge_, all of
which have a short vowel in English recent speech.
2. Words with _ĭ_ in Eng. that have _ŭ_ in Aberdeen dialect:
_full_, "to fill"; _spull_, "to spill"; _buzness_ (cp. O.E.
_bȳsig_), "business"; _wutness_, "witness"; _wull_, "will"
(vb.); _wunna_, "will not"; _wutty_, "witty"; _chucken_,
"chicken"; _fusky_ (Gael. _usquebah_), "whiskey"; _sun_, "sin."
3. Words with _ōō_ (or _iu_) in Eng. have _ee_ (_ī_) in
Aberdeen dialect: _seer_ (O. Fr. _sur_), "sure"; _seen_, "soon";
_refeese_ (O. Fr. _refuser_), "refuse"; _peer_ (O. Fr. _poure_),
"poor"; _yeel_ (M.E. _ȝole_), "yule"; _reed_ (O.E. _rōd_),
"rood"; _eese_ (O. Fr. _us_), "use"; _shee_ (O.E. _scēo_),
"shoe"; _adee_, "ado"; _tee_, "too"; _aifterneen_, "afternoon";
_skweel_, "school"; _reet_ (O.E. _rōt_), "root";
_constiteetion_, "constitution." Cp. also _gweed_ (O.E. _gōd_),
"good." The _w_ in _gweed_, _skweel_, shows again the process of
change from _o_ to _ee_. _U_ in _buik_ and _w_ in _kwintra_ also
seem to represent the _u_-element that is left in the sound. In
words like _refeese_, _keerious_, etc., where _ee_ is from Fr.
_u_, the sound is quite easily explained. So _fusky_ from
_usquebah_. _Full_, from O.E. _fyllan_, and _buzness_ are
interesting.
18. INORGANIC _Y_ IN SCOTCH.
Many words have developed a _y_ where originally there was none.
This phenomenon is, however, closely connected with _e_-_i_-fracture
from original _ā̆_. _Y_ we find appears often before _a_ (from
original _ā̆_). It is, then, simply the development of the
_e_-_i_-fracture into a consonant + _a_, and may be represented
thus: O.E. _āc_ ("oak") > _ę̄c_ > _ēc_ > _ēǝc_ >
_iǝc_ > _yak_. (See also Murray D.S.C.S., 105). Cp. _yance_
and _yence_, "once"; _yell_, "ale"; _yak_, "ache." This also appears
in connection with fracture other than that from O.E. _ā_: cp.
_yirth_, _yird_, for "earth."
19. _D_ FOR THE SPIRANT _TH_.
This appears in a number of words: e.g., _ledder_, "leather";
_fader_ (in Gau), _fadder_, "father"; _moder_, _mudder_, "mother";
_broder_, _brudder_, "brother"; _lidder_ (A.S. _liðre_); _de_ (Gau),
"the" (article); _widdie_ (O.E. _wiðig_), "withy"; _dead_, "death";
_ferde_, "fourth"; etc. In some works this tendency is quite
general. Norse loanwords as a rule keep the spirant, but in the
following loanwords _ð_ has become _d_: _cleed_, _cleeding_,
"clothe, clothing," from O.N. _klæða_; _red_, "to clear up," O.N.
_ryðja_; _bodin_, O.N. _boðinn_ (? See E.D.D.); _bud_, "bribe," O.N.
_boð_; _heid_, "brightness," O.N. _hæið_; _eident_, "busy," O.N.
_iðinn_ (_ythand_ is, however, the more common Sco. form);
_bledder_, "to prate," O.N. _blaðra_ (more commonly _blether_ in
Sco.); _byrd_, "ought," O.N. _burði_; _stiddy_, O.N. _steði_. I do
not think _ryde_, "severe," can be derived from O.N. _reiðr_; and
_frody_, "wise," is rather O.E. _frod_ than O.N. _fróðr_. _Waith_,
O.N. _væiðr_, has kept the spirant, but _faid_, a "company of
hunters," has changed it to _d_. _Faid_ probably comes in from
Gaelic. I have called attention to this change of _ð_ to _d_ in
Sco., since many words affected by it have become almost identical
in form with their Scand. cognates and have consequently been
considered loan-words. See §23.
20. O.E. _ā_ AND O.N. _ÆI_. HOW FAR WE CAN DETERMINE
SUCH WORDS TO BE OF NATIVE OR OF NORSE ORIGIN.
Certain Eng. dialect words in _ē_ corresponding to O.E. _ā_
have been considered Scand. loanwords. We have, however, seen that
in the north O.E. _ā_ > _ē_ just as did O.N. _æi_ (_ei)_. How
many of these words are genuine English and how many are loanwords
becomes, then, rather uncertain. Wall argues that the Norse words
were always in M.E. spelled with a diphthong, while the genuine
English words were spelled with an _a_--thus _bain_, _baisk_ from
O.N. _bæinn_, _bæiskr_, but _hame_, _stane_, _hale_ from O.E.
_hām_, _stān_, _hāl_. If this were always the case we
should have here a safe test. It is, however, a fact that in
Scottish texts at least, no such consistency exists with regards to
these words. The following variant spellings will show this: _hame_,
_haim_, _haym_; _stain_, _stane_, _stayne_; _hal_, _hale, hail_,
_hayle_; _lak_, _lake_, _laik_, _layk_; _blake_, _blaik_, _blayk_,
etc., etc. There is, however, another way in which to determine
which of such words are loanwords and which are not. In Southern
Scotland in D. 33, and in Northwestern England (D. 31), O.N. _æi_
and O.E. _ā_ did not coincide, but have been kept distinct down
to the present time (see Ellis's word-lists and Luik, 220, 221). In
these two dialects O.E. _ā_ developed to an _i_-fracture (see
§16.2), while O.N. _æi_ never went beyond the _e_-stage, and remains
an _e_-vowel in the modern dialects. Here, then, we have a perfectly
safe test for a large number of words. Those that have in D. 31 and
D. 33 an _i_-vowel or an _i_-fracture are genuine English, those
that have an _e_-vowel are Scandinavian loanwords. Ellis's list
offers too few examples of words of this class. We find _hi'm_,
_bi'n_, _hi'l, sti'n_, and in Murray's D.S.C.S. _heame_, and _heale_
(beside _geate_ (O.N. _gata)_, _beath_, _meake_, _tweae_, _neame_,
etc.). This then proves that Sco. _haim_, _bain_, _hail_, and
_stain_ are from O.E. _hām_, _bān_, _hāl_, _stān_ and
not from O.N. _hæim_, _bæinn_, _hæil_, _stæinn_. _Mair_, in spite of
its _e_-vowel, is not from O.N. _mæir_, for a following _r_
prevented the development to _i_, as a rule, although in Cumberland
_meear_ is found beside _mair_. The word "steak" (O.N. _stæik_),
which occurs in Ellis's list, has had an irregular development and
cannot be considered here (see further Luik, 323). In the following
works are found a number of words of this class:
Westmoreland and Cumberland Dialects, by J.R. Smith. London. 1839.
A Glossary of Words and Phrases of Cumberland, by William
Dickinson. London. 1859.
Folk Speech of Cumberland, by Alexander Craig Gibson. London.
1873.
A Glossary of Words used in Swaledale, Yorkshire, by John Harand.
E.D.S. 1873.
Whitby Glossary, by F.K. Robinson. E.D.S. 1876.
21. A LIST OF SOME WORDS THAT ARE NORSE. FURTHER REMARKS.
These all aim at giving the phonetic value of the sounds. O.E., O.N.
_ā_ is represented by _ea_ or _eea_, indicating _i_-fracture. For
instance: _heam_, _steean_, _neam_, _geat_, _beeath_, _leath_ (O.N.
_laði_), _heeal_, _brea_ (O.N. _brā)_, _breead_ (O.E. _brād_,
not O.N. _bræi), greeay_, _blea_, etc. Those that have _a_, _ai_,
or _ay_, that is an _e_-vowel, and must consequently be derived from
the corresponding O.N. words, are the following:
BLAKE, _adj._ yellow, pale, O.N. _blæikr_.
BLAKEN, _vb._ to turn yellow, N.N. _blæikna_.
CLAME, _vb._ to adhere, O.N. _klæima_.
CLAM, _adj._ slimy, deriv.
CLAMING, _sb._ adhesive material, deriv.
FLAY, _vb._ to frighten, O.N. _fleya_.
FLAYTLY, _adv._ timidly, deriv.
HAIN, _vb._ to save, protect, O.N. _hegna_.
LAKE, LAIKE, _vb._ to play, O.N. _læika_, cp. O.E. _lācan_.
LAKEING, _sb._ a toy, deriv.
LAVE, _sb._ the remainder, O.N. _læifr_, cp. O.E. _lāf_.
RATE, _vb._ to bleach, whiten, O.N. _rōyta_. M.L.G. _roten_,
is out of the question, and *_reeat_ would be the form
corresponding to M.L.G. _raten_.
SLAKE, _vb._ to smear, daub, O.N. _slæikja_. O.L.G. _slikken_
does not correspond.
SLAKE, _sb._ a kiss, deriv., cp. O.N. _slæikr_.
SLAPE, _adj._ slippery, O.N. _slæipr_, cp. O.E. _slape_.
SLAPEN, _vb._ to make smooth, O.N. _slæipna_, but possibly
deriv. from _slape_.
SNAPE, _vb._ to restrain, O.N. _snöypa_.
In addition to these, _blain_, "to become white," is a Scand. loan-
word, but rather from Dan. _blegne_ than Norse _blæikna_, cp.
_blake_ above. _Blained_, adj. "half dry," said of linen hung out to
dry, is, of course, simply the pp. of _blain_, cp. Dan. _blegned_.
_Skaif_, "distant, wild, scattered abroad, or apt to be dispersed"
(is the definition given), corresponds exactly to O.N. _skæif_ in
form, but not in meaning. _Skæif_ meant "crooked." Sco. _daive_,
"to stun, stupefy," is here regularly spelled _deeave_ (_deave_ in
Swaledale). It must, then, be derived from O.E. _deafian_, not O.N.
_döyfa_, O. Ic. _deyfa_. Swaledale _slaiching_, "sneaking," is the
same as O.N. _slæikja_, "to lick"; a secondary meaning of O.N.
_slæikja_ is "to sneak"; _keeal_, "kail," could come from O.N. _kál_
or Gael. _cál_. It is probably from the latter. The word _slaister_,
"to dawdle, to waste one's time," is not clear. The sb.
_slaisterer_, "a slink, an untidy person," is also found. The _ai_
indicates an original diphthong. It is probably the same as Norse
_slöysa_, sb. "an untidy person," as vb. "to be untidy, to be
careless." _Ster_ (_slais_ + _ster_) would, then, be an Eng. suffix,
or it may be the same as that in Sco. _camstary_, cp. Germ.
_halsstarrig_. The Norse word _slöysa_ is probably not the direct
source of the Eng. dialect word. _Slaister_, however, for _slöysa_,
seems to be a recent word in Norse. _Skane_, "to cut the shell fish
out of the shell" (Wall, list B), is to be derived from O.N.
_skæina_, rather than from O.E. _scænan_. _Slade_, "breadth of
greensward in plowed land," cannot be from O.N. _slettr_, "plain,"
_sletta_, "a plain." Neither form nor meaning quite correspond. The
Sw. _slägd_ corresponds perfectly in form but not in meaning. It is,
however, probably from O.E. _slæd_. This word is taken from Wall's
list, not from the works named above.
22. CELTIC, LOWLAND SCOTCH, AND NORSE.
In Gaelic and Irish, in the Western Isles and the Highlands,
considerable Norse elements are found as the result of Norse
occupancy that continued in the Isles, at least, for several hundred
years. A number of words that have come into Gaelic and Irish from
Norse are also found in Lowland Scotch. In some cases it seems that
the word has not come into Lowland Scotch direct from Norse, but by
way of Gaelic or Irish. Craigie has given a list of about 200 words
in Gaelic that seem to come from Norse. Out of these I will take a
few that have corresponding words in Scotch:
GAELIC OR IRISH. LOWLAND SCOTCH. OLD NORSE.
gardha garth garðr
lobht loft loft
prine prin prjónn
stop stoup staup
sgeap skep skeppa
sainseal hansell handsal
gaort girt, girth giörð
cnapp, cneap knap knappr
maol mull múli
sgeir sker sker
scarbh scarth scarfr
gead ged, gedde gedda
scát scait skata
brod brod broddr
masg mask _Dan._ maske
rannsaich ransack, runsick rannsaka
_Garth_ and _loft_ agree perfectly with the O.N. and are not
doubtful. With the Gael. _gardh_ cp. O.N. _garðr_ and O. Sw.
_gardher_. The Sco. _garth_ has changed the original voiced spirant
to a voiceless one. In Gael. _lobht_ _f_ has become _v_. _Prin_ is
rather doubtful. There is an O.E. _prēon_ from which the Gael.
word may have come. The Sco. word _prin_ does not seem to come from
either O.E. _prēon_ or O.N. _prjónn_, but from the Gael. _prine_.
There is a Northern dialectic _prēon_ which may come from O.E.
_prēon_. There is also a _pren_ in Dan. dial. _Stoup_ has the
Norse diphthong which has been simplified in Gael. _stop_. _Skep_ is
a little doubtful because of meaning. The loanword _sgeap_ in Gael.
has the specialized meaning of "a beehive." This meaning the Sco.
word has very frequently, the Norse to my knowledge never. It may be
a case of borrowed meaning from Gael. _Girth_ is from the Norse.
_Girt_ is probably simply change of _th_ to _t_, which is also found
elsewhere in Sco. _Knap_ may be from either. _Mull_ in Sco. may be
native English. The word occurs in L.G. _Sker_ is from O.N. _Skarth_
is anomalous, showing change of _f_ to _th_. In the Gael. _scarbh_,
_f_ is changed to _v_ as in _lobht_. _Ged_ is nearer the O.N.
_Scait_ could be from either, as also _brod_. Sco. _mask_ is
probably not at all a loanword, and may be from older _mex_ by
metathesis of _s_; cp. O.E. _mexfat_ and Sco. _maskfat_ cited by
Skeat, Et. Dict. The Gael. _masg_ is probably not a loanword from
the Scand., but from O.E., or perhaps from O.Sco. An O. Nhb. _mesk_
probably existed. _Ransack_ agrees with the Norse word. The spelling
_runsick_ found once (Wallace VII, 120), probably does not represent
the exact sound, and is, in any case, as _ransack_ to be derived
from the O.N. and not through the Gael. _Faid_, "a company of
hunters," has already once been referred to. This cannot possibly
come from the O.N. _væiðr_, for while the spirant _ð_ sometimes
becomes _d_, O.N. _v_ regularly becomes _w_ in Sco. (rarely _v_).
We should expect the form _waith_, and this is the form we have in
Wallace I, 326, in the sense "the spoil of the chase." There is a
Gael. _fiadhoig_, meaning "a huntsman." The first element _fiad_
seems to be the O.N. _veiðr_ with regular change of _ð_ to _d_ (or
_dh_, cp. _gardha_), and _v_ or _w_ to _f_ which is considered a
sign of Gael. influence in Aberdeen Sco., cp. _fat_ for _what_,
_fen_ for _when_, etc., the development probably being _wh_ > _w_ >
_v_ > _f_. _Faid_ in Sco. is then probably from the Gaelic.
23. SOME WORDS THAT ARE NOT SCANDINAVIAN LOANWORDS.
We have spoken in §§10, 13, 20 and 22, of a number of words that
are to be considered regular Sco. developments of O.E. words. The
following words have also generally been derived from the Scand.,
but must be considered native, or from sources other than Norse:
BLAIT, _adj._ backward, must be traced to O.E. _blēat_,
rather than to O.N. _blout_. O.N. _ou_, _au_ is always _ou_
or _oi_ in Sco.
BREID, _sb._ breadth, not Norse _bræidde_ nor Dan. _bredde_,
but native Eng.
CUMMER, _sb._ misery, wail, seems uncertain. It corresponds in
form and usage exactly to Norse _kummer_, but _mb_ > _mm_ is
natural and occurs elsewhere in Sco., cp. _slummer_,
"slumber," which need not be derived from Norse _slummer_ or
any L.G. word. The usage of the word is peculiarly Scand.
DEAD, _sb._ death. Not Dan.-Norse _död_, but English "death."
FALD, _vb._ to fall. Skeat says the _d_ is due to Scand.
influence, but cp. _boldin_ from _bolna_ (older _bolgna_). So
_d_ after _l_ in _fald_ may be genuine. Besides the O.N. word
is _falla_, later Dan. _falde_.
FERDE, ordinal of four, not Norse _fjerde_. See §19.
FLATLYNGIS, _adv._ flatly, headlong, looks very much like Norse
_flatlengs_ and corresponds perfectly in meaning. The Norse
word is, however, a late formation, apparently, and _-lyngs_
is a very common adverbial ending in Sco.
HAP, _vb._ to cover up, to wrap up, cannot come from O. Sw.
_hypia_, as _y_ could not become _a_.
LEDDER, _sb._ leather. Not from Dan. _leder_, for cp. §19;
besides the vowel in the Dan. word is long.
MISTER, _sb._ and _vb._ need, from O. Fr. _mestier_, not from
O.N. _miste_, which always means "to lose," as it does in the
modern diall. The O. Fr. _mestier_ meant "office, trade," and
sometimes "need." The last is the meaning of the modern
_métier_ in the dialects of Normandy. Both meanings exist in
Northern English.
OUKE, _sb._ week. In all probability from O.E. _wucu_ by loss of
initial _w_ before _u_. The Dan. _uge_ does not quite
correspond. The O.N. _vika_ even less. The Danish _uge_ simply
shows similar dropping of _w_ (_v_) as the Sco. word.
RIGBANE, _sb._ backbone. Both elements are Eng. The compound
finds a parallel in Norse _rygbæin_.
SOOM, _vb._ to swim. Not Dan. _sömme_, but loss of _w_ before
_oo_, cp. the two Norse forms _svömma_ and _symma_. Cp.
_soote_, the last word in the first line of the Prologue to
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
TEEM, _vb._ to empty. It is not necessary to derive this from
Norse _tömme_, "to empty." There is an O.E. _tōm_ from
which the Sco. adj. _toom_ probably comes. _Toom_ is also a
verb in Sco. _Teem_ is simply this same word by characteristic
Sco. change of _o_ to _e_. (See §17.) This also explains the
length of the vowel.
TRAK, _vb._ to pull, not necessarily Norse _trekka_, cp. the
L.G. _trekken_.
WID, _sb._ wood. Not O.N. _viðr_ nor Dan. _ved_. The vowel is
against it in both cases. But just as above _toom_ becomes
_teem_, so _wood_ > _wid_, cp. Sco. _guid_, "good," _pit_,
"put," etc. (See §17.) Hence also the shortness of the vowel
in _wid_.
WERE, _sb._ spring, cp. Latin _ver_. _Var_, _vaar_ in Scand.
does not account for the _e_ in the Sco. word.
YIRD, _sb._ earth. Not from Dan. _jord_. See next word.
YIRTH, _sb._ earth, an inorganic _y_ (see §18). Not from O.N.
_jörð_. For _d_ in _yird_ see §19.
24. LOANWORD TESTS.
I have adopted the following tests of form, meaning and distribution
in determining the Scand. source of loanwords:
1. The diphthong _ou_, _ow_ corresponding to O.N. _ou_, O.E. _ea_.
2. _Ai_, _ay_ corresponding to O.N. _æi_, O.E. _ā_ as far as
such words can be determined from modern dialects according to
§20.
3. The spirant _th_ corresponding to O.N. _ð_, and O.E. _d_.
4. Consonantal assimilation of _nk_ to _kk_, _mb_ to _bb_, _mp_ to
_pp_, _ðl_ to _ll_, _zd_ and _rd_ to _dd_, corresponding to
similar assimilation in Scand.
5. Other consonantal and inflexional forms that are Scand., as
opposed to O. Nhb. _d_ for Scand. _d_, O.E. _ð_ excluded, see §§19
and 23.
6. A word that is used in a sense distinctively Scand., as opposed
to Eng. or L.G., is to be regarded as a loanword.
7. The distribution of a word in South England diall., or in O.F.,
O.S. or M.L.G., indicates that the word is not a Scand. loanword.
8. On the other hand, if a word occurs exclusively in Scand.
settlements in England and Scotland, it is to be regarded as due
to Scand. influence in Scotch in spite of L.G. parallels.
9. The presence of a word in O.E. excludes Scand. influence,
except in cases where the O.E. word has been shown to be a
loanword. See Steenstrup and Kluge.
25. REMARKS ON THE TEXTS.
The following dates it may be well to remember:
Barbour's "Bruce" finished about 1375.
Wyntoun's Chronicle written about 1420.
Henry the Minstrel's "Wallace" written about 1450.
Dunbar lived from 1460 to 1520.
Douglas lived from 1475 to 1520.
Sir David Lyndsay lived from 1490 to 1555.
Alexander Scott lived from 1547 to 1584.
"The Complaynt of Scotland" was written about 1549.
Alexander Montgomery lived from 1540 to 1610.
Allan Ramsay lived from 1686 to 1758.
Robert Burns lived from 1759 to 1796.
"The Bruce," Wyntoun's "Cronykale" and the "Wallace" belong, then,
to the early period of Scotch, which, for convenience, has been
called Old Scotch. The last half of the 15th Century is a transition
period. The language of Dunbar and Douglas is already Middle Scotch.
Middle Scotch of the 16th Century is further represented by Lyndsay,
Alexander Scott and Montgomery. "The Complaynt of Scotland" is
Central Scotch of the middle of the 16th Century. Ramsay represents
Early New Scotch. The language of Burns is in all essentials present
Scotch. From the Scottish War of Independence down to the Union of
the Crowns the literary standard of Scotland was Central Scotch.
After the Union there was no longer a Scotch language of literature
and Central Scotch became a mere spoken dialect like the other
dialects of Scotland. The writings of Ramsay and Burns represent
local dialects just as the large number of Scotch dialect writers of
the last and this century have written in their own peculiar local
vernacular. The great majority of loanwords are taken from "The
Bruce," "The Wallace," Douglas, Dunbar, Scott and Montgomery. "The
Bruce" has a large number of Scand. elements; it represents,
however, literary Scotch and not Aberdeen Scotch of 1375. "Johnnie
Gibb," written in modern Aberdeen dialect, has not a very large
Scand. element, while "Mansie Wauch" (modern Edinburgh dialect) has
a far larger number. In "The Wallace" Scand. elements are quite
prominent. So in the writings of Douglas, Scott and Montgomery. "The
Complaynt of Scotland" has comparatively very few loanwords from
Scand., while on the other hand the French element is more prominent
than in the other works. Norse elements are not prominent in
Lyndsay. None of the Scotch writers has as many Scand. words as
Dunbar. We may say that they are nearly as prominent in Dunbar's
works as in the Ormulum, Midland English of about 300 years before
Dunbar's works were written.
The numbers given in the references are self-explanatory. They are
generally to page and line, in some cases to book and verse, as in
Bruce and Wyntoun. T.W.M. refers to Dunbar's "Twa Mariit Wemen."
F. to "The Flyting with Kennedy." F. after Montgomery's name refers
to "The Flyting." G.T. refers to Dunbar's "Golden Targe," and
C. and S. to Montgomery's "Cherrie and the Slae." M.P. to the
"Miscellaneous Poems" and S. to the "Sonnets."
Only words that are specifically Scotch in form or usage have been
included. Very well known Scotch words, that occur in older Scotch
as well as the modern dialects, such as _blether_, _busk_, _ettle_,
_kilt_, etc., are given without references to texts where they have
been found, otherwise one or more references are given in each case.
For the sake of comparison and illustration Shetland and Cumberland
forms are frequently given. Wherever a W. Scand. source is
accepted for a loanword the O.N. form is given if it be different
from O. Ic. Examples from Danish dialects or Swedish dialects are
given as Dan. dial. or Sw. dial. Those from Norse dialects are cited
as Norse simply. Those that are specifically literary Norse are
cited as Dano-Norse.