Middle English Syntax and Vocabulary Middle English Syntax

Middle English Syntax and Vocabulary

Middle English Syntax: Within Phrases • Adjectives usually before nouns an erþely servaunt an earthly servant • occasionally after the noun in poetry shoures soote showers sweet

Syntax in Phrases (cont’d) • With more than one adjective, sometimes one before the noun, the rest after it a gode wyt and a retentyff a good wit and a retentive • in possessive, no apostrophe oþer mens prosperite • the ‘s sometimes became -is go to þe raven is neste go to the raven’s nest • ME: first occurrence of of for possessive aftyr þe lawes of our londe according to the laws of our land

ME Possessive Phrases • possessive + noun modifiers the Dukes place of Lancastre the Duke of Lancaster’s place • double possessive (both of and possessive pronoun) came in with ME the capteyn…toke awey. j. obligacion of myn the captain…took away one obligation of mine

Adverbial Modifiers • Adverbs & adverb phrases came before the words they modified more often than in Mn. E ye shul first in alle youre werkes you must first in all your works mekely biseken to the heighe God meekly beseech to the high God • the negative ne always came before the main verb, and often contracted with it I nolde fange a ferthynge for seynt Thomas shryne I would not take a farthing for St. Thomas’ shrine • as in OE, double negatives very common He nevere yet no vileynye ne sayde / In all his lyf unto no maner wight (Chaucer)

Preposition Phrases • Prepositions still occasionally followed their objects he seyde him to • in relative clauses, prepositions usually came at or near the end of the phrase the place that I of speke the place that I of speak preciouse stanes þat he myght by a kingdom with precious stones that he might buy a kingdom with

Verb Phrases • Perfect tense (have + past participle) developed in ME þou hauest don oure kunne wo You have done our family woe • Progressive tense (be + pres. participle) also developed (sometimes with in or on) For now is gode Gawayn goande ryʒt here For now is good Gawain going right here I am yn beldynge of a pore hous I am (in) building of a poor house

Verb Phrases (cont’d) • ME saw the beginning of shall and will to mark the future tense Quan al mankinde…Sal ben fro dede to live broʒt When all mankind…shall be from dead to living brought and swiche wolle have the kyngdom of helle and such will have the kingdom of hell • note that shall still had a degree of obligation (“must”), and will of volition (“want to”)

Auxiliary Verbs • Developed in ME, began to replace subjunctive þat y mowe riche be that I may rich be • but the subjunctive is still more common in ME than Mn. E: how lawful so it were however lawful it might be why nere I deed! why am I not dead!

The ‘do’ explosion 1. 2. 3. 4. Substitute for a previous verb camels may forbere drynk and so may not the hors do camels can forgo drink and thus can not the horse do As a causative (like make or have) al hys halles I wol do peynte with pure gold all his halls I will have painted with pure gold Next to a main verb (emphatic? Not really) unto the mayde that hir doth serve to the maid that her does serve Negative and interrogative clauses began in ME, still not as common as simple verb my maister dyd not graunt it Fader, why do ye wepe?

Syntax Within Clauses • Trend toward modern word order • SVO still the most common • SOV occasionally found þat ðu þis weork naht ne forlate that you this work not (not) neglect • VSO regular for questions and commands Gaf ye the chyld any thyng? Gave you the child any thing? Bryng ye the hors Bring you the horse

Syntax Within Clauses (cont’d) • OSV used to emphasize the object This bok I haue mad and wretyn The book I have made and written • OVS was still common for the same thing Clothis have they none Clothes have they none

Syntax Within Sentences • Coordinated (“and/so”) more than subordinated (“when/while”): “run-on” sentences Than sir Launcelot had a condicion that he used of custom to clatir in his slepe and to speke oftyn of hyls lady, quene gwenyver. So sir Launcelot had awayked as long as hit had pleased hym, and so by course of kynde he slepte and dame Elayne bothe. And in his slepe he talked and claterde as a jay of the love that bene betwyxte quene Gwenyver and hym, and so as he talked so lowde the quene harde hym thereas she lay in her chambir. And whan she harde hym so clattir she was wrothe oute of mesure, and for anger and payne wist not what to do, and than she cowghed so lowde that sir Launcelot awaked. (Malory, Morte d’Arthur) used of custom was accustomed to clatir chatter kynde nature wist knew

Middle English Vocabulary • Beginning of huge English vocabulary, susceptibility to borrowing • Layering of vocabulary: colloquial/formal, everyday/technical, general/specialized English became more cosmopolitan • Loss of inflectional system made it easier to borrow (no worries about gender, declension); cf. Russian, Japanese • Also, English has many phonemes - not hard to say foreign words

Scandinavian Influence • Scandinavian/Norse • Some borrowed in OE, written in ME (North & East Midlands), then spread • 1150 -1250: anger, bag, band, bloom, both, bound (going to), bull, cake, call, carp (complain), cast, clip (cut), club, die, egg, fellow, flit, gad gape, gear, get hit, husband, ill, kid, kindle, loan, loft, loose, low, meek, muck, raise, ransack, rid, root, rotten, sale, same scab, scale, scare, scathe, score (20), seat, seem skill, skin, sky sly, snare, swain, take, thrall, thrive, thrust, thwart, trust, ugly, wand, want wassail, window, wing • 1250 -1350: awe, bait, ball, bark (of tree), bat (the animal), birth, blend, bole, bracken, brad, brunt, crawl, dirt, dregs, droop, flat, flaw, geld, gift, girth, glitter, leg, lift, likely, midden, mire, mistake, odd, race, rag, rive, rugged, skate (the fish), slaughter, sleight, slight, snub, stack, stagger, stem, teem, weak, whirl • 1350 -1500: awkward, bask, bawl, bulk, down (feathers), eddy, firth, flag, freckle, froth, gap, gasp, keel, keg, leak, link, raft, reef (sail), reindeer, scant, scrap, steak, tatter, tether, tyke

Scandinavian (cont’d) • Why borrow both, call, take? (common words) • Norse loans replaced English words hātan > call bā > both niman/fōn > take • partial replacement hēofon > sky Norse crawl, English creep • cognate doublets: Norse raise, skin, skirt English rear, shin, shirt • -son in personal names (Nelson, Anderson) - extended to English names (Edwardson, Edmundson) and French names (Jackson, Richardson)

French Influence • • i. ii. • • • By far the most important Slow until 1200 - why? several bilingual generations to get comfortable with French words Very few English texts before 1200 French loans in all fields cf. Italian (music, architecture, painting, not much else) cuisine: bake, sauté, serve, plate, casserole, fork, stir, mince, roast, fry (lasagne, spaghetti, pizza, pesto)

French loans (sample of 1000 words) <1050 2 10511100 11011150 11511200 12011250 12511300 0 2 7 35 99 13011350 13511400 14011450 14511500 15011550 15511600 108 198 74 90 62 95 16011650 16511700 17011750 17511800 18011850 18511900 61 37 33 26 46 25

French Loans by Semantic Field Relationships and Ranks Parentage, ancestor, aunt, uncle, cousin, gentle(man), noble, peer, peasant, servant, villein, page, courtier, squire, madam, sir, princess, duke, count, marquis, baron The House And Its Furnishings Porch, cellar, pantry, closet, parlor, chimney, arch, (window)pane, wardrobe, chair, table, lamp, couch, cushion, mirror, curtain, quilt, counterpane, towel, blanket Food and Eating Dinner, supper, taste, broil, fry, plate, goblet, serve, beverage, sauce, salad, gravy, fruit, grape, beef, pork, mutton, salmon, sugar, onion, cloves, mustard Fashion, dress, garment, coat, cloak, pantaloons, bonnet, boots, serge, cotton, satin, fur, button, ribbon, baste, embroider, pleat, gusset, jewel, pearl, bracelet

French Loans by Semantic Field (cont’d) Sports and Entertainment Joust, tournament, kennel, scent, terrier, falcon, stallion, park, dance, chess, checkers, minstrel, fool, prize, tennis, racket, disport, audience, entertain, amusement, recreation Arts, Music, Literature Art, painting, sculpture, portrait, color, music, melody, lute, tabor, hautboy, carol, poet, story, rime, chapter, title, romance, lay, tragedy, rondel, ballad Education Study, science, reason, university, college, dean, form, train, grammar, noun, subject, test, indite, pupil, copy, pencil, paper, page, chapter, tome, lectern, dais Medicine, surgeon, pain, disease, remedy, cure, contagious, plague, humor, pulses, fracture, ague, gout, distemper, drug, balm, herb, powder, sulfur, bandage, ointment, poison

French Loans by Semantic Field (cont’d) Government, state, country, city, village, office, rule, reign, public, crown, court, police, tyranny, subsidy, tax, counselor, treasurer, exchequer, register, mayor, citizen Law Judge, jury, appeal, evidence, inquest, accuse, proof, convict, pardon, attorney, heir, state, broker, fine, punish, prison, crime, felony, arson, innocent, just The Church Chapel, choir, cloister, crucifix, religion, clergy, chaplain, parson, sermon, matins, confession, penance, pray, anoint, absolve, trinity, faith, miracle, temptation, heresy, divine, salvation The Military Enemy, battle, defense, peace, force, advance, capture, siege, attack, retreat, army, navy, soldier, guard, sergeant, captain, spy, moat, order, march, trophy

French Loans: “Little” Words • Seem native • Age, blame, catch, chance, change, close, cry, dally, enter, face, fail, fine, flower, fresh, grease, grouch, hello, hurt, join, kerchief, large, letter, line, mischief, move, offer, part, pay, people, piece, place, please, poor, pure, rock, roll, save, search, sign, square, stuff, strange, sure, touch, try, turn, use

Areas less affected by French • Shipping and seafaring (German/Dutch) • Farming, agriculture (farm Fr. , agriculture Lat. ), but: • Acre, loam, field, hedge, furrow, sow, till, reap, harvest, plough, sickle, scythe, shovel, spade, rake, seed, what, barley, corn, beans, oats, grass, hay, fodder, ox, horse, cow, swine, sheep, hen, goose, duck, sty, pen, barn, fold (all English) • No place-name elements (no all-French settlements)

Parts of Speech • Almost all nouns, verbs, adjectives • No change to grammar (cf. they etc. < ON) • Prepositions/conjunctions: in spite of, because, during, regarding, in case • borrowed as nouns/verbs, then made into function words when naturalized: cause (early 13 th c. ) by cause of (mid-14 th c. ) because (late 14 th c. )

Norman vs. Parisian French • earlier loans from Norman French, by 14 th c. from Parisian French • Sometimes hard to tell which, but: • Germanic loans into French: /gw/ became /w/ in Norman, /g/ in Parisian • Wile/guile, warranty/guarantee, war/garrison, wage/gauge • In Norman, /k/ before /a/ remained, in Parisian changed to /č/ • Canal/channel, cattle/chattels, catch/chase, car/chariot • Quite a few French loans were originally Germanic loans into French - more doublets: • Equip/ship, soup/sop, grape/grapple (OF grape = hook)

Latin influence • Tended to be learned Religious Apocalypse, dirge, limbo, purgatory, remit Legal Testament, confederate Misc. Admit, divide, comprehend, lunatic, lapidary, temporal • real flood in Early Modern period

Celtic Influence • Not many Bard, clan, crag, glen, loch • maybe: Bald, bray, bug, gull, hog, loop • through French: Car, change, garter, mutton, socket, vassal

Dutch & Low German Influence • Later ME, lots of trade (wool) • Several dozen loans Seafaring Halibut, pump, shore, skipper, whiting Containers Bundle, bung, cork, dowel, firkin, tub Trade: trade, huckster Wool Trade: nap, selvage Misc Clock, damp, grime, luck, offal, scour, speckle, splinter, tallow, wriggle

Other Languages Greek through French: squirrel, diaper, cinnamon Greek through Latin: philosophy, paradigm, phlegm, synod, physic Arabic (all through French or Latin) Azimuth, ream, saffron, cipher, alkali Persian (through other languages) Borax, mummy, musk, spinach, taffeta, lemon Hebrew (French/Latin): jubilee, leviathan, cider Slavic sable, Hungarian coach (French) Unknown Bicker, big, boy, clasp, junk, kidney, las, noose, puzzle, roam, slender, throb, wallet