Topics for discussion in class. 1. Foreign influence on ME vocabulary (Scandinavian and French loan-words in comparison).

1. Foreign influence on ME vocabulary (Scandinavian and French loan-words in comparison).

2. Revision for ME.

 

Literature:

Rastorguyeva T.A. A History of English. Ch. XVI § 556–583. P. 296–310

 

Topics for independent study

1. Borrowings in NE.

2. Word-formation in ME and NE.

 

Literature:

Rastorguyeva T.A. A History of English. Ch. XVI § 584–624. P. 311–326.

 

Assignments:

1. Compare Scandinavian and French loan-words by compiling the table:

 

Features to compare	Scandinavian	French
Time of entering English
Geographical aspect
Social aspect
Number
Semantic spheres
Assimilation by English
Criteria for their distinguishing

 

2. Study the model of grammar and etymological analysis of an ME text (A Reader in the History of English. P. 54) and continue analysing the etymology of words in The Canterbury Tales, lines 1-24, following the model

3. Do assignments 29, 30 on The Canterbury Tales by G.Chaucer, lines 1–34 (A Reader in the History of English. P. 43).

4. Revise the material on OE.

 

PS. The topics for independent studies will be included in the examination questions.

 

Texts for analysis

BEOWULF

 

Original Version

 

                   210 Fyrst forð hewāt: flota wæs on yðum,

bāt under beorhe. Beornas hearwe

on stefn stihon: strēamas wundon,

sund wid sande; sechas bæron

on bearm nacan beorhte frætwe.

                   215 hūðsearo heatolic; human ūt scufon,

weras on wilsīþ wudu bundenne.

hewāt þā ofer wæhholm winde hefysed

flota fāmīheals fuhle¹ helīcost,

oð þæt ymb āntīd ōþres dōhores²

                   220 wundenstefna hewaden hæfde,

þæt ðā līðende land hesāwon,

brimclifu blīcan³, beorhas stēapе,

sīde sænæssas: þā wæs sundliden,

ēoledes æt ende. < … >

Comments

 

1. fu h le – the unstressed vowel of the ending - ol (fu h ol) is dropped in the case-forms (cf. Russian отец, отца). This kind of change was possible only in two-syllable words.

2. dō h ores – the second letter o should be dropped in reading, thus dō h res.

3. brimclifu blīcan – accusative with the infinitive construction.

 

 

THE STORY OF ISAAC'S DECEIT

 

Original Version		Modernized Version
1. Đā Isaac ealdode and his ēahan þystrodon, þæt hē ne mihte nān þinh hesēon, þā clypode hē Ēsau, his yldran sunu, 2. and cwæð tō him: "þū hesihst þæt ic ealdihe, and ic nāt hwænne mīne dahas āhāne bēoþ. 3. Nim þīn hesceot, þīnne cocur and þīnne bohan, and hanh ūt; and þonne þū ænih þinh behite þæs-þe þū wēne. 4. þæt mē lycihe, brinh mē, þæt ic ete and ic þē blētsihe, ær-þām-þe ic swelte".     5. þā Rēbecca þæt hehīrde and Esau ūtāhān wæs, 6. þā cwæð hēo tō Īacobe, hire suna: "Ic hehīrde þæt þīn fæder cwæð tō Ēsauwe, þīnum brēðer: 7. "Brinh mē of þīnum huntoþe, þæt ic blētsihe ðē beforan drihtne, ær ic swelte". 8. Sunu mīn, hlyste mīnre lāre: 9. far tō ðære heorde and brinh mē twā þā betstan tyccenu, þæt ic macihe mete þīnum fæder þæг-of, and hē ytt lustlīce.    10. Ðonne ðū ðā in brinhst, hē ytt and blētsaþ þē, ær hē swelte".		1. When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son, and said to him, "My son"; and he answered, "Here I am". 2. He said, "Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me, 4. and prepare for me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that I may bless you before I die". 5. Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, 6. Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "I heard your father speak to your brother Esau,     7. "Bring me game and prepare for me savory food, that I may eat it, and bless you before the Lord before I die. 8. Now therefore, my son, obey my word as I command you. 9. Go to the flock, and fetch me two good kids, that I may prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he loves; 10. and you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies."
11. Ðā cwæð hē tō hire: "þū wāst þæt Ēsau, mīn brōður, ys rūh, and ic eom smēþe. 12. hif mīn fæder mē handlaþ and mē hecnæwð, ic ondræde þæt hē wēne þæt ic hine wylle beswīcan and þæt hē wirihe mē, næs nā blētsihe". 13. Ðā cwæð sēo mōdor tō him: "Sunu mīn, sih sēo wirihnys ofer mē! Dō swā ic þē seche: far and brinh þā þinh þe ic þē bēad".		11. But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing". 13. His mother said to him, "Upon me be your curse, my son; only obey my word, and go, fetch them to me [5. P. 22–23].

 

Comments

 

1. The 2 and the 3 pers. sg. Pres. Indic. forms often display a mutated root vowel: h esihst (cf. h esēon), h ecn æ wþ (cf. cnāwan), ytt (cf. etan).

2. One of the peculiarities of late WS texts is the appearance of the letter y in place of the original i, as in ys, lyci h e, wiri h nys, ytt, etc.

3. This text, like other late OE manuscripts, shows the confusion of vowels in unstressed inflexions: bētsaþ, not blētseþ (s. 10); handlaþ, not handleþ (s. 12)

 

THE CANTERBURY TALES

Prologue

 

Original Version

 

 

1     Whan that Aprille with his¹ shoures soote²

The droughte² of March hath perced to the roote,

And bathed every veyne in swich licour³,

Of which vertu³ engendred is the flour;

5     Whan Zephirus⁴ eek with his swete breeth

Inspired hath in every holt and heeth

The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne⁵

Hath in the Ram⁶ his halve cours y-ronne.

And smale foweles maken melodye,

10   That slepen al the nyght with open ye –

So priketh hem nature in here courages –

Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,

And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes⁷,

To ferne halwes⁸, couthe in sondry londes;

15   And specially, from every shires ende

Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende⁹.

The hooly, blisful martir¹⁰ for to seke,

That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke;

Bifil that in that seson on a day

20   In Southwerk¹¹ at the Tabard¹² as I lay,

Redy to wenden on my pilgrymage

To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,

At nyght were come into that hostelrye

Wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye

25   Of sondry folk by aventure y-falle

In felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were they alle,

That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde.

The chaumbres and the stables weren wyde,

And wel we weren esed atte beste¹³.

30   And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste,

So hadde I spoken with hem everichon,

That I was of her felaweshipe anon,

And made forward erly for to ryse,

To take oure wey ther, as I yow devyse.

Comments

 

1. his – the neuter gender, corresponds to modern English its.

2. In speech the final - e was dead or dying in Chaucer's time, but it continued to be used in verse. Hence in reading Chaucer's verse you have to pronounce many of the final - e sounds of words, but not all. The final - e is not pronounced if it occurs before a vowel or before an h. It is often dropped after an unstressed syllable and in two-syllable unstressed words (were – [wer], hire – [hir] etc). Otherwise the final - e is usually pronounced. In the following passage we have marked all the cases where to our opinion - e should be dropped:

With hym ther was his son e, a yong Squier,

A lovyer e, and a lusty bacheler,

With lokkes crull e, as they wer e leyd in presse.

3. When the French words were first borrowed into English they retained a French pronunciation but gradually they were adopted to the English speech habits. The words of more than two or three syllables kept their original stress longer. In Chaucer's poetry the pronunciation of such words often fluctuates, they may be stressed one way or the other. Here is the pronunciation of some French loanwords you meet in the text as they must have sounded in Chaucer's days: licour [li'ku:r], nature [na'tju:r], corages [ku'ra:dZqs], specially [spesi'ali], seson [se'zON].

4. Zephirus (from Greek) 'the west wind known as the messenger of spring'.

5. the yonge sonne – the sun runs one half course in the sign of the Ram in March, and the second half course in April;

6. Ram 'The Ram, or Aries; one of the zodiacal constellations, and the zodiacal sign entered by the sun on 21 March'.

7. strange strondes 'foreign lands'.

8. ferne halwes 'distant shrines'.

9. they wende 'they go' – Present plural of wendan.

10. the holy blisful martir – refers to Thomas à Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, He opposed the king's measures against the privileges of the church and was slain in Canterbury by the king's knights. He met his death with splendid courage in his own cathedral. His shrine became the most famous in Christendom. Thomas à Becket was canonized in 1173 and his festival is observed on 7 July.

11. Southwerk – a central borough of London on the south bank of the Thames.

12. The Tabard – an inn in Southwerk; A tabard was a short surcoat open at the sides and having short sleeves or none, worn by a knight over his armour, and emblazoned with his armorial bearings.

13. weren esed atte beste 'were very well lodged'.