Bright's Anglo-Saxon Reader/An Outline of Anglo-Saxon Grammar

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Bright's Anglo-Saxon Reader by James W. Bright An Outline of Anglo-Saxon Grammar

From the Gospels: St. Mark, Chap. IV→

AN OUTLINE OF ANGLO-SAXON GRAMMAR.

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INTRODUCTORY REMARK.

1. The following outline of Anglo-Saxon Grammar is restricted to the West-Saxon Dialect, that form of the language which in the reign of Alfred the Great (871–901) became dominant for literary purposes and maintained that supremacy to the close of the Anglo-Saxon period. The changes which took place within the West-Saxon Dialect, though slight in respect of phonology and inflection, make it necessary to distinguish Early West-Saxon (EWS), the language of Alfred's time, from Late West-Saxon (LWS), the language of the following two and a half centuries, with Ælfric (died between 1020 and 1025) as the central literary figure. In this outline EWS is regarded as the norm to which LWS is subordinated.

PHONOLOGY.
ALPHABET AND PRONUNCIATION.

2. The Anglo-Saxon alphabet, as here employed, has two characters (þ, ð) that are not employed in Modern English.

Note.—The MSS. use a special character for w; ᵹ for g; ⁊ (= and) and ꝥ (= þat) are usual.

VOWELS AND DIPHTHONGS.

3. An approximate pronunciation of the vowels is indicated in the following table:

a	As in German Mann
ā	the preceding sound lengthened.
æ	like a in at, man.
ǣ	the preceding sound lengthened.
e ę	as in let, men
ē	the preceding sound lengthened, as in they.
i	as in hit, sit, in.
ī	the preceding sound lengthened, as in machine.
o	as in German Gott.
ō	the preceding sound lengthened, as in German so.
ǫ	as in not.
u	as in full, put.
ū	the preceding sound lengthened, as in rule.
y	like ü in German: hübsch, Brücke.
ȳ	the preceding sound lengthened, as in German grün.
œ̄	like ö in German schön.
ie īe ea ēa eo ēo io īo	These diphthongs (long and short) receive the stress upon the first element; the second elements, being unaccented, is very much obscured in pronunciation. The sound of ea, ēa is approximately that of æ+a, ǣ+a (perhaps more nearly æ+uh); otherwise the component parts of these diphthongs are to be pronounced as indicated above.

Note.—The diphthongs ie, īe are peculiar to EWS, where they, however, begin to change into i, ī; in LWS the most usual representation is y, ȳ. (S. §§ 22, 31, 41, 97.)

CONSONANTS.

4. (a) The following consonants are pronounced as ìn Modern English: b, d, l, m, n, p, r (trilled), t, w, x. The pronunciation of the remaining consonants requires special attention.

(b) c has always the sound of k (the use of the symbol k is exceptional). The sound of kw or qu is, accordingly, represented by cw (or cu), as in cwēn, cweðan, etc., and cs has the value of x.

Note.—This k-sound has a guttural or a palatal quality (somewhat as in English cold, and kin), according to its pronunciation with guttural or with palatal vowels.

(c) f has two values. (1) In the initial and final positions, in the combinations ff, fs, ft, and in the medial position (cf. the note below), it has the usual (voiceless) sound. (2) In the medial position between vowels and voiced consonants it has the sound of v; e.g., hlāford, ofer, sealfian, ǣfre.

Note.—In compounds like ā-fyrhtan, of-lystan, etc., f is strictly not in the medial position, and has therefore its usual sound.

(d) g has two values. (1) It almost always represents a voiced spirant, which is either guttural, or palatal (like g in German sagen, or like y in English you), according to its pronunciation with guttural or with palatal vowels. (2) It is pronounced like g in English go only when doubled, as in frogga, frog; and in the combination ng, as in English longer.

The combination cg (by origin a geminated g) may be pronounced as dg in English ridge.

(e) h is never silent; it is always to be pronounced as a voiceless spirant either guttural (as in German ich), or palatal (as in German ach) in quality, according to the sounds with which it is combined.

(f) s has in all positions, the voiceless sound, except for a single s between vowels, which has the voiced sound (z); e.g. wesan, rīsan, etc.

(g) ð and þ are used without distinction to denote the dental spirant th, in all positions, presumably the voiceless spirant (as in English thin), except (as in the case of f (between vowels and voiced consonants where the voiced spirant (as in English thine) is employed; e.g. ōðor, cweðan, siððan, weorðan, etc. The voiced spirant may also be employed in the pronomial forms ðū, ðæt, ðēs, etc.

ACCENTUATION.

5. In Anglo-Saxon words are accented according to the following rules:

Rule I.—Simple (uncompounded) words are accented on the first syllable (the radical syllable); derivative and inflectional syllables are unaccented.

Thus, fǽder, dágas, léornunga, túnge, túngan, túngena, swéotole, bérende, frę́mede, wúnode, séalfode.

Note.—There are no tests by which to determine the limits in prose of a secondary stress on derivative and inflectional syllables. In metrical usage a secondary stress may fall on the ptc. ending -ende; on the adj. and pron. endings -en, -er, -ig; on the patronymic ending -ing; on the subst. endings -ung, -ing, -er; on the inflectional ending (gen. pl.) -ena; on the class-vowel in verbs of the second weak conjugation, etc. See the chapter on Versification.

Rule II.—Compound words constitute two classes, (1) substantive compounds, and (2) verbal compounds.

A substantive compound receives the chief stress upon the first syllable of its first component (cf. Rule I); the accent of the second component is usually retained as a secondary stress.

A verbal compound is accented on the radical syllable of tbe verb; the prefix is therefore unaccented.

Thus, (1) substantive compounds: góld-smìð, mǫ́nn-cỳnn, swī́ð-mṑd (adj.), éarfoð-lī̀ce (adv.,), ǫ́nd-gìet, ǫ́nd-swàru, bī́-gǫ̀ng, bī́-spèll, fór-wèard (adj.), ín-gǫ̀ng, mís-dǣ̀d, ón-gìnn, ór-èald, tṓ-wèard (adj.), ýmb-hwỳrft.

(2) Verbal compounds: ā-rī́san, be-hā́tan, for-lǣ́tan, ge-bíddan, for-wéorðan, mis-fáran, ofer-swī́ðian, tō-wéorpan, wið-stǫ́ndan, ymb-síttan.

Note 1.—An important exception to Rule II is to be observed in the accentuation of substantive compounds with the prefixes ge-, be-, and for-; these prefixes are unaccented; e.g. ge-bód, ge-brṓðor, ge-féoht, ge-wéald, be-bód, be-gǫ́ng, be-hā́t; for-gýtol (adj.), for-wýrd. That, however, these prefixes were formerly accented in substantive compounds, according to the rule, is, shown by gáfol, gǫ́mel, etc., in which the first element is ga-, the accented form of ge-; the accented form of be- is also left in words like bī́-gǫ̀ng, bī́-spèll, bī́-wìst, etc., and notice bēot < *bī́-hāt, by the side of the later be-hā́t; and frǽ-bèorht (adj.), frǽ-mìcel, frá-coð, show a survival of the accented form of for-.

Note 2.—This difference in accentuation between substantive and verbal compounds (cf. English ábstract: abstráct; présent: presént; súbject: subjéct) has (as, in part, seen above) resulted in a corresponding difference of form in certain prefixes:

ǫ́nd-gìet, intelligence	on-gíetan, to understand.
ǫ́nd-sæ̀c, resistance	on-sácan, to resist.
ǽf-þùnca, grudge	of-þýncan, to displease.
bī́-gę̀ng, practice	be-gǫ́ngan, to practice.
ór-cnā̀we (adj.), recognizable	ā-cnā́wan, to know.
ór-þǫ̀nc, device	ā-þę́ncan, to devise.
ū́ð-gę̀ng, escape	oð-gǫ́ngan, to escape.
wíðer-sæ̀c (adj.), hostility	wið-sácan, to resist.

PHONOLOGICAL CHANGES.

6. By the operation of phonetic processes, the Anglo-Saxon system of vowels is made somewhat diversified and complicated. The most important of these processes affecting the radical vowels will now be briefly described.

7. The occurrence of the vowel a is very much restricted. In a closed syllable, and in an open syllable followed by e(i) in the next syllable, the vowel a is mostly modified to æ; but a remains unchanged in an open syllable that is followed by a, o, or u in the next syllable. (S. § 49 f.)

Thus, dæg, dæges, dæge, ðæt, wæs, fægen, wæter; dagas, daga, dagum, faran, hafoc, wacol.

NOTE. - It might be supposed that the i of endings in the second

weak conjugation, as in the infnitive ending -ian, would change into æ in an open syllable; but this i was originally ō, therefore words like laðian, manian, wanian, etc., constitute only an apparent exception to the rule.

The Change of a into o

8. Before a nasal consonant the vowel a is changed into o. But there is no uniformity in the employment of o for a. The predominant form in EWS is o; in LWS it is a. (S. § 65.)

Thus, ond', and; hond, hand; lond, land; monig, manig; gongan, gangan; gesamnian, gesamnian.

NOTE. - When the preceding on (< an) occurs before a voíceless spirant, f, ð, s, the nasal disappears, and, in compensation, the vowel is lengthened into ō. Under the same conditions, in and un become ī and ū. (S. §§ 66, 185.)

Thus, sōfte (< *sonfte), softly , tōð (< *tonð), tooth; óðor (< *onðor), other; gōs (< *gons), goose; sīð (Goth. sinþs), a going, swīð (Goth. swinþs), strong, mūð (Goth. munþs), mouth.

Breaking

9. Before r+consonant, l+consonant,h+consonant, and h final, the vowels æ (from a. 7), e, i are "broken" into short dphthongs, æ becoming ea, and e, i becoming eo, io. (S. §§ 77-84.)

( a) Thus, æ into ea: *hærd (for hard, 7) > heard, hard; *hælf > healf, half; wearð, pret. sg. of weorðan, to become; wealdan, to wield; beald, bold; feallan, to fall; heall, hall; eahta, eight; seah, pret. sg. of sēon, to see.

(b) e into eo (io): weorðan, to become; eorðe, earth; heorte, heart; feorr, far; weorc, work.

e into eo (io) before l+consonant is restricted to l+c or h: meolcan, to milk; seolh, seal. Otherwise the e remains: helpan, to help; swelgan, to swallow; sweltan, to die.

Before h+consonant, and h final: feohtan, to fight; teohhian, to arrange; feoh, cattle.

(c) i into io (eo): stem *hirdio > *hiordi > hierde (i-umlaut), herdsman. *liht (< līht) > lioht, leoht, light, not heavy; Piht, Pioht, Peoht, Pict. *betwīh > betwih, betweoh, between;;.

NOTE. - Breaking results from the combination of a palatal vowel (æ, e, i) and a guttural consonant (r, l, h). In passing from the pronunciation of the vowel to that of the consonant, a glide-sound is produced which is a more or less definite guttural vowel. This may be observed in pronouncing well as wœ-al; there as thœ-ar or the-ur; fire as fi-ur or fi-or. It is this glide-vowel that has supplied the second element of these short diphthongs.

Palatalization

10. The palatals g, c, and sc, in the initial position change a following æ into ea; ǣ (=Germanic ē) into ēa; and e into ie (i, y: see 3, Note). (S § 75.)

(a) Thus, æ into ea: *gæf (7) > geaf, gave; *gæt > geat, got; *cæf > ceaf, chaff; 'Lat. castra > *cæster > ceaster, town; *scæl > sceal; *scæft > sceaft, shaft; *scær > scear, sheared (pret. sg.).

(b) ǣ into ēa: gǣfon > gēafon, gave (pret. pl.); *gǣton into gēaton, got (pret. pl.); Lat. cāseus > *cǣsi > cēasi > cīese (

no match

i-umlaut), cheese; *scǣp > scēap, sheep; *scǣron > scēaron, sheared (pret. pl.).

(c) e into ie (i, y): *gefan > giefan, to give; *getan > gietan, to get; *sceran > scieran, to shear.

NOTE 1. -

NOTE 2. -

Gemination before j

Final double consonants

Umlaut (i-umlaut)