ME VOCABULARY

І. Types and Sources of Changes

a) losses;

b) replacements;

c) additions.

II. Scandinavian influence.

III. French influence.

In the course of the thousand years from OE to modern times, the English vocabulary has multiplied tenfold. Losses were prompted by many reasons: changes of life conditions; obsolescence of many medieval concepts and customs; cancellation of some regulations and institutions of OE kingdoms; abandonment some religion rituals (after the introduction of Christianity) and others. The English vocabulary suffered great losses when a whole stratum of words (OE poetic vocabulary) went out of use together with the genre of OE poetry.

Fell out of use in the XII-XV centuries

a) Losses

beorn < воїн, мужчина

ea < річка, вода (Lat. aqua, Goth. filu)

firas < люди

b) Replacements

About 85% of the OE words went out of use, but most of those words were replaced by other words of the same or similar meanings. The replacement came as a result of the co-existence and rivalry of synonyms.

OE leod > ME people

lyft > air

weorpan > become

Some words, though retained, changed or replaced their meanings

OE cniht (loy, servant) > knight

clerec (clergyman) > clerk (student, scholar)

c) Additions

Most replacements belonged to the “split”-type change, when one item was replaced by two or more; one meaning differentiated into several meanings. Such additions to the ME vocabulary embrace a large number of changes. There were also some innovations:

ME citee (town with a cathedral

dyke, duchesse, prynce

potato, nylon

The development of new meanings extended the vocabulary and led to the growth of polysemy and homonymy.

OE neah / near(a) > ME neer

syn. ME cloos, adjacent

The sources of new words are usually divided into internal and external. Internal ways of developing vocabulary were always productive (word-formation and semantic changes).

The role of external sources is very considerable. One of the most drastic changes in the English vocabulary is the change in its etymological composition. The OE vocabulary was almost entirely Germanic, but the ME vocabulary constituted one third of native element and two thirds (or half) of foreign element.

Scandinavian Influence

The Scandinavian element is indicated by a large number of place names (thorp “village”, toft “piece of land”, by OScan byr “village” Troutbeck, Brimtoft, Grimsby etc.). In some districts people were, bilingual. Gradually the Scandinavian dialects were absorbed by English, but they left a great impression on the vocabulary.

The total number of Scandinavian borrowings in English is about 900 words and 700 belong to Standard English.

Most of Scandinavian words pertain to everyday life.

Law is derived from OScand log “that which is laid down”.

There were some derivatives

ME outlaw, NE in-law, lawyer

husband – originally a legal term “house holder” (hus-bondi)

fellow – OScand felagi “a partner / shareholder”

Present-day Standard English of Scandinavian origin:

N – birth, egg, sky.

Adj – happy, ill, ugly.

V – call, die, want.

In ME the Scandinavian Pronoun?egg 3 p. pl replaced OE hie.

both, though, fro (from) are Scandinavian borrowings.

Vocabulary changes due to Scandinavian influence proceeded in different ways: 1) a Scandinavian word was an innovation (law); 2) the loan-word was a synonym of a native one and it disappeared or was restricted in use (late OE “barda” ship), it took the place of the English word (they, take, call OE hie, niman, clipian), both words survived with difference in meaning.

OScand OE ME

blomi квітка blom квітка blome квітка bloom цвітіння

brauЂ хліб bread кусок хліба breed хліб bread хліб

There appeared synonyms, but the spheres of their reference were divided.

Scandinavian native

sky heaven

die starve

want wish

ill evil

French Influence

The total number of French borrowings exceeds the number of borrowings from any other foreign language. 1.000 words penetrated English before the 13^th century. By the 14^th century their number had risen to 10.000 (75% are still in use).

The French borrowings could be described according to semantic spheres.

Government, administration: assembly, country, parliament.

Feudal system, titles, ranks: count, feudal, peer.

Military terms: armour, captain, soldier.

Law, jurisdiction: attorney, marriage, prove.

Church, religion: Bible, miracle, saint.

Court: juge, crime, prisoun.

Army, arms: army, regiment, victorie.

Military ranks: general, lieutenant, sergeaunt.

Architecture: tempel, paleis, chapele.

Town crafts: carpenter, peintre, taillour.

Art: art, culour, ornament.

Schooling: lessoun, pencil, pupille.

Domestic utensils: plate, table, chaire.

Trade: feire, market, mercer.

Leisure, entertainment: leyser, joye, plesure.

French influence led to many innovations, which enlarged the vocabulary, there were replacements and survived synonyms (the difference lay in their stylistic connotations). The native vocabulary also adopted the French affixes.

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