Old English Nouns: Survival Kit P . S. Langeslag
Distinct Forms of a Typical Present-Day English Noun Orthographically Distinct Phonetically Distinct ▶ girl ▶ /ɡəːl/ ▶ girl’s ▶ /ɡəːlz/ ▶ girls ▶ girls’
Present-Day English Noun Classes Table 1: Present-Day English plural mechanisms Mechanism Examples -s (/z, s, ɪz/) dogs, boots, houses -∅ sheep, deer, caribou i -mutation feet, mice, women -en oxen -ren + “shortening” children
Present-Day High German Noun Classes Table 2: Plural mechanisms used for German words of longer standing Mechanism Examples -e Tage -(e)n Namen, Sachen, Studenten i -mutation Läden -er (+ i -mutation) Kinder, Häuser -∅ Titel, Lehrer Table 3: Plural mechanisms used for more recent or transparent borrowings Mechanism Examples -s Chefs -a Spezifika
Old English Noun Classes Table 4: Old English noun classes DOE Campbell Alternate Names Genders Example NS : NP 1 1 a-stems mn stān : stānas 2 2 ō-stems f gyfu : gyfa 3 3 i-stems mfn wine : wine/-as 4 4 u-stems mf sunu : suna Weak Weak n-stems mfn nama : naman 5 minor 1 consonant stems; mf mann : menn athematic stems 6 minor 2 nouns of relationship mf brōþor : brōþor 7 minor 3 stems in -nd- m fsēond : fsīend 8 minor 4 stems in IE -es, -os n cealf : cealfsu 9 minor 5 dental stems mf hæle : hæleþ
a -Stems Neuter Masculine Table 6: Word (“word”; long stem) Table 5: Stān (“stone”) Singular Plural Singular Plural Nom. stān stānas Nom. word word Acc. word word Acc. stān stānas Gen. stānes stāna Gen. wordes worda Dat. worde wordum Dat. stāne stānum (Cf. German Stein , English stone ) (Cf. German Wort , English word )
Neuter a -Stems Long Monosyllables Short Monosyllables Table 7: Word (“word”; long stem) Table 8: Scip (“ship”; short stem) Singular Plural Singular Plural Nom. word word Nom. scip scipu Acc. word word Acc. scip scipu Gen. wordes worda Gen. scipes scipa Dat. worde wordum Dat. scipe scipum (Cf. German Wort , English word ) (Cf. German Schiff , English ship )
Length Rules 1. Any stem containing no long vowels and no clusters beyond the onset is short. 2. Anything else is long. 3. Diphthongs can be either short or long and are counted accordingly. 4. These rules apply to dissyllables as well as monosyllables. Stem Length: Definition (Strongly divergent definitions in M&R and Baker; this follows M&R §26.) Terms ▶ Stem: a word without its inflectional ending. ▶ Onset: (sequence of ) consonant(s) preceding a syllable’s vowel. ▶ Coda: (sequence of ) consonant(s) following a syllable’s vowel. ▶ Cluster: sequence of two or more consonants, or a long consonant. ▶ Monosyllable: stem containing a single syllable. ▶ Dissyllable: stem containing two syllables.
Stem Length: Definition (Strongly divergent definitions in M&R and Baker; this follows M&R §26.) Terms ▶ Stem: a word without its inflectional ending. ▶ Onset: (sequence of ) consonant(s) preceding a syllable’s vowel. ▶ Coda: (sequence of ) consonant(s) following a syllable’s vowel. ▶ Cluster: sequence of two or more consonants, or a long consonant. ▶ Monosyllable: stem containing a single syllable. ▶ Dissyllable: stem containing two syllables. Length Rules 1. Any stem containing no long vowels and no clusters beyond the onset is short. 2. Anything else is long. 3. Diphthongs can be either short or long and are counted accordingly. 4. These rules apply to dissyllables as well as monosyllables.
Stem Length: Examples Table 9: Stem length Configuration Length Examples Monosyllable, short vowel, no coda Short se Monosyllable, short vowel, short coda Short wer, stæf, nam-, gyf- Dissyllable, short vowels, no clusters Short mycel, cyric- Monosyllable, long vowel, no coda Long hē, wē Monosyllable, short vowel, long coda Long mann, þearf, fzrst Monosyllable, long vowel, short coda Long bāt, sōþ Monosyllable, long vowel, long coda Long fsēond Dissyllable, long vowel, no clusters Long ēþel Dissyllable, short vowels, cluster Long engel, cyning Dissyllable, long vowel, cluster Long īsern
u -Rules 1. Short neuter monosyllabic a -stems have nom./acc. pl. -u (M&R §34) 2. Short feminine monosyllabic ō -stems have nom. sg. -u (M&R §48) 3. (Short monosyllabic u -stems have nom. sg. -u ) (M&R §61) Neuter a -Stems ō -Stems (Feminine) Table 11: Scip (“ship”; short stem) Table 10: Gyfu (“gifu”; short stem) Singular Plural Singular Plural Nom. scip scipu Nom. gyfu gyfa Acc. scip scipu Acc. gyfe gyfa Gen. scipes scipa Gen. gyfe gyfa Dat. scipe scipum Dat. gyfe gyfum (Cf. German Schiff , English ship ) (Cf. German Gabe )
Neuter a -Stems Long Monosyllables Short Monosyllables Table 12: Word (“word”; long stem) Table 13: Scip (“ship”; short stem) Singular Plural Singular Plural Nom. word word Nom. scip scipu Acc. word word Acc. scip scipu Gen. wordes worda Gen. scipes scipa Dat. worde wordum Dat. scipe scipum (Cf. German Wort , English word ) (Cf. German Schiff , English ship )
ō -Stems (Feminine) Long Monosyllables Short Monosyllables Table 14: lār (“teaching”; long stem) Table 15: Gyfu (“gifu”; short stem) Singular Plural Singular Plural Nom. lār lāra Nom. gyfu gyfa Acc. lāre lāra Acc. gyfe gyfa Gen. lāre lāra Gen. gyfe gyfa Dat. lāre lārum Dat. gyfe gyfum (Cf. German Lehre , English lore ) (Cf. German Gabe )
Feminine and Masculine n -Stems (Weak Nouns) Feminine Masculine Table 16: Tunge (“tongue”) Table 17: Nama (“name”) Singular Plural Singular Plural Nom. tunge tungan Nom. nama naman Acc. tungan tungan Acc. naman naman Gen. tungan tungena Gen. naman namena Dat. tungan tungum Dat. naman namum (Cf. German Zunge , English tongue ) (Cf. German Name , English name )
Neuter n -Stems (Weak Nouns) Table 18: Ēage (“eye”) Singular Plural Nom. ēage ēagan Acc. ēage ēagan Gen. ēagan ēagena Dat. ēagan ēagum (Cf. German Auge , English eye )
Combining Demonstratives and Nouns: Masculine a -Stems Table 19: Stān (“stone”) declined with minimal context Singular Plural Nom. se stān glēwþ þā stānas glōwaþ Acc. ymb þone stān ymb þā stānas Gen. þæs stānes hīw þāra stāna hīw Dat. tō þām stāne tō þām stānum Inst. þȳ stāne
Combining Demonstratives and Nouns: Neuter a -Stems Table 20: Scip (“ship,” short stem) declined with minimal context Singular Plural Nom. þæt scip sincþ þā scipu sincaþ Acc. ymb þæt scip ymb þā scipu Gen. þæs scipes āgend þāra scipa āgend Dat. tō þām scipe tō þām scipum Inst. þȳ scipe
Combining Demonstratives and Nouns: ō -Stems (Feminine) Table 21: Racu (“story,” short stem) declined with minimal context Singular Plural Nom. sēo racu is langsum þā raca syndon langsume Acc. ymb þā race ymb þā raca Gen. þǣre race secgend þāra raca secgend Dat. be þǣre race be þām racum
Combining Demonstratives and Nouns: n -Stems (Weak Nouns) Table 22: Boda (“messenger,” masculine) declined with minimal context Singular Plural Nom. se boda is dēad þā bodan syndon dēade Acc. ymb þone bodan ymb þā bodan Gen. þæs bodan nama þāra bodenan naman Dat. tō þām bodan tō þām bodum
Example Sentences: Strong Masculine a -Stem: stān (1) Se stan is ormætlice micel. (2) Hwilc fæder wile syllan his cylde stan ? (3) Stephanus wæs stanum worpod. (4) Stanes gecynd is heard. (5) Hi druncon of ðam gastlican stane , and se stan wæs Crist. (6) Hi ne forlætað on þe stan ofer stane . (7) Heora mulas þa mihton gan sona, þe ær stodon astifode on stana gelicnysse.
Example Sentences: Weak Masculine Noun: nama (8) Adam him eallum naman gesceop. (9) Ða sette Adam efu hire oðerne naman : Aeua. (10) On minum naman hi adræfað deoflu. (11) Hys nama wæs Symeon.
langeslag.uni-goettingen.de Further Reading Campbell, Alistair. Old English Grammar . Oxford: Clarendon, 1959.
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