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Scandinavian Influence on English Syntax

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2020

Max S. Kirch
Max S. Kirch*
Affiliation:
University of Delaware, Newark
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Extract

The Influence of Scandinavian on English vocabulary as a result of the settlement of the Northmen in England before the Norman Conquest was well established over fifty years ago by Bjôrkman. Claims have been made by some scholars about Scandinavian influence on English syntax, but these have been the subject of much controversy. As early as 1908 Logeman noted the tendency of both Danish and English to stress the preposition and usages such as “he has someone to work for,” which are not found in the other Germanic languages. Jespersen cited several correspondences between Modern English and Modern Danish, which he felt might possibly date back to the Viking settlements. Specifically he enumerated (1) relative clauses without pronouns, (2) the omission of the conjunction 'that,' (3) the use of 'shall' and ‘will’ in Middle English, (4) the genitive before nouns. Later students have followed Jespersen's lead; e.g. Marckwardt in his Introduction to English (Toronto & New York, 1942) and Pei in his Story of English (Philadelphia and New York, 1952).

Type
Research Article
Information
PMLA , Volume 74 , Issue 5 , December 1959 , pp. 503 - 510
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1959

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References

1 Scandinavian Loanwords in Middle English (Halle, 1900).

2 Archiv.f.d.S.d.N.S., xvi (1906), 281–286.

3 Growth and Structure of the English Language, 4th ed. (London & New York, 1923), par. 80.

4 Liebermann, Gesetze der Angelsachsen, i (1903), 452 (20, 2).

5 Ps. X, 4 in Sweet, Oldest English Texts (London, 1885), 198 f.

6 “A History of the English Relative Constructions,” JEGP, xi (1912), 29 ff.

7 “Die Quelle der engl. Relative-Ellipse” in Anglia, xin, 348 ft.

8 Danmarhs Runeindskrifter, i (Copenhagen, 1942).

9 Handhuch der Runenkunde, 2nd ed. (Halle, 1944), Table V.

10 Norges Indskrifter med de œldre runer, udgivne for det norske historiske kildeskriftfond ved Sophus Bugge (Christiania, 1891–1903); Norges Indskrifter med de yngre runer Magnus Olsen (Oslo, 1941).

11 “Relativ Satsfogning i de Nordiska Fornsprâken” in Lundastudier i Nordisk Sprâkvetenskap, utgivna av Lind-quist & Ljunggren, 1 (Lund, 1943); “Den âldsta nordiska relativkonstruktionen” in Arkivfor Nordisk Filologi, lxviii (1953), 1–79. These publications did not become available to the author until after the investigation outlined above had been completed.

12 “Den aldsta nordiska relativkonstruktionen,” p. 19.

13 Henry Sweet, King Alfred's West-Saxon Version of Gregory's Pastoral Care (London, 1871).

14 John Smith, Bistoriae Ecclesiasticae Gentis Anglorum Libri Quinque (Cambridge, 1772), pp. 471^649. The quotes from notes 13 and 14 were taken from Wiilfing, Die Syntax in den Werken Alfreds des Grossen (Bonn, 1897), 2. Teiles Erste Hâlfte, 86 f.

15 Norr⊘n Syntax (Kristiania, 1905), p. 277.

16 Otto Behaghel, Deutsche Syntax, Band in (Heidelberg, 1928), 605.

17 “The English Future,” dissertation (Leipzig, 1882), p. 14.

18 Behaghel, Band iv (Heidelberg, 1932), 181 EE.

19 The research for this article was made possible by a Faculty Summer Research Fellowship of the Univ. of Delaware in 1955 and 1956.