Disintegration of the nominal inflection in Anglian: The case of i-stems
Loading...
Date
2008
Authors
Advisor
Editor
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Adam Mickiewicz University
Title alternative
Abstract
An evident tendency which can be observed in the behaviour of the Old English nouns belonging
originally to the i-stem type is that they reveal a marked fluctuation between the inherited and the
innovative (productive) paradigm, manifested in their adopting the inflectional endings of both.
The apparent hesitation between the two types of inflection can be seen, for instance, in forms of
the nominative and accusative plural of masculine paradigm, where alongside the expected OE -e
ending, forms in -as, extended from the productive a-stems paradigm, are attested (e.g. OE wine ~
winas ‘friends’). It is believed that through various phonological processes actively operating
within the paradigm and leading to a generalisation of a single ending (-e), this declensional type
very early lost its communicative function and was ready to appropriate endings from the
stronger, more influential paradigms, i.e. a-stems and ō-stems. The present analysis is a qualitative
and quantitative study of the i-declension in the Anglian dialects, known for displaying considerable
confusion in the inflectional system. Aimed at presenting a systematic account of the
steady disintegration of the nominal paradigm in this dialect, the investigation seeks to determine
the exact pattern of dissemination of the productive inflectional endings in nouns belonging to the
historical i-stem type.
Description
Sponsor
Keywords
Citation
Studia Anglica Posnaniensia, vol. 44 (2008), pp. 101-120
Seria
ISBN
ISSN
0081-6272