+

Tracking change: a Corpus of Narrative Etymologies (CoNE)

Rhona AlcornInstitute for Historical DialectologyUniversity of Edinburgh

+Handbooks: catalogues of change processes

+Hogg (1992)

+OE bæþ ‘bath’Wright & Wright (1925)

+OE bæþ ‘bath’Wright & Wright (1925)

§292. Gmc [*β] > OE [b] (VFH) e.g. bæþ, blind ‘blind’, bæc ‘back’

§54. Gmc [*ɑ] > OE [æ] (FF) e.g. bæþ, dæl ‘dale’, bæc ‘back’

§301. Gmc [*θ] > OE [θ] e.g. bæþ, āþ ‘oath’, broþ ‘broth’

§302. OE [θ] > OE [ð] intervocalically (MFV) e.g. broþ ‘broth’ ~ brōþer ‘brother’, bæþ [θ] ~ bæþes [ð]

‘bath’s’

§57. OE [æ] > OE [ɑ] before a back vowel (RA) e.g. bæþ [bæθ] ~ baþu [bɑðu] ‘baths’

+Catalogues of change outcomes

+‘bath’

+‘bath’

+‘bath’

+‘bath’

+Bridging the gap

A Corpus of Narrative Etymologies (CoNE) unpacks the evolution of individual items from their presumed phonological shape in PrOE to their form(s) in LAEME’s Corpus of Tagged Texts. (French items – later phase of project.)

Underpinning CoNE is our Corpus of Changes (CC). This documents all of the changes — phonological, morphological and orthographic —invoked in CoNE’s individual word histories. CC currently itemises 222 changes.

CoNE and CC will be freely available web-based resources

Demonstration: base phonology of ‘bath’ (= LAEME $bath/n) …

+Morphology

Nouns are tagged in LAEME to indicate: function: e.g. /n (subject), /nOd (object, direct), n<pr (object

of P) number: e.g. /nOd (sg), /nplOd (pl)

LAEME grammels correspond to OE paradigm members, e.g.: /n corresponds to OE nom. sg. /nplOd corresponds to OE acc. pl. /n<pr corresponds to OE acc. or dat. sg.

Demonstration: morphology of ‘bath’ …

+References

Campbell, A. 1959. Old English grammar. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

DOE = Dictionary of Old English: A to G online. Cameron, A., A.C. Amos & A. diPaolo Healey. 2007. [Electronic resource.]

Hogg, R.M. 1992. A grammar of Old English, vol. 1 Phonology. Oxford: Blackwell.

Hogg, R.M. & R.D. Fulk. 2011. A grammar of Old English, vol. 2 Morphology. Oxford: Blackwell.

LAEME = A Linguistic Atlas of Early Middle English 1150–1325. 2007- . M. Laing & R. Lass. [Electronic resource.]

MED = Middle English Dictionary. 1956-2001. Kurath, H., S.M. Kuhn & R.E. Lewis. [Electronic resource.]

OED = Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edn. [Electronic resource.]

Wright, J. & E.M. Wright. 1925. Old English grammar, 3rd edn. London: OUP.