Cover not available
Article published In:
NOWELE
Vol. 72:1 (2019) ► pp.42–59

Lat. scrībere in Germanic

| University of Iceland
The present article deals with the reflexes of Lat. scrībere in Germanic. It is proposed that the word was borrowed into Germanic at quite an early stage (1st century AD) as a result of contacts between West-Germanic-speaking populations and the Romans. Special stress is put on the importance of the Roman military in introducing the practice of writing among those that served in the army. Special attention is given to the North Germanic reflexes of Lat. scrībere in order to tentatively explain the morphological difference found in that branch of Germanic, where the verb is found both in the first class of strong verbs and in the second class of weak verbs. It is proposed that the former conjugation is primary, and that the rise of the latter is due to later developments such as lexical analogical processes and language-external causes. Furthermore, the present study confirms from a different perspective that English influence on writing is primary in the Old-West-Norse-speaking area. Finally, Schulte’s (2015) proposal is re-read in the light of terminological evidence from England and Scandinavia.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Earlier etymologies: A survey and critical account
  • 3.Lat. scrībere in Germanic: Age and path of borrowing
  • 4.Lat. scrībere in North Germanic: Strong vs. weak conjugation
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 12 April 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/nowele.00019.tar
References (59)
References
Adams, J. N. 2003. Bilingualism and the Latin language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Antonsen, E. H. 1975. A concise grammar of the older runic inscriptions. Tübingen: Niemeyer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
ASD = An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary: Based on the manuscript collections of the late Joseph Bosworth. 1972. Edited by T. Northcote Toller. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 2008. Íslensk orðsifjabók. 4th edn. Reykjavik: Orðabók Háskólans.Google Scholar
Birley, A. R. 2000. The Names of the Batavians and Tungrians in the Tabulae Vindolandenses . In T. Grünewald (ed.), Germania inferior, RGA-E 281, 241–260. Berlin: De Gruyter.Google Scholar
Brøndum-Nielsen, J. 1944. Palæografi A: Danmark og Sverige. Nordisk Kultur XXVIII:A. Stockholm: Albert Bonniers Förlag.Google Scholar
Carroll, M. 2001. Romans, Celts & Germans. Stroud: Tempus.Google Scholar
Cleasby, R. & G. Vigfusson. 1874. An Icelandic-English dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon.Google Scholar
Dekker, K. 2002. Between Rome and Rustringen: Latin loan words in Old Frisian. In P. Boersma, P. H. Breuker, L. G. Jansma & G. van der Vaart (eds.), Philologia Frisica anno 1999, 27–56. Ljouwert: Fryske Akademy.Google Scholar
DSL = Dictionary of the Scots language/Dictionar o the Scots leid. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. [URL]
Durkin, P. 2015. Borrowed words. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Falk, H. & A. Torp. 1960. Norwegisch-dänisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd edn. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.Google Scholar
Finnur Jónsson (ed.). 1912–1915. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. A I–II. Tekst efter håndskrifterne. B I–II. Rettet tekst. Copenhagen: Møller.Google Scholar
Franck, J. 1936. Franck’s Etymologisch woordenboek van der nederlandsche Taal, 2nd edn by N. de Wijk. ’s-Gravenhage: Nijhoff.Google Scholar
Green, D. H. 1998. Language and history in the early Germanic world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Grimm, J. & W. Grimm. 1854–1961. Deutsches Wörterbuch. Leipzig.Google Scholar
Hellquist, O. 1966. Svensk etymologisk ordbok. 3rd edn. Lund: Gleerup.Google Scholar
Holtsmark, A. 1955. Ordforrådet i de eldste norske håndskrifter til ca. 1250. Oslo: Dybwad.Google Scholar
Hreinn Benediktsson. 1965. Early Icelandic script. Icelandic Manuscripts Series in Folio II. Reykjavik: The Manuscript Institute of Iceland.Google Scholar
. 1972. The First Grammatical Treatise. University of Iceland Publications in Linguistics 1. Reykjavik: Institute of Nordic Linguistics.Google Scholar
Imer, L. M. 2004. Latin og græsk i romersk jernalder: Fremmed indflydelse på Nordens tidligste runeskrift. Aarbøger for Nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie (2004). 63–105.Google Scholar
2010. Runes and Romans in the north. Futhark 11. 41–64.Google Scholar
Jesch, J. (ed.). 2014. Sigvatr Þórðarson, Lausavísur 28. In D. Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From mythical times to c. 1035, 7341. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols.Google Scholar
Kluge, F. 1889. Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache. 4th edn. Strasbourg: Trübner.Google Scholar
1913. Urgermanisch: Vorgeschichte der altgermanischen Dialekte. Grundriss der Germanischen Philologie 2. 3rd ed. Strasbourg: Trübner. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2002. Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 24th edn by E. Seebold. Berlin: De Gruyter.Google Scholar
Larsson, L. 1891. Ordförrådet i de älsta islänska handskrifterna. Lund: Lindstedts.Google Scholar
Lehmann, W. P. 1986. A Gothic etymological dictionary. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
LIV2 = Rix, H. (ed.). 2001. Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben. Die Wurzeln und Ihre Primärstammbildungen, 2nd edn by M. Kümmel and H. Rix. Wiesbaden: Reichert.Google Scholar
Noreen, A. 1904. Altschwedische Grammatik mit Einschluss des Altgutnischen. Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte VIII. Halle a. S.: Niemeyer.Google Scholar
ONP = Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog. Copenhagen: Københavns Universitet. [URL]
Ottosson, K. 2002. Old Nordic: A definition and delimitation of the period. In O. Bandle et al. (eds.), The Nordic Languages, vol. I, Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft 22.1, 787–793. Berlin: De Gruyter.Google Scholar
Philippa, M. et al. (eds.). 2004–2009. Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pfeifer, W. 1989. Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.Google Scholar
Rosenfeld, H. 1952. Buch, Schrift und lateinische Sprachkenntnis bei den Germanen vor der christlichen Mission. Rheinisches Museum für Philologie (Neue Folge) 95(3). 193–209.Google Scholar
Rüger, C. B. 1998. Lateinische Schriftlichkeit im römischen Grenzgebiet gegen die Germanen. In K. Düwel (ed.), Runeninschriften als Quellen interdisziplinärer Forschung, RGA-E 151, 357–375. Berlin: De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Samnordisk runtextdatabas. Uppsala: Uppsala Universitet. [URL]
SAOB = Svenska Akademiens ordbok. Stockholm: Svenska Akademien. [URL]
Scardigli, P. 1995. Fremde Einflüsse im Germanischen. In H. Beck et al. (eds.), Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde, vol. 91, 2nd edn, 552–563. Berlin: De Gruyter.Google Scholar
Schröder, E. 1924. Bunte Lese II. Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur 61/11. 57–60.Google Scholar
Schulte, M. 2012. Pragmatic runic literacy in Scandinavia c. 800–1300: With a particular focus on the Bryggen material. In K. Zilmer & J. Jesch (eds.), Epigraphic literacy and Christian identity, 155–182. Turnhout: Brepols. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2015. Runology and historical sociolinguistics: On runic writing and its social history in the first millennium. Journal of Historical Sociolinguistics 1(1). 87–110. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Seip, D. A. 1954. Palæografi B: Norge og Island. Nordisk Kultur XXVIII:B. Stockholm: Albert Bonniers Förlag.Google Scholar
Seebold, E. 1970. Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben. The Hague: Mouton. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Snædal, Th. 2002. Medan världen vakar: studier i det gotländska runinskrifternas språk och kronologi. Runrön 16. Uppsala: Institutionen för nordiska språk.Google Scholar
Sonderegger, S. 2003. Althochdeutsche Sprache und Literatur. 3rd edn. Berlin: De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sö = Söderwall, K. F. 1842–1924. Ordbok öfver svenska medeltids-språket. Stockholm: Svenska fornskriftsällskapet.Google Scholar
Spurkland, T. 2010. The Older Fuþark and Roman script literacy. Futhark 11. 65–84.Google Scholar
Storgaard, B. 2001. Himlingøje: Barbarian empire or Roman implantation. In B. Storgaard (ed.), Military aspects of the aristocracy in Barbaricum in the Roman and early migration periods, 95–111. Copenhagen: Danish National Museum.Google Scholar
Strik, O. 2015. Modelling analogical change: A history of Swedish and Frisian verb inflection. Groningen: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. (Doctoral dissertation)Google Scholar
Tacitus, P. C. 1962. Germania: Text. Aschendorffs Sammlung lateinischer und griechischer Klassiker. 7th edn by W. Franzmeier. Münster: Aschendorff.Google Scholar
Trier, J. 1951. Lehm: Etymologien zum Fachwerk. Marburg: Simons Verlag.Google Scholar
Väänänen, V. 2006. Introduction au latin vulgaire. Reprint of the 3rd edn. Paris: Klincksieck.Google Scholar
Venås, K. 1967. Sterke verb i norske målføre. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.Google Scholar
Veturliði Óskarsson. 2003. Middelnedertyske låneord i islandsk diplomsprog frem til år 1500. Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana XLIII. Copenhagen: Reitzels Forlag.Google Scholar
Vrieland, S. D. 2017. Old Gutnish in a Danish hand: Studies in the B manuscript of Guta lag. Copenhagen: Københavns Universitet, Det Humanistiske Fakultet. (Doctoral dissertation)Google Scholar
Vries, J. de. 1971. Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Vries, W. de. 1921. Etymologische aanteekeningen. Tijdschrift voor Nederlandse Taal- en Letterkunde 401. 89–111.Google Scholar
Zimmer, H. 1892. Aus der Bedeutungsgeschichte von schreiben und schrift . Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur 361. 145–150.Google Scholar