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CSUN ENGL 400 - Exercise 1

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Exercise 1 The passage on the next page is a fairly literal translation from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, about half the entry for the year 894. The noun phrases and pronouns that appear in parentheses are listed below the text with the cases used in the original OE text. Explain the choice of case for each by naming the function of the noun or pronoun of the sentence as listed above. 894. And then immediately after that, in this year, the Viking army (se here) marched from Wirral in on the Welsh, because they were not able to stay there: that was because they were deprived of both cattle (þæs ċeapes) and the grain (þæs cornes) which they [the English] had captured. When they (hīe) turned back out from the Welsh with the plunder (þǣre herehȳðe) which they had seized there, they then marched over the Northumbrians’ (Norðhymbra) land (lond) and also the East Anglians’, so that the [English] army (sēo fird) could not reach them (hīe) – until they came on the eastern part of the East Saxons’ land onto an island (an īġland) that is out on the sea (þǣre sǣ), which (þæt) is called Mersea. 1. se here nominative subject 2. þæs ċeapes genitive 3. þæs cornes genitive 4. hīe nominative 5. þǣre herehȳðe dative 6. Norðhymbra genitive 7. lond accusative 8. sēo fird nominative 9. hīe accusative 10. an īġland accusative 11. þǣre sǣ dative 12. þæt nominative The form of every noun can be parsed (interpreted) according to three criteria: case, number (singular or plural), and gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter). In MnE we have to select the correct pronoun, he, she, or it according to the sex, or lack of sex of the referent. This is called natural gender. In OE, nouns for things that today are all neuter, and nouns for a male or female person, might be masculine, feminine, or neuter. For example, sunne (sun) was feminine, mona (moon) was masculine, and wif (woman) and ċild (child) were neuter. This is called grammatical gender. The importance of gender can be seen if we place the nominative singular form of the word for ‘the’ before these nouns: se mona, sēo sunne, þæt wif, þæt ċild. Definite articles (‘the’, in Modern English) and adjectives agree in gender, as well as case and number, with the nouns to which they refer.Masculine Singular Plural Neuter Singular Plural Nom. nama ‘name’ naman Nom. ēaġe ‘eye’ ēagan Acc. naman naman Acc. ēagan ēagan Gen. naman namena Gen. ēagan ēagena Dat. naman namum Dat. ēagan ēagum Feminine Singular Plural Nom. sunne ‘sun’ sunnan Acc. sunnan sunnan Gen. sunnan sunna Dat. sunnan sunnum Exercise Examine the italicised OE nouns for case, number, and function. 1. Ond þā ġefeaht sē cyning Æþerēd wiþ þāra cyninga ġetruman. And then fought the king Æthelred against the kings’ troops. sē cyning: Case__N___ Number__Sg___ Function_Subject_ þāra cyninga: Case_______ Number______ Function________ 2. Norþhymbre ond Ēastengle hæfdon Ælfrēde cyninge āþas ġeseald. Northumbrians and East-Angles had Alfred king oaths given. Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________ 3. Hē mid gāre stang wlancne wīċing þe him þā wunde forġeaf. He with spear stabbed bold viking who him the wound gave. Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________ 4. Wīġend crungon wundum wērġe. Warriors fell (by) wounds exhausted. Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________ 5. Iċ bōhte ān ġetȳme oxena. I bought a team (of) oxen. Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________6. Ðā ġenam Abimelech oxan and scēp. Then took Abimelech oxen and sheep. oxan: Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________ scep (= sceap): Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________ 7. And þā scēap ġehȳrað his stefne. And the sheep hear his voice. Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________ 8. Ġē ne synt of mīnum scēapum. You not are among my sheep. Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________ 9. Hwylċ man is of ēow þe hæfð hund scēapa? Which one is among you who has a hundred sheep? Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________ 10. And on scyp stīgende hī fōron onsundran on wēste stōwe. And on ship moving they went privately to barren place. Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________ 11. þā men of Lundenbyriġ ġefetodon þā scipu. The men of London-town fetched the ships. Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________ 12. Ond þǣr forwearþ cxx scipa æt Swānawīċ. And there perished 120 ships at Swanage. Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________ 13. Ċealde ġeþrungen wǣron mīne fēt. (By) cold pinched were my feet. Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________ 14. Stincende āttor singāllīċe of ðām tōswollenum fōtum flēow. Stinking poison continuously from the swollen feet flowed. Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________15. Oððe ġyf hē bit ǣġ, segst þū rǣcð hē him scorpionem? Or if he requests egg, say’st thou he gives him scorpion? Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________ 16. Selle mon uuēġe cǣsa, ond fisces, ond butran, ond ǣġera. Give one (a) weight (of) cheeses, and fish, and butter, and eggs. Case_______________ Number_______________ Function_______________ Adjectives Adjectives may also be strong or weak. The weak forms are the same as the endings of weak nouns, characterised by -an. They only occur immediately following the definite article or a demonstrative pronoun (e.g. se ‘the, that’ or þes ‘this’) and immediately after possessives such as mīn ‘mine’: se ealda mann ‘the old man, that old man’, mīn ealda frēond ‘my old friend’. Elsewhere the strong forms occur: se mann is eald ‘the man is old’, ealde menn ‘old men’. The strong declension is given below: Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter Nom. blind blind blind Acc. blindne blinde blind Gen. blindes blindre blindes Dat. blindum blindre blindum Plural Masculine Feminine


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CSUN ENGL 400 - Exercise 1

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