The Influence of Celtic Languages, Latin, and Christianity on Old English Flashcards
Which are the three languages that English came into contact in its first 700 years?
-Celtic
-Latin
-Scandinavian
Where can we find the Celtic infuence in English vocabulary?
In the names of places, specifically rivers and hills
Like the Thames and Avon
How did the Celts happened to have contact with the AngloSaxons?
Either they were held as slaves by the conquerors or they partenered up with the AS of the west
How did the celtic came to knowledge?
a) transmitted orally by the natives and learned by the AS
b) due to religious missionariies in the north
How did the celtic christianity expand the vocabulary?
The monks that arrived from Ireland stabilshed a Monastery in Scotland to spread the doctrine and threfore religious voc.
Was there any interaction between Latin and Old English before the conquest? If so, when?
Yes, before the conquest there were commercial relations that allowed the inclusion of various words
Which were the 3 ocassions in which the borrowing of Latin ocurred before the end of the Old English?
How can you know when did a word was borrowed?
It can be found in the phonetic form of the word
The first Latin words to find their way into English found their way through ___
The contact between the Romans and Germanic tribes
After the conquest of _____, romans found their way into _____ territory and ______
Gaul
Germanic
Scandinavia
What are two of the most common themes of the adopted words?
War and agriculture
What is the most possible reason why Latin as a spoken language dissapeared in UK?
The Germanic invasions
What is the most notable suffix in English that could be tied to Latin?
-“ceaster” can be found in place names like Winchester, Doncaster, Manchester
What was the event that brought the greatest influence of Latin upon Old English?
The conversion of Britain to Roman Christianity
What is the story of Bede about the mission of St Augustine?
While walking in the market at Rome, Pope Gregory came to know about introducing Britain to heaven and he couldn’t go so he picked Augustine and 40 monks for it.
Which Christian town did the Romans encountered at their arrival?
Kent
How did Kent become Christian?
The king had married with a Frank princess who had accepted with the condition that she’d be allowed to keep her faith
Who undertook the Northumbria conversion?
Aidan, a monk from the Scottish monastery in Iona
Which were some of the effects Christianity had on England?
Building of churches and monasteries, introduction to latin and schools. Mehods of agriculture and domestic economy
What was the main cause of the rapid importation of Latin words in English?
The first wave of religion that introduced the church building and establishment of monasteries.
In how many groups can we separate the Latin borrowings from the 2nd period?
- The words’ origin is phonetics
- The origin was through the religious revival that came with the Benedictine Reform
Apart from the religious themed vocabulary, which was the second strongest theme?
Domestic life
What signfified a stop in the flow of new vocabulary?
The ravages of the Danes resulted in the burning of monasteries and churches
Which king helped to spread education after the Danes’ ravages?
King Alfred
What was the Benedictine Rule?
Reformation made by bishops and archbisops in Britain to filled the monasteries with monks that pledged CHASTITY, OBEDIENCE & POVERTY
What was the effect of the Benedectine Rule?
A religious revival of the Island, improvement of education and manuscripts translated in Latin and vernacular
What was the influence of Latin in English?
It marked the beggining of the English habit of adopting foreign elements into its vocabulary
What are the 3 major pathways in which English obtained its Latin vocabulary?
Germanic tribes, Celtics, Romans and Chritianization
Where does the auxiliary ‘do’ comes from?
This entire grammatical structure came from the celtic variation, Welsh.
