Linguistics: English language before the Anglo Saxons

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English language before the Anglo Saxons

Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: Scholarly Pursuits
Forum Name: Linguistics
Forum Discription: Discuss linguistics: the study of languages
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=16921
Printed Date: 13-May-2024 at 05:06
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Topic: English language before the Anglo Saxons

Posted By: Lotus
Subject: English language before the Anglo Saxons
Date Posted: 04-Jan-2007 at 09:40

I was watching a programme on BBC Newsnight which came up with a new theory in the origin of the English language.

Unfortunately I cant find a link for the programme or find the name or the person that put forward the theory, however it proposed that English was around a long time before the Anglo Saxon arrival to Britain.

He highlighted old English place names that ended in �ey� which tended to refer to an island. He also referred to a huge lake in the middle of England during the Stone and Iron Age and linked this with a number of towns around the periphery of the lake with �ey� endings.

The lake had disappeared a long time before the Anglo Saxons arrived, meaning the towns must have been named by the original inhabitants of Britain, and old English was their language.

I�ll try and find some links.

Replies:

Posted By: Paul
Date Posted: 04-Jan-2007 at 11:05

The Saxon Shore of Britain had been subject to contact, and trade with Scandinavia for thousands of years before the Anglo-Saxons period of British history. That local will have learnt the language of trading partners is pretty usual.

It would also explain the spread of the English language which to this day is still a mystery.

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Posted By: Styrbiorn
Date Posted: 04-Jan-2007 at 17:13

But ey is the Scandinavian word for "island", while afaik the Old English is igland. So where is the connection?

Posted By: Tangriberdi
Date Posted: 09-Jan-2007 at 14:20

Infact I know that modern English island comes from Middle English iland and it came from old English igland. But as far as I know iglandwas not the only wordin Old English for modern island. Ig(Ij or Ej) was also used. And linguistically -land in igland is just an addition. And Ig solely bear the meaning of Igland or Island.