Celtic influence on Old English vowels

A review of the phonological and phonetic evidence

Bibliographic Data

ID23148273
AuthorsStephen Laker (0000-0002-3615-2183, Kyushu University, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume23
Issue3
Pages591-620
Publication date2019-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnglish Language and Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1360-6743 • E-ISSN: 1469-4379
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1360674317000545
OpenAlexW2773898144
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited26

Debate continues over what was spoken in Britain before, during and after it was settled by the Anglo-Saxons in the middle of the first millennium ad . Schrijver (2009) argues that phonological and phonetic developments in Old English provide vital clues. Accordingly, Old English changed in different ways from other Germanic languages due to contact with an early British Celtic variety that resembled Old Irish. Aspects of this proposal have been greeted with a degree of interest and approval by linguists but have escaped detailed review. This article argues instead that the Old English developments are closely aligned to those found in other Germanic languages. It also includes novel research results which explain the variation in late Northumbrian Old English and spellings on (morpho)phonological grounds, showing that this alternation too provides no evidence for Celtic influence.

Alternation (linguistics) · Art · Celtic languages · German · Germanic languages · Irish · Linguistics · Literature · Middle English · Old English · Phonology · Variation (astronomy) · Variety (cybernetics) · Computer Science · History · Lexicography and Language Studies · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Linguistics and language evolution · Philosophy

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