A Constructionist and Corpus-Based Approach to Formulas in Old English Poetry
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5901413 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Riccardo Ginevra (0000-0002-6731-6494, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, corresponding author), Erica Biagetti (0000-0003-3275-4512, University of Pavia), Luca Brigada Villa (0009-0003-3523-7622, University of Bergamo), Martina Giarda (0009-0002-0567-8999, University of Bergamo) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 237 |
| Publication date | 2024-06-28 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Languages (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2226-471X • E-ISSN: 2226-471X |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/languages9070237 |
| OpenAlex | W4400200268 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 33 |
This paper explores a constructionist and corpus-based approach to Old English formulaic language through an analysis of the "maþelode system" of speech introductions. The analysis is performed on a section of the York-Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Old English Poetry, comprising the poems Beowulf, Battle of Brunanburh, and Exodus. The results show that most instances of the maþelode system belong to a well-attested construction continuum, structured by the widespread Old English (and ultimately Germanic) poetic devices of variation and kenning. This continuum ranges from more fixed repetitions that exclusively involve the verb maþelian to more schematic patterns that are also attested by other speech verbs, by verbs of giving, as well as by a number of further verbs of various semantic types. The particularly high frequency of this pattern with speech verbs and verbs of giving matches the prominent role, highlighted by previous studies, of both word-exchange and gift-exchange within Old English heroic ideology, and suggests that these formulaic patterns served the purpose to characterize the protagonists of speech or giving events as heroic and/or lordly figures
Art · Epistemology · Linguistics · Literature · Natural language processing · Poetry · Sociology · Strict constructionism · Computer Science · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Lexicography and Language Studies · Linguistics and language evolution · Philosophy · Artificial Intelligence
Homer's Living Language
Constructions at Work
Cognitive Linguistics
Covarying collexemes
A Handbook to Eddic Poetry
Studies in the Epic Technique of Oral Verse-Making
How to Kill a Dragon
Studies in the Epic Technique of Oral Verse-Making. I. Homer and Homeric Style
Reading Old English Texts
Words and Works
Loki’s chains, Agni’s yoke, Prometheus Bound, and the Old English Boethius
Universal Dependencies
Oral-Formulaic Character of Anglo-Saxon Narrative Poetry
Speech as Gift in Beowulf
The Andswarode-System in Old English Poetry
Structure and Content in Epic Formulae
Old English formulas and systems
Regularity and Idiomaticity in Grammatical Constructions
| Highly cited | No |
|---|