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{{Infobox Language| name=Old Norse| nativename=| region=
Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroes, Scotland, Ireland,
England and Wales,
Isle of Man, Vinland, the Volga and places in between] by the 14th century| fam3=[North Germanic languages| script=Runic, later
Latin alphabet.] spoken by the inhabitants of
Scandinavia and their overseas settlements during the
Viking Age, until about
1300. It evolved from the older Proto-Norse, in the
8th century.
Because most of the surviving texts are from Medieval Icelandic, the de facto standard version of the language is the
Old West Norse dialect, that is Old Icelandic and
Old Norwegian. Most speakers of Old Norse, however, spoke the very similar
Old East Norse dialect in Denmark and Sweden and their settlements. There was no clear geographical separation between the two dialects. Old East Norse traits were found in eastern Norway and Old West Norse traits were found in western Sweden. In addition, there was also an
Old Gutnish dialect, sometimes included in Old East Norse because it was the least known dialect. However there are reasons to consider this a separate branch since it shares traits with both
Old West Norse and
Old East Norse and also has developed its own. The Icelandic
Gray Goose Laws stated that Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders and Danes all spoke the same language,
dnsk tunga. In the eastern dialect, which was spoken in Sweden and Denmark, this would have been
dansk tunga and this translates as the "Danish tongue". It was also called
norrœnt mál ("Nordic language").
It has been said that old Norse was mutually intelligible with Old English language,
Old Saxon and
Old Low Franconian, which however may be an overstatement.
Old Norse gradually evolved into the modern
North Germanic languages: Icelandic language, Faroese language,
Norwegian language, Danish language and
Swedish language. Modern Icelandic is the descendant that has diverged the least from Old Norse. In its normalised written form based off the Old Norse/modern Icelandic phoneme system, Old Norse is understandable to modern day Icelandic-speakers with only minute differences in spelling as well as semantics and word order. However, pronunciation, particularly of the vowel phonemes, has changed at least as much as other North Germanic languages. Faroese retains many similarities but is influenced by Danish, Norwegian, and Gaelic (Scottish and/or Irish). Although Swedish, Danish and the Norwegian languages have diverged the most, they still retain
mutual intelligibility. This could be because these languages have been mutually affected by each other, as well as having a similar development influenced by Middle Low German.
See, e.g., Harbert 7-10.
Geographical distribution
Old Icelandic was essentially identical to
Old Norwegian and together they formed the
Old West Norse dialect of Old Norse. The
Old East Norse dialect was spoken in
Denmark and Sweden and settlements in Russia,Article
Nordiska språk, section
Historia, subsection
Omkring 800-1100, in
Nationalencyklopedin (1994). England and
Normandy. The
Old Gutnish dialect was spoken in
Gotland and in various settlements in the East. In the
11th century, it was the most widely spoken European language ranging from
Vinland in the West to the Volga River in the East. In Russia it survived longest in
Novgorod and probably lasted into the 13th century.
Modern descendants
Its modern descendants are the West Scandinavian languages of
Icelandic language,
Faroese language,
Norwegian language and the extinct
Norn language of the
Orkney and the Shetland Islands as well as the East Scandinavian languages of Danish language and
Swedish language. Norwegian has descended from West Norse (West Scandinavian), but over the centuries it has been heavily influenced by East Norse (East Scandinavian).
Among these, Icelandic and the closely related Faroese have changed the least from Old Norse in the last thousand years, although with Danes rule of the
Faroe Islands Faroese has also been influenced by Danish. Old Norse also had an influence on
English language dialects and particularly Scots language which contains many Old Norse
loanwords. It also influenced the development of the Norman language.
Various other languages, which are not closely related, have been heavily influenced by Norse, particularly the Norman dialects and
Scottish Gaelic language. Russian language,
Finnish language and
Estonian language also have a number of Norse loanwords; The words "Rus" and "Russia", according to one theory, may be derivatives from "
Rus' (people)", the name of a Norse tribe (see
Etymology of Rus and derivatives). Also, the current Finnish words for Sweden and Swedish are Ruotsi and Ruotsalainen respectively.
Phonology
Vowels
The vowel phonemes mostly come in pairs of long and short. The standardized orthography marks the long vowels with an acute accent. In medieval manuscripts, it is variously marked with an accent, unmarked or less frequently geminated. All phonemes have, more or less, the expected phonetic realization.
{| class="wikitable"|+ Vowels of Old Norse|-! rowspan="2" | !! colspan="4" | Front vowels !! colspan="4" | Back vowels|-! colspan="2" | Unrounded !! colspan="2" | Rounded! colspan="2" | Unrounded !! colspan="2" | Rounded|-!Close| || || || || || || || |-!Mid| || || || || || || || |-!Open| || || || || || || || ()|}
Some , , , , , and all were obtained by i-mutation from , , , , , and respectively.
Some , , , , and all , were obtained by u-mutation from , , , , and , respectively.
The long open back rounded vowel /ɒː/ does not appear in Old Norse texts of the classical period. It seems to have existed in a earlier stage of the language, and to have merged with /aː/ before the classical period.
See
Consonants
Old Norse has six stop phonemes. Of these is rare word-initially and and do not occur between vowels, because of the fricative allophones of the
Proto-Germanic language (e.g.
*b * > v between vowels). The phoneme is realized as a voiced velar fricative inside words and wordfinally, except when it is Gemination.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"|- style="vertical-align: center;! ! Labial! Dental! Alveolar! Palatal! Velar! Glottal|-! style="font-size: x-small; text-align:left" | Stop| | ||| ||-! style="font-size: x-small; text-align:left" | Nasal| | ||| ()||-! style="font-size: x-small; text-align:left" | Fricative| ()| ()| || () ()| |-! style="font-size: x-small; text-align:left" | Approximant| ||| |||-! style="font-size: x-small; text-align:left" | Liquid||| ||||}
The velar fricative is an allophone of and before and .
Orthography
The standardized Old Norse spelling was created in the 19th century, and is for the most part phonemic. The most notable deviation is that the non-phonemic difference between the voiced and the unvoiced dental fricatives is marked in West Old Norse as well as in later East Old Norse (the oldest texts as well as runic inscriptions in both regions use 'þ' exclusively). As mentioned above, long vowels are denoted with acutes in West Old Norse while left unmarked or geminated in East Old Norse. Most other letters are written with the same glyph as the IPA phoneme, except as shown in the table below. A modified version of the letter
Wynn called
Vend (letter) was used briefly for the sounds , , and .
{| class="wikitable" style:text-align="center"|+ Orthography of characters not using IPA glyphs|-! IPA !! Standard !! Alternative|-| || || ö|-| || æ |||-| || ø || ö|-| || œ || ǿ/ø|-| || þ |||-| || v |||}
Grammar
Old Norse was a highly
Inflection language. Most of the grammatical complexity is retained in modern Icelandic, whereas modern Norwegian has a much simplified grammatical system.
Old Norse nouns could have three grammatical genders - masculine, feminine or neuter. Nouns,
adjectives and
pronouns were
declension in four grammatical cases -
Nominative case, Genitive case,
Dative case and Accusative case, in singular and plural. Some pronouns (first and second person) could have Dual (grammatical number) in addition to singular and plural.
There were several classes of nouns within each gender, the following is an example of some typical inflectional paradigms:
{| class="wikitable"| + The masculine noun
armr (English
arm)|-! Case !!
Singular !!
Plural|-|
Nominative || armr || armar|-|
Genitive || arms || arma|-|
Dative || armi || rmum/armum|-|
Accusative || arm || arma|}
{| class="wikitable"| + The feminine noun
hll (OWN),
hall (OEN) (English
hall)|-! Case !!
Singular !!
Plural|-|
Nominative || hll/hall || hallir/hallar (OEN)|-|
Genitive || hallar || halla|-|
Dative || hllu/hallu || hllum/hallum|-|
Accusative || hll/hall || hallir/hallar (OEN)|}
{| class="wikitable"| + The neuter noun
troll (English
troll):|-! Case !!
Singular !!
Plural|-|
Nominative || troll || troll|-|
Genitive || trolls || trolla|-|
Dative || trolli || trollum|-|
Accusative || troll || troll|}
The definite article was expressed as a suffix, e.g.
troll (
a troll) -
trollit (
the troll),
hll (
a hall) -
hllin (
the hall),
armr (
an arm) -
armrinn (
the arm).
Verb
Verbs were grammatical conjugation in person and number, in present and past tense, in indicative, imperative and
subjunctive mood grammatical mood.
'''VERBS'''
A. WEAK VERBS, i.e. Verbs in which the
Preterite is formed by adding a Termination.
'''1st Conjugation'''
'''characteristic vowel ''a''.'''
'''2nd Conjugation'''
'''characteristic vowel ''i''.'''
'''3rd Conjugation'''
'''characteristic vowel ''i''.'''
'''4th Conjugation'''
'''characteristic vowel ''i''.'''
INDIC.
''Pres.''
Sing.
1.
boð-a
kall-a
dœm-i
fylg-i
gleð
spyr
vak-i
dug-i
2.
boð-ar
kall-ar
dœm-ir
fylg-ir
gleð-r
spyr-r
vak-ir
dug-ir
3.
boð-ar
kall-ar
dœm-ir
fylg-ir
gleð-r
spyr-r
vak-ir
dug-ir
Plur.
1.
boð-um
köll-um
dœm-um
fylg-jum
gleð-jum
spyr-jum
vök-um
dug-um
2.
boð-ið, (-it)
kall-ið
dœm-ið
fylg-ið
gleð-ið
spyr-ið
vak-ið
dug-ið
3.
boð-a
kall-a
dœm-a
fylg-ja
gleð-ja
spyr-ja
vak-a
dug-a
''Pret.''
Sing.
1.
boð-aða
kall-aða
dœm-da
fylg-da
glad-da
spur-ða
vak-ta
dug-ða
2.
boð-aðir
kall-aðir
dœm-dir
fylg-dir
glad-dir
spur-ðir
vak-tir
dug-ðir
3.
boð-aði
kall-aði
dœm-di
fylg-di
glad-di
spur-ði
vak-ti
dug-ði
Plur.
1.
boð-uðum
köll-uðum
dœm-dum
fylg-dum
glöd-dum
spur-ðum
vök-tum
dug-ðum
2.
boð-uðuð
köll-uðuð
dœm-duð
fylg-duð
glöd-duð
spur-ðuð
vök-tuð
dug-ðuð
3.
boð-uðu
köll-uðu
dœm-du
fylg-du
glöd-du
spur-ðu
vök-tu
dug-ðu
IMPERAT.
boð-a
kall-a
dœm
fylg
gleð
spyr
vak (vak-i)
dug (dug-i)
SUBJ.
''Pres.''
Sing.
1.
boð-a
kall-a
dœm-a
fylg-ja
gleð-ja
spyr-ja
vak-a
dug-a
2.
boð-ir
kall-ir
dœm-ir
fylg-ir
gleð-ir
spyr-ir
vak-ir
dug-ir
3.
boð-i
kall-i
dœm-i
fylg-i
gleð-i
spyr-i
vak-i
dug-i
Plur.
1.
boð-im
kall-im
dœm-im
fylg-im
gleð-im
spyr-im
vak-im
dug-im
2.
boð-ið
kall-ið
dœm-ið
fylg-ið
gleð-ið
spyr-ið
vak-ið
dug-ið
3.
boð-i
kall-i
dœm-i
fylg-i
gleð-i
spyr-i
vak-i
dug-i
''Pret.''
Sing.
1.
boð-aða
kall-aða
dœm-da
fylg-da
gled-da
spyr-ða
vek-ta
dyg-ða
2.
boð-aðir
kall-aðir
dœm-dir
fylg-dir
gled-dir
spyr-ðir
vek-tir
dyg-ðir
3.
boð-aði
kall-aði
dœm-di
fylg-di
gled-di
spyr-ði
vek-ti
dyg-ði
Plur.
1.
boð-aðim
kall-aðim
dœm-dim
fylg-dim
gled-dim
spyr-ðim
vek-tim
dyg-ðim
2.
boð-aðið
kall-aðið
dœm-dið
fylg-dið
gled-dið
spyr-ðið
vek-tið
dyg-ðið
3.
boð-aði
kall-aði
dœm-di
fylg-di
gled-di
spyr-ði
vek-ti
dyg-ði
INFIN.
boð-a
kall-a
dœm-a
fylg-ja
gleð-ja
spyr-ja
vak-a
dug-a
PART.
''Act.''
boð-andi
kall-andi
dœm-andi
fylg-jandi
gleð-jandi
spyr-jandi
vak-andi
dug-andi
PART.
''Pass.''
Masc.
boð-aðr
kall-aðr
dœm-dr
glad-dr
spur-ðr
Fem.
boð-uð
köll-uð
dœm-d
glöd-d
spur-ð
Neut.
boð-at
kall-at
dœm-t
fylg-t
glat-t
spur-t
vak-at
dug-at
''' B. STRONG VERBS,''' i.e. Verbs in which the Preterite and Participle Passive are formed by changing the Root Vowel.
Ist Class,
2nd Class,
3rd Class,
4th Class,
5th and 6th Class,
7th Class,
interchange of ''i'' (''e''), ''a'',
''u''.
of ''í'', ''ei'', ''i''.
of ''jó'', ''au'', ''u''.
of ''a'', ''ó''.
of ''e'', ''a'', ''á'',
and ''a'', ''á'', ''o''.
of ''á'', ''é'',
and ''au'', ''jó.''
INDIC.
''Pres.''
Sing.
1.
brenn
rís
býð
fer
gef
ber
græt
hleyp
2.
brenn-r
rís-s
býð-r
fer-r
gef-r
ber-r
græt-r
hleyp-r
3.
brenn-r
rís-s
býð-r
fer-r
gef-r
ber-r
græt-r
hleyp-r
Plur.
1.
brenn-um
rís-um
bjóð-um
för-um
gef-um
ber-um
grát-um
hlaup-um
2.
brenn-ið
rís-ið
bjóð-ið
far-ið
gef-ið
ber-ið
grát-ið
hlaup-ið
3.
brenn-a
rís-a
bjóð-a
far-a
gef-a
ber-a
grát-a
hlaup-a
''Pret.''
Sing.
1.
brann
reis
bauð
fór
gaf
bar
grét
hljóp
2.
brann-t
reis-t
baut-t
fór-t
gaf-t
bar-t
grét-st
hljóp-t
3.
brann
reis
bauð
fór
gaf
bar
grét
hljóp
Plur.
1.
brunn-um
ris-um
buð-um
fór-um
gáf-um
bár-um
grét-um
hljóp-um
2.
brunn-uð
ris-uð
buð-uð
fór-uð
gáf-uð
bár-uð
grét-uð
hljóp-uð
3.
brunn-u
ris-u
buð-u
fór-u
gáf-u
bár-u
grét-u
hljóp-u
IMPERAT.
brenn
rís
bjóð
far
gef
ber
grát
hlaup
SUBJ.
''Pres.''
Sing.
1
brenn-a
rís-a
bjóð-a
far-a
gef-a
ber-a
grát-a
hlaup-a
2.
brenn-ir
rís-ir
bjóð-ir
far-ir
gef-ir
ber-ir
grát-ir
hlaup-ir
3.
brenn-i
rís-i
bjóð-i
far-i
gef-i
ber-i
grát-i
hlaup-i
Plur.
1.
brenn-im
rís-im
bjóð-im
far-im
gef-im
ber-im
grát-im
hlaup-im
2.
brenn-ið
rís-ið
bjóð-ið
far-ið
gef-ið
ber-ið
grát-ið
hlaup-ið
3.
brenn-i
rís-i
bjóð-i
far-i
gef-i
ber-i
grát-i
hlaup-i
''Pret.''
Sing.
1.
brynn-a
ris-a
byð-a
fœr-a
gæf-a
bær-a
grét-a
hlyp-a
2.
brynn-ir
ris-ir
byð-ir
fœr-ir
gæf-ir
bær-ir
grét-ir
hlyp-ir
3.
brynn-i
ris-i
byð-i
fœr-i
gæf-i
bær-i
grét-i
hlyp-i
Plur.
1.
brynn-im
ris-im
byð-im
fœr-im
gæf-im
bær-im
grét-im
hlyp-im
2.
brynn-ið
ris-ið
byð-ið
fœr-ið
gæf-ið
bær-ið
grét-ið
hlyp-ið
3.
brynn-i
ris-i
byð-i
fœr-i
gæf-i
bær-i
grét-i
hlyp-i
INFIN.
brenn-a
rís-a
bjóð-a
far-a
gef-a
ber-a
grát-a
hlaup-a
PART.
''Act.''
brenn-andi
rís-andi
bjóð-andi
far-andi
gef-andi
ber-andi
grát-andi
hlaup-andi
PART.
''Pass.''
Masc.
brunn-inn
ris-inn
boð-inn
far-inn
gef-inn
bor-inn
grát-inn
hlaup-inn
Fem.
brunn-in
ris-in
boð-in
far-in
gef-in
bor-in
grát-in
hlaup-in
Neut.
brunn-it
ris-it
boð-it
far-it
gef-it
bor-it
grát-it
hlaup-it
THE VERB SUBSTANTIVE
INDIC.
''Pres''.
Sing.
1.
em
''Pret''.
var (vas)
IMPERAT.
SUBJ.
''Pres''.
sjá,
sé
''Pret''.
vær-a
INFIN.
ver-a
PAST PART.
ver-it
2.
er-t
var-t
ver (ver-tu)
sé-r
vær-ir
3.
er (es)
var (vas)
sé
vær-i
Plur.
1.
er-um
vár-um
sé-m
vær-im
2.
er-uð
vár-uð
verið
sé-ð
vær-ið
3
er-u
vár-u
sé
vær-i
TEN VERBS WITH
PRESENT IN PRETERITE FORM.
INDIC.
''Pres.''
Sing.
1.
á
kná
má
skal
kann
mun (mon)
man
þarf
ann
veit
2.
á-tt
kná-tt
má-tt
skal-t
kann-t
mun-t
man-t
þarf-t
ann-t
veiz-t
3.
á
kná
má
skal
kann
mun
man
þarf
ann
veit
Plur.
1.
eig-um
kneg-um
meg-um
skul-um
kunn-um
mun-um
mun-um
þurf-um
unn-um
vit-um
2.
eig-uð
kneg-uð
meg-uð
skul-uð
kunn-uð
mun-uð
mun-ið
þurf-ið
unn-ið
vit-uð
3.
eig-u
kneg-u
meg-u
skul-u
kunn-u
mun-u
mun-a
þurf-a
unn-a
vit-u
''Pret''.
Sing.
1.
á-tta
kná-tta
má-tta
kunn-a
mun-da
mun-da
þurf-a
unn-a
vis-sa
as regular weak verbs
IMPERAT.
eig
kunn
mun
unn
vit
SUBJ.
''Pres''.
Sing.
1.
eig-a
knega
meg-a
skyl-a
kunn-a
myn-a
mun-a
þurf-a
unn-a
vit-a
as regular weak verbs
''Pret''.
Sing.
1.
ætt-a
knætt-a
mætt-a
skyl-da
kynn-a
myn-da
myn-da
þyrf-ta
ynn-a
vis-sa
as regular weak verbs
INFIN.
''Pres''.
eig-a
meg-a
skyl-u
kunn-a
mun-u
mun-a
þurf-a
unn-a
vit-a
''Pret''.
knúttu
skyl-du
mun-du
PART.
''Act''.
eig-andi
meg-andi
kunn-andi
mun-andi
þurf-andi
unn-andi
vit-andi
PART.
''Pass''.
Neut.
ú-tt
má-tt
kunn-at
mun-at
þurf-t
unn-(a)t
vit-at
EIGHT VERBS WITH THE PRETERITE IN -''ra''.
INDIC.
''Pres.''
Sing.
3.
rœ-r
grœ-r
sæ-r
gný-r
sný-r
frý-r
kýs-s
slæ-r
veld-r
Plur.
3.
ró-a
gró-a
sá
gnú-a
snú-a
frjós-a
kjós-a
slá
vald-a
''Pret.''
Sing.
3.
rö-ri
grö-ri
sö-ri
gnö-ri
snö-ri
frö-ri
kö-ri
slö-ri
ol-li
(or re-ri
gre-ri
se-ri
gne-ri
sne-ri
fre-ri
ke-ri
sle-ri)
IMPERAT.
ró
gró
sá
gnú
snú
frjó-s
kjós
slá
vald
SUBJ.
''Pret''.
Sing.
3.
rö-ri
grö-ri
sö-ri
gnö-ri
snö-ri
frö-ri
kö-ri
slö-ri
yll-i
INFIN.
ró-a
gró-a
sá
gnú-a
snú-a
frjós-a
kjós-a
slá
vald-a
PART.
''Pass''.
ró-inn
gró-inn
sá-inn
gnú-inn
snú-inn
fros-inn
kos-inn
sleg-inn
vald-it
frör-inn
kör-inn
'''D.''' '''V'''ERBS WITH THE '''R'''EFLEXIVE OR '''R'''ECIPROCAL '''S'''UFFIX -''sk'', -''z'', -''st''
(-''mk'').
''Present''.
''Preterite''.
''Present''.
''Preterite''.
''Indic''.
''Subj''.
''Indic''.
''Subj''.
''Indic.''
''Subj.''
''Indic.''
''Subj.''
Sing.
1.
kalla-st
kalli-st
kallaði-st
kallaði-st
læzt
láti-st
lézt
léti-st
2.
kalla-st
kalli-st
kallaði-st
kallaði-st
læzt
láti-st
lézt
léti-st
3.
kalla-st
kalli-st
kallaði-st
kallaði-st
læzt
láti-st
lézt
léti-st
Plur.
1.
köllu-mk
kalli-mk
kölluðu-mk
kallaði-mk
látu-mk
láti-mk
létu-mk
léti-mk
2.
kalli-zt
kalli-zt
kölluðu-zt
kallaði-zt
láti-zt
láti-zt
létu-zt
léti-zt
3.
kalla-st
kalli-st
kölluðu-st
kallaði-st
láta-st
láti-st
létu-st
léti-st
PART.
''Pass''.
Neut.
kalla-zt, láti-zt, (glað-zt, gefi-zt, bori-zt,)
&c.
'''E'''. '''V'''ERBS WITH THE '''N'''EGATIVE
'''S'''UFFIX.
''Pres.''
''Pret.''
''Pres.''
''Pret.''
''Pres.''
''Pret.''
''Pres.''
''Pret.''
INDIC.
Sing.
1.
em-k-at
var-k-at(vas-k-at)
skal-k-at
skyldi-g-a
mon-k-a
mundi-g-a
hyk-k-at
átti-g-a
2.
ert-at-tu
vart-at-tu
skalt-at-tu
skyldir-a
mont-at-tu
mundir-a
hyggr-at
áttir-a
3.
er-at (es-at)
var-at (vas-at)
skal-at
skyldi-t
mon-at
mundi-t
hyggr-at
átti-t
Plur.
3.
eru-t
váru-t
skulu-t
skyldu-t
monu-t
mundi-t
hyggja-t
áttu-t
IMPERAT.
ver-at-tu (''be not thou!''), lát-at-tu (''let not thou!''), grát-at-tu (''weep not thou!''), &c.
Texts
The earliest inscriptions in Old Norse are
Runic alphabet, from the
8th century. Runes continued to be commonly used until the 15th century and has been recorded to be in use in some form as late as the 19th century in some parts of Sweden. With the conversion to Christianity in the 11th century came the Latin alphabet. The oldest preserved texts in Old Norse in the Latin alphabet date from the middle of the 12th century. Subsequently, Old Norse became the vehicle of a large and varied body of vernacular literature, unique in medieval Europe. Most of the surviving literature was written in Iceland. Best known are the Norse sagas, the Icelanders' sagas and the mythological literature, but there also survives a large body of religious literature, translations into Old Norse of courtly romances, classical mythology, the Old Testament, as well as instructional material, grammatical treatises and a large body of letters and official documents.
See, e.g., O'Donoghue 22-102.
Relationship to English
Old English and Old Norse were closely related languages, and it is therefore not surprising that many words in old Norse look familiar to English speakers, e.g.
armr (arm),
fótr (foot),
land (land),
fullr (full),
hanga (to hang),
standa (to stand), etc. This is because both English and Old Norse date back to Proto-Germanic. In addition, a large number of common every day Old Norse words mainly of East Norse origin were adopted into the Old English language during the Viking age, becoming
loanwords. A few examples of Old Norse loanwords in modern English are (English/Viking age Old East Norse):
(Nouns)
anger (angr),
bag (baggi),
bait (bæit, bæita, bæiti),
band (band),
bark (brkR, stem bark-),
birth (byrðr),
dirt (drit),
dregs (dræggiaR),
egg (ægg, related to OE. cognate "æg" which became Middle English "eye"/"eai"),
fellow (félagi),
gap (gap),
husband (húsbóndi),
cake (kaka),
keel (kilR, stem also kial-, kil-),
kid (kið),
knife (knífR),
law (lg, stem lag-),
leg (læggR),
link (hlænkR),
loan (lán),
race (rs, stem rás-),
root (rót),
sale (sala),
scrap (skrap),
seat (sæti),
sister (systir, related to OE. cognate "sweostor"),
skill (skial/skil),
skin (skinn),
skirt (skyrta vs. the native English
shirt of the same root),
sky (ský),
slaughter (slátr),
snare (snara),
steak (stæik),
thrift (þrift),
tidings (tíðindi),
trust (traust),
window (vindauga),
wing (væ(i)ngR).
(Verbs)
blend (blanda),
call (kalla),
cast (kasta),
clip (klippa),
crawl (krafla),
cut (possibly from ON kuta),
die (døyia),
gasp (gæispa),
get (geta),
give (gifa/gefa, related to OE. cognate "giefan"),
glitter (glitra),
hit (hitta),
lift (lyfta),
raise (ræisa),
ransack (rannsaka),
rid (ryðia),
run (rinna, stem rinn-/rann-/runn-, related to OE. cognate "rinnan"),
scare (skirra),
scrape (skrapa),
seem (søma),
sprint (sprinta),
take (taka),
thrive (þrífa(s)),
thrust (þrysta),
want (vanta).
(Adjectives)
flat (flatr),
happy (happ),
ill (illr),
likely (líklígR),
loose (lauss),
low (lágR),
meek (miúkR),
odd (odda),
rotten (rotinn/rutinn),
scant (skamt),
sly (sløgR),
weak (væikR),
wrong (vrangR).
(Adverbs)
thwart/athwart (þvert).
(Prepositions)
till (til),
fro (frá).
(Conjunction) though/tho (þó).
(Interjections)
hail (hæill),
wassail (ves hæill).
(Personal pronoun)
they (þæiR),
their (þæiRa),
them (þæim) (for which the Anglo-Saxons said
híe O'Donoghue 190-201; Lass 187-188., hiera, him).
(Pronominal adjectives)
same (sami).
In a simple sentence like "They are both weak" the extent of the Old Norse loanwords becomes quite clear (Old East Norse with archaic pronunciation: "ÞæiR eRu báðiR wæikiR" while Old English "híe syndon bégen (þá) wáce"). The words "they" and "weak" are both borrowed from Old Norse, and the word "both" might also be a borrowing, though this is still disputed by some. While the number of loanwords adopted from the Scandinavians wasn't as numerous as that of Norman French or Latin, their depth and every day nature make them a substantial and very important part of every day English speech as they are part of the very core of the modern English vocabulary.
Words like "bull" and "Thursday" are more difficult when it comes to their origins. "Bull" may be from either Old English "bula" or Old Norse "buli" while "Thursday" may be a borrowing, or it could simply be from the Old English "Þunresdæg" which could've been influenced by the Old Norse cognate. The word "are" is from Old English "earun"/"aron" as well as the Old Norse cognates.
Dialects
As Proto-Norse evolved into Old Norse, in the
8th century, the effects of the
Germanic umlaut seem to have been very much the same over the whole Old Norse area. But in later dialects of the language a split occurred mainly between west and east as the use of umlauts began to vary. The typical umlauts (for example
fylla from *
fullian) were better preserved in the West due to later generalizations in the east where many instances of umlaut were removed (many archaic Eastern texts as well as eastern runic inscriptions however portray the same extent of umlauts as in later Western Old Norse). All the while the changes resulting in
diaeresis (for example
hiarta from
herto) were more influential in the East probably once again due to generalizations within the inflectional system. This difference was one of the greatest reasons behind the dialectalization that took place in the
9th century and
10th century shaping an Old West Norse dialect in Norway and the Atlantic settlements and an Old East Norse dialect in Denmark and
Sweden.
A second difference was that Old West Norse lost certain combinations of consonants. The combinations -
mp-, -
nt-, and -
nk- were assimilated into -
pp-, -
tt- and -
kk- in Old West Norse, but this phenomenon was limited in Old East Norse.
{] by Snorri Sturluson:
Móðir Dyggva var Drótt, dóttir Danps konungs, sonar Rígs er fyrstr var konungr kallaðr á danska tungu.Dyggve's mother was
Drott, the daughter of king Danp, Ríg's son, who was the first to be called king in the Danish tongue.
...stirt var honum norrœnt mál, ok kylfdi mJk til orðanna, ok hfðu margir menn þat mJk at spotti....the Norse language was hard for him, and he often fumbled for words, which amused people greatly.
Here is a comparison between the two dialects as well as Old Gutnish. It is a transcription from one of the Funbo Runestones (U990) meaning :
Veðr and Thane and Gunnar raised this stone after Haursi, their father. God help his spirit:
Veðr ok Þegn ok Gunnarr reistu stein þenna at Haursa, fður sinn. Guð hjalpi nd hans. (OWN)
Veðr ok Þegn ok Gunnarr ræistu stæin þenna at Haursa, faður sinn. Guð hialpi and hans (OEN)
Veðr ok Þegn ok Gunnarr raistu stain þenna at Haursa, faður sinn. Guð hialpi and hans (OG)
The OEN original text above is transliterated according to traditional scholar methods meaning u-umlaut is not regarded in runic Old East Norse even though more recent studies have shown that the positions where it applies are the same as for runic Old West Norse. An alternative and probably more accurate transliteration would therefore render the text in OEN as such:
Veðr ok Þegn ok Gunnarr ræistu stæin þenna at Haursa, fður sinn. Guð hialpi nd hans (OEN)
Old West Norse
Most of the innovations that appeared in Old Norse spread evenly through the Old Norse area, but some were geographically limited and created a dialectal difference between Old West Norse and Old East Norse. One difference was that Old West Norse and Old Gutnish did not take part in the monophthongization which changed
æi/
ei into
e,
øy/
ey into
ø and
au into
ø. An early difference was that Old West Norse had the forms
bú (dwelling),
kú (accusative for cow) and
trú (faith) whereas Old East Norse had
bo,
ko and
tro. Old West Norse was also characterized by the preservation of u-umlaut, which meant that for example
{{Infobox Language| name=Old Norse| nativename=| region=
Scandinavia,
Iceland,
Greenland, the
Faroes, Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales,
Isle of Man, Vinland, the Volga and places in between] by the 14th century| fam3=[North Germanic languages| script=
Runic, later Latin alphabet.] spoken by the inhabitants of
Scandinavia and their overseas settlements during the
Viking Age, until about
1300. It evolved from the older Proto-Norse, in the 8th century.
Because most of the surviving texts are from Medieval Icelandic, the de facto standard version of the language is the
Old West Norse dialect, that is Old Icelandic and Old Norwegian. Most speakers of Old Norse, however, spoke the very similar
Old East Norse dialect in Denmark and Sweden and their settlements. There was no clear geographical separation between the two dialects. Old East Norse traits were found in eastern Norway and Old West Norse traits were found in western Sweden. In addition, there was also an
Old Gutnish dialect, sometimes included in Old East Norse because it was the least known dialect. However there are reasons to consider this a separate branch since it shares traits with both
Old West Norse and
Old East Norse and also has developed its own. The
Icelandic
Gray Goose Laws stated that Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders and Danes all spoke the same language,
dnsk tunga. In the eastern dialect, which was spoken in Sweden and Denmark, this would have been
dansk tunga and this translates as the "Danish tongue". It was also called
norrœnt mál ("Nordic language").
It has been said that old Norse was mutually intelligible with
Old English language, Old Saxon and Old Low Franconian, which however may be an overstatement.
Old Norse gradually evolved into the modern North Germanic languages:
Icelandic language,
Faroese language,
Norwegian language, Danish language and
Swedish language. Modern Icelandic is the descendant that has diverged the least from Old Norse. In its normalised written form based off the Old Norse/modern Icelandic phoneme system, Old Norse is understandable to modern day Icelandic-speakers with only minute differences in spelling as well as semantics and word order. However, pronunciation, particularly of the vowel phonemes, has changed at least as much as other North Germanic languages. Faroese retains many similarities but is influenced by Danish, Norwegian, and Gaelic (Scottish and/or Irish). Although Swedish, Danish and the Norwegian languages have diverged the most, they still retain
mutual intelligibility. This could be because these languages have been mutually affected by each other, as well as having a similar development influenced by Middle Low German.
See, e.g., Harbert 7-10.
Geographical distribution
Old Icelandic was essentially identical to
Old Norwegian and together they formed the
Old West Norse dialect of Old Norse. The
Old East Norse dialect was spoken in Denmark and Sweden and settlements in
Russia,Article
Nordiska språk, section
Historia, subsection
Omkring 800-1100, in
Nationalencyklopedin (1994).
England and Normandy. The
Old Gutnish dialect was spoken in Gotland and in various settlements in the East. In the
11th century, it was the most widely spoken European language ranging from Vinland in the West to the
Volga River in the East. In Russia it survived longest in Novgorod and probably lasted into the
13th century.
Modern descendants
Its modern descendants are the West Scandinavian languages of Icelandic language,
Faroese language,
Norwegian language and the extinct
Norn language of the
Orkney and the
Shetland Islands as well as the East Scandinavian languages of Danish language and Swedish language. Norwegian has descended from West Norse (West Scandinavian), but over the centuries it has been heavily influenced by East Norse (East Scandinavian).
Among these, Icelandic and the closely related Faroese have changed the least from Old Norse in the last thousand years, although with Danes rule of the
Faroe Islands Faroese has also been influenced by Danish. Old Norse also had an influence on
English language dialects and particularly
Scots language which contains many Old Norse loanwords. It also influenced the development of the Norman language.
Various other languages, which are not closely related, have been heavily influenced by Norse, particularly the Norman dialects and
Scottish Gaelic language. Russian language, Finnish language and
Estonian language also have a number of Norse loanwords; The words "Rus" and "Russia", according to one theory, may be derivatives from "
Rus' (people)", the name of a Norse tribe (see Etymology of Rus and derivatives). Also, the current Finnish words for Sweden and Swedish are Ruotsi and Ruotsalainen respectively.
Phonology
Vowels
The vowel phonemes mostly come in pairs of long and short. The standardized orthography marks the long vowels with an acute accent. In medieval manuscripts, it is variously marked with an accent, unmarked or less frequently geminated. All phonemes have, more or less, the expected phonetic realization.
{| class="wikitable"|+ Vowels of Old Norse|-! rowspan="2" | !! colspan="4" | Front vowels !! colspan="4" | Back vowels|-! colspan="2" | Unrounded !! colspan="2" | Rounded! colspan="2" | Unrounded !! colspan="2" | Rounded|-!Close| || || || || || || || |-!Mid| || || || || || || || |-!Open| || || || || || || || ()|}
Some , , , , , and all were obtained by i-mutation from , , , , , and respectively.
Some , , , , and all , were obtained by u-mutation from , , , , and , respectively.
The long open back rounded vowel /ɒː/ does not appear in Old Norse texts of the classical period. It seems to have existed in a earlier stage of the language, and to have merged with /aː/ before the classical period.
See
Consonants
Old Norse has six stop phonemes. Of these is rare word-initially and and do not occur between vowels, because of the fricative allophones of the
Proto-Germanic language (e.g.
*b * > v between vowels). The phoneme is realized as a voiced velar fricative inside words and wordfinally, except when it is Gemination.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"|- style="vertical-align: center;! ! Labial! Dental! Alveolar! Palatal! Velar! Glottal|-! style="font-size: x-small; text-align:left" | Stop| | ||| ||-! style="font-size: x-small; text-align:left" | Nasal| | ||| ()||-! style="font-size: x-small; text-align:left" | Fricative| ()| ()| || () ()| |-! style="font-size: x-small; text-align:left" | Approximant| ||| |||-! style="font-size: x-small; text-align:left" | Liquid||| ||||}
The velar fricative is an allophone of and before and .
Orthography
The standardized Old Norse spelling was created in the 19th century, and is for the most part phonemic. The most notable deviation is that the non-phonemic difference between the voiced and the unvoiced dental fricatives is marked in West Old Norse as well as in later East Old Norse (the oldest texts as well as runic inscriptions in both regions use 'þ' exclusively). As mentioned above, long vowels are denoted with acutes in West Old Norse while left unmarked or geminated in East Old Norse. Most other letters are written with the same glyph as the IPA phoneme, except as shown in the table below. A modified version of the letter Wynn called
Vend (letter) was used briefly for the sounds , , and .
{| class="wikitable" style:text-align="center"|+ Orthography of characters not using IPA glyphs|-! IPA !! Standard !! Alternative|-| || || ö|-| || æ |||-| || ø || ö|-| || œ || ǿ/ø|-| || þ |||-| || v |||}
Grammar
Old Norse was a highly Inflection language. Most of the grammatical complexity is retained in modern Icelandic, whereas modern Norwegian has a much simplified grammatical system.
Old Norse nouns could have three grammatical genders - masculine, feminine or neuter. Nouns,
adjectives and pronouns were declension in four grammatical cases -
Nominative case,
Genitive case,
Dative case and
Accusative case, in singular and plural. Some pronouns (first and second person) could have
Dual (grammatical number) in addition to singular and plural.
There were several classes of nouns within each gender, the following is an example of some typical
inflectional paradigms:
{| class="wikitable"| + The masculine noun
armr (English
arm)|-! Case !!
Singular !!
Plural|-|
Nominative || armr || armar|-|
Genitive || arms || arma|-|
Dative || armi || rmum/armum|-|
Accusative || arm || arma|}
{| class="wikitable"| + The feminine noun
hll (OWN),
hall (OEN) (English
hall)|-! Case !!
Singular !!
Plural|-|
Nominative || hll/hall || hallir/hallar (OEN)|-|
Genitive || hallar || halla|-|
Dative || hllu/hallu || hllum/hallum|-|
Accusative || hll/hall || hallir/hallar (OEN)|}
{| class="wikitable"| + The neuter noun
troll (English
troll):|-! Case !!
Singular !!
Plural|-|
Nominative || troll || troll|-|
Genitive || trolls || trolla|-|
Dative || trolli || trollum|-|
Accusative || troll || troll|}
The definite article was expressed as a suffix, e.g.
troll (
a troll) -
trollit (
the troll),
hll (
a hall) -
hllin (
the hall),
armr (
an arm) -
armrinn (
the arm).
Verb
Verbs were
grammatical conjugation in person and number, in present and past tense, in indicative, imperative and
subjunctive mood grammatical mood.
'''VERBS'''
A. WEAK VERBS, i.e. Verbs in which the
Preterite is formed by adding a Termination.
'''1st Conjugation'''
'''characteristic vowel ''a''.'''
'''2nd Conjugation'''
'''characteristic vowel ''i''.'''
'''3rd Conjugation'''
'''characteristic vowel ''i''.'''
'''4th Conjugation'''
'''characteristic vowel ''i''.'''
INDIC.
''Pres.''
Sing.
1.
boð-a
kall-a
dœm-i
fylg-i
gleð
spyr
vak-i
dug-i
2.
boð-ar
kall-ar
dœm-ir
fylg-ir
gleð-r
spyr-r
vak-ir
dug-ir
3.
boð-ar
kall-ar
dœm-ir
fylg-ir
gleð-r
spyr-r
vak-ir
dug-ir
Plur.
1.
boð-um
köll-um
dœm-um
fylg-jum
gleð-jum
spyr-jum
vök-um
dug-um
2.
boð-ið, (-it)
kall-ið
dœm-ið
fylg-ið
gleð-ið
spyr-ið
vak-ið
dug-ið
3.
boð-a
kall-a
dœm-a
fylg-ja
gleð-ja
spyr-ja
vak-a
dug-a
''Pret.''
Sing.
1.
boð-aða
kall-aða
dœm-da
fylg-da
glad-da
spur-ða
vak-ta
dug-ða
2.
boð-aðir
kall-aðir
dœm-dir
fylg-dir
glad-dir
spur-ðir
vak-tir
dug-ðir
3.
boð-aði
kall-aði
dœm-di
fylg-di
glad-di
spur-ði
vak-ti
dug-ði
Plur.
1.
boð-uðum
köll-uðum
dœm-dum
fylg-dum
glöd-dum
spur-ðum
vök-tum
dug-ðum
2.
boð-uðuð
köll-uðuð
dœm-duð
fylg-duð
glöd-duð
spur-ðuð
vök-tuð
dug-ðuð
3.
boð-uðu
köll-uðu
dœm-du
fylg-du
glöd-du
spur-ðu
vök-tu
dug-ðu
IMPERAT.
boð-a
kall-a
dœm
fylg
gleð
spyr
vak (vak-i)
dug (dug-i)
SUBJ.
''Pres.''
Sing.
1.
boð-a
kall-a
dœm-a
fylg-ja
gleð-ja
spyr-ja
vak-a
dug-a
2.
boð-ir
kall-ir
dœm-ir
fylg-ir
gleð-ir
spyr-ir
vak-ir
dug-ir
3.
boð-i
kall-i
dœm-i
fylg-i
gleð-i
spyr-i
vak-i
dug-i
Plur.
1.
boð-im
kall-im
dœm-im
fylg-im
gleð-im
spyr-im
vak-im
dug-im
2.
boð-ið
kall-ið
dœm-ið
fylg-ið
gleð-ið
spyr-ið
vak-ið
dug-ið
3.
boð-i
kall-i
dœm-i
fylg-i
gleð-i
spyr-i
vak-i
dug-i
''Pret.''
Sing.
1.
boð-aða
kall-aða
dœm-da
fylg-da
gled-da
spyr-ða
vek-ta
dyg-ða
2.
boð-aðir
kall-aðir
dœm-dir
fylg-dir
gled-dir
spyr-ðir
vek-tir
dyg-ðir
3.
boð-aði
kall-aði
dœm-di
fylg-di
gled-di
spyr-ði
vek-ti
dyg-ði
Plur.
1.
boð-aðim
kall-aðim
dœm-dim
fylg-dim
gled-dim
spyr-ðim
vek-tim
dyg-ðim
2.
boð-aðið
kall-aðið
dœm-dið
fylg-dið
gled-dið
spyr-ðið
vek-tið
dyg-ðið
3.
boð-aði
kall-aði
dœm-di
fylg-di
gled-di
spyr-ði
vek-ti
dyg-ði
INFIN.
boð-a
kall-a
dœm-a
fylg-ja
gleð-ja
spyr-ja
vak-a
dug-a
PART.
''Act.''
boð-andi
kall-andi
dœm-andi
fylg-jandi
gleð-jandi
spyr-jandi
vak-andi
dug-andi
PART.
''Pass.''
Masc.
boð-aðr
kall-aðr
dœm-dr
glad-dr
spur-ðr
Fem.
boð-uð
köll-uð
dœm-d
glöd-d
spur-ð
Neut.
boð-at
kall-at
dœm-t
fylg-t
glat-t
spur-t
vak-at
dug-at
''' B. STRONG VERBS,''' i.e. Verbs in which the Preterite and Participle Passive are formed by changing the Root Vowel.
Ist Class,
2nd Class,
3rd Class,
4th Class,
5th and 6th Class,
7th Class,
interchange of ''i'' (''e''), ''a'',
''u''.
of ''í'', ''ei'', ''i''.
of ''jó'', ''au'', ''u''.
of ''a'', ''ó''.
of ''e'', ''a'', ''á'',
and ''a'', ''á'', ''o''.
of ''á'', ''é'',
and ''au'', ''jó.''
INDIC.
''Pres.''
Sing.
1.
brenn
rís
býð
fer
gef
ber
græt
hleyp
2.
brenn-r
rís-s
býð-r
fer-r
gef-r
ber-r
græt-r
hleyp-r
3.
brenn-r
rís-s
býð-r
fer-r
gef-r
ber-r
græt-r
hleyp-r
Plur.
1.
brenn-um
rís-um
bjóð-um
för-um
gef-um
ber-um
grát-um
hlaup-um
2.
brenn-ið
rís-ið
bjóð-ið
far-ið
gef-ið
ber-ið
grát-ið
hlaup-ið
3.
brenn-a
rís-a
bjóð-a
far-a
gef-a
ber-a
grát-a
hlaup-a
''Pret.''
Sing.
1.
brann
reis
bauð
fór
gaf
bar
grét
hljóp
2.
brann-t
reis-t
baut-t
fór-t
gaf-t
bar-t
grét-st
hljóp-t
3.
brann
reis
bauð
fór
gaf
bar
grét
hljóp
Plur.
1.
brunn-um
ris-um
buð-um
fór-um
gáf-um
bár-um
grét-um
hljóp-um
2.
brunn-uð
ris-uð
buð-uð
fór-uð
gáf-uð
bár-uð
grét-uð
hljóp-uð
3.
brunn-u
ris-u
buð-u
fór-u
gáf-u
bár-u
grét-u
hljóp-u
IMPERAT.
brenn
rís
bjóð
far
gef
ber
grát
hlaup
SUBJ.
''Pres.''
Sing.
1
brenn-a
rís-a
bjóð-a
far-a
gef-a
ber-a
grát-a
hlaup-a
2.
brenn-ir
rís-ir
bjóð-ir
far-ir
gef-ir
ber-ir
grát-ir
hlaup-ir
3.
brenn-i
rís-i
bjóð-i
far-i
gef-i
ber-i
grát-i
hlaup-i
Plur.
1.
brenn-im
rís-im
bjóð-im
far-im
gef-im
ber-im
grát-im
hlaup-im
2.
brenn-ið
rís-ið
bjóð-ið
far-ið
gef-ið
ber-ið
grát-ið
hlaup-ið
3.
brenn-i
rís-i
bjóð-i
far-i
gef-i
ber-i
grát-i
hlaup-i
''Pret.''
Sing.
1.
brynn-a
ris-a
byð-a
fœr-a
gæf-a
bær-a
grét-a
hlyp-a
2.
brynn-ir
ris-ir
byð-ir
fœr-ir
gæf-ir
bær-ir
grét-ir
hlyp-ir
3.
brynn-i
ris-i
byð-i
fœr-i
gæf-i
bær-i
grét-i
hlyp-i
Plur.
1.
brynn-im
ris-im
byð-im
fœr-im
gæf-im
bær-im
grét-im
hlyp-im
2.
brynn-ið
ris-ið
byð-ið
fœr-ið
gæf-ið
bær-ið
grét-ið
hlyp-ið
3.
brynn-i
ris-i
byð-i
fœr-i
gæf-i
bær-i
grét-i
hlyp-i
INFIN.
brenn-a
rís-a
bjóð-a
far-a
gef-a
ber-a
grát-a
hlaup-a
PART.
''Act.''
brenn-andi
rís-andi
bjóð-andi
far-andi
gef-andi
ber-andi
grát-andi
hlaup-andi
PART.
''Pass.''
Masc.
brunn-inn
ris-inn
boð-inn
far-inn
gef-inn
bor-inn
grát-inn
hlaup-inn
Fem.
brunn-in
ris-in
boð-in
far-in
gef-in
bor-in
grát-in
hlaup-in
Neut.
brunn-it
ris-it
boð-it
far-it
gef-it
bor-it
grát-it
hlaup-it
THE VERB SUBSTANTIVE
INDIC.
''Pres''.
Sing.
1.
em
''Pret''.
var (vas)
IMPERAT.
SUBJ.
''Pres''.
sjá,
sé
''Pret''.
vær-a
INFIN.
ver-a
PAST PART.
ver-it
2.
er-t
var-t
ver (ver-tu)
sé-r
vær-ir
3.
er (es)
var (vas)
sé
vær-i
Plur.
1.
er-um
vár-um
sé-m
vær-im
2.
er-uð
vár-uð
verið
sé-ð
vær-ið
3
er-u
vár-u
sé
vær-i
TEN VERBS WITH
PRESENT IN PRETERITE FORM.
INDIC.
''Pres.''
Sing.
1.
á
kná
má
skal
kann
mun (mon)
man
þarf
ann
veit
2.
á-tt
kná-tt
má-tt
skal-t
kann-t
mun-t
man-t
þarf-t
ann-t
veiz-t
3.
á
kná
má
skal
kann
mun
man
þarf
ann
veit
Plur.
1.
eig-um
kneg-um
meg-um
skul-um
kunn-um
mun-um
mun-um
þurf-um
unn-um
vit-um
2.
eig-uð
kneg-uð
meg-uð
skul-uð
kunn-uð
mun-uð
mun-ið
þurf-ið
unn-ið
vit-uð
3.
eig-u
kneg-u
meg-u
skul-u
kunn-u
mun-u
mun-a
þurf-a
unn-a
vit-u
''Pret''.
Sing.
1.
á-tta
kná-tta
má-tta
kunn-a
mun-da
mun-da
þurf-a
unn-a
vis-sa
as regular weak verbs
IMPERAT.
eig
kunn
mun
unn
vit
SUBJ.
''Pres''.
Sing.
1.
eig-a
knega
meg-a
skyl-a
kunn-a
myn-a
mun-a
þurf-a
unn-a
vit-a
as regular weak verbs
''Pret''.
Sing.
1.
ætt-a
knætt-a
mætt-a
skyl-da
kynn-a
myn-da
myn-da
þyrf-ta
ynn-a
vis-sa
as regular weak verbs
INFIN.
''Pres''.
eig-a
meg-a
skyl-u
kunn-a
mun-u
mun-a
þurf-a
unn-a
vit-a
''Pret''.
knúttu
skyl-du
mun-du
PART.
''Act''.
eig-andi
meg-andi
kunn-andi
mun-andi
þurf-andi
unn-andi
vit-andi
PART.
''Pass''.
Neut.
ú-tt
má-tt
kunn-at
mun-at
þurf-t
unn-(a)t
vit-at
EIGHT VERBS WITH THE PRETERITE IN -''ra''.
INDIC.
''Pres.''
Sing.
3.
rœ-r
grœ-r
sæ-r
gný-r
sný-r
frý-r
kýs-s
slæ-r
veld-r
Plur.
3.
ró-a
gró-a
sá
gnú-a
snú-a
frjós-a
kjós-a
slá
vald-a
''Pret.''
Sing.
3.
rö-ri
grö-ri
sö-ri
gnö-ri
snö-ri
frö-ri
kö-ri
slö-ri
ol-li
(or re-ri
gre-ri
se-ri
gne-ri
sne-ri
fre-ri
ke-ri
sle-ri)
IMPERAT.
ró
gró
sá
gnú
snú
frjó-s
kjós
slá
vald
SUBJ.
''Pret''.
Sing.
3.
rö-ri
grö-ri
sö-ri
gnö-ri
snö-ri
frö-ri
kö-ri
slö-ri
yll-i
INFIN.
ró-a
gró-a
sá
gnú-a
snú-a
frjós-a
kjós-a
slá
vald-a
PART.
''Pass''.
ró-inn
gró-inn
sá-inn
gnú-inn
snú-inn
fros-inn
kos-inn
sleg-inn
vald-it
frör-inn
kör-inn
'''D.''' '''V'''ERBS WITH THE '''R'''EFLEXIVE OR '''R'''ECIPROCAL '''S'''UFFIX -''sk'', -''z'', -''st''
(-''mk'').
''Present''.
''Preterite''.
''Present''.
''Preterite''.
''Indic''.
''Subj''.
''Indic''.
''Subj''.
''Indic.''
''Subj.''
''Indic.''
''Subj.''
Sing.
1.
kalla-st
kalli-st
kallaði-st
kallaði-st
læzt
láti-st
lézt
léti-st
2.
kalla-st
kalli-st
kallaði-st
kallaði-st
læzt
láti-st
lézt
léti-st
3.
kalla-st
kalli-st
kallaði-st
kallaði-st
læzt
láti-st
lézt
léti-st
Plur.
1.
köllu-mk
kalli-mk
kölluðu-mk
kallaði-mk
látu-mk
láti-mk
létu-mk
léti-mk
2.
kalli-zt
kalli-zt
kölluðu-zt
kallaði-zt
láti-zt
láti-zt
létu-zt
léti-zt
3.
kalla-st
kalli-st
kölluðu-st
kallaði-st
láta-st
láti-st
létu-st
léti-st
PART.
''Pass''.
Neut.
kalla-zt, láti-zt, (glað-zt, gefi-zt, bori-zt,)
&c.
'''E'''. '''V'''ERBS WITH THE '''N'''EGATIVE
'''S'''UFFIX.
''Pres.''
''Pret.''
''Pres.''
''Pret.''
''Pres.''
''Pret.''
''Pres.''
''Pret.''
INDIC.
Sing.
1.
em-k-at
var-k-at(vas-k-at)
skal-k-at
skyldi-g-a
mon-k-a
mundi-g-a
hyk-k-at
átti-g-a
2.
ert-at-tu
vart-at-tu
skalt-at-tu
skyldir-a
mont-at-tu
mundir-a
hyggr-at
áttir-a
3.
er-at (es-at)
var-at (vas-at)
skal-at
skyldi-t
mon-at
mundi-t
hyggr-at
átti-t
Plur.
3.
eru-t
váru-t
skulu-t
skyldu-t
monu-t
mundi-t
hyggja-t
áttu-t
IMPERAT.
ver-at-tu (''be not thou!''), lát-at-tu (''let not thou!''), grát-at-tu (''weep not thou!''), &c.
Texts
The earliest inscriptions in Old Norse are Runic alphabet, from the
8th century. Runes continued to be commonly used until the 15th century and has been recorded to be in use in some form as late as the 19th century in some parts of Sweden. With the conversion to Christianity in the 11th century came the Latin alphabet. The oldest preserved texts in Old Norse in the Latin alphabet date from the middle of the 12th century. Subsequently, Old Norse became the vehicle of a large and varied body of vernacular literature, unique in medieval Europe. Most of the surviving literature was written in Iceland. Best known are the
Norse sagas, the
Icelanders' sagas and the mythological literature, but there also survives a large body of religious literature, translations into Old Norse of
courtly romances, classical mythology, the Old Testament, as well as instructional material, grammatical treatises and a large body of letters and official documents.
See, e.g., O'Donoghue 22-102.
Relationship to English
Old English and Old Norse were closely related languages, and it is therefore not surprising that many words in old Norse look familiar to English speakers, e.g.
armr (arm),
fótr (foot),
land (land),
fullr (full),
hanga (to hang),
standa (to stand), etc. This is because both English and Old Norse date back to Proto-Germanic. In addition, a large number of common every day Old Norse words mainly of East Norse origin were adopted into the Old English language during the Viking age, becoming loanwords. A few examples of Old Norse loanwords in modern English are (English/Viking age Old East Norse):
(Nouns)
anger (angr),
bag (baggi),
bait (bæit, bæita, bæiti),
band (band),
bark (brkR, stem bark-),
birth (byrðr),
dirt (drit),
dregs (dræggiaR),
egg (ægg, related to OE. cognate "æg" which became Middle English "eye"/"eai"),
fellow (félagi),
gap (gap),
husband (húsbóndi),
cake (kaka),
keel (kilR, stem also kial-, kil-),
kid (kið),
knife (knífR),
law (lg, stem lag-),
leg (læggR),
link (hlænkR),
loan (lán),
race (rs, stem rás-),
root (rót),
sale (sala),
scrap (skrap),
seat (sæti),
sister (systir, related to OE. cognate "sweostor"),
skill (skial/skil),
skin (skinn),
skirt (skyrta vs. the native English
shirt of the same root),
sky (ský),
slaughter (slátr),
snare (snara),
steak (stæik),
thrift (þrift),
tidings (tíðindi),
trust (traust),
window (vindauga),
wing (væ(i)ngR).
(Verbs)
blend (blanda),
call (kalla),
cast (kasta),
clip (klippa),
crawl (krafla),
cut (possibly from ON kuta),
die (døyia),
gasp (gæispa),
get (geta),
give (gifa/gefa, related to OE. cognate "giefan"),
glitter (glitra),
hit (hitta),
lift (lyfta),
raise (ræisa),
ransack (rannsaka),
rid (ryðia),
run (rinna, stem rinn-/rann-/runn-, related to OE. cognate "rinnan"),
scare (skirra),
scrape (skrapa),
seem (søma),
sprint (sprinta),
take (taka),
thrive (þrífa(s)),
thrust (þrysta),
want (vanta).
(Adjectives)
flat (flatr),
happy (happ),
ill (illr),
likely (líklígR),
loose (lauss),
low (lágR),
meek (miúkR),
odd (odda),
rotten (rotinn/rutinn),
scant (skamt),
sly (sløgR),
weak (væikR),
wrong (vrangR).
(Adverbs)
thwart/athwart (þvert).
(Prepositions)
till (til),
fro (frá).
(Conjunction) though/tho (þó).
(Interjections)
hail (hæill),
wassail (ves hæill).
(Personal pronoun)
they (þæiR),
their (þæiRa),
them (þæim) (for which the Anglo-Saxons said
híe O'Donoghue 190-201; Lass 187-188., hiera, him).
(Pronominal adjectives)
same (sami).
In a simple sentence like "They are both weak" the extent of the Old Norse loanwords becomes quite clear (Old East Norse with archaic pronunciation: "ÞæiR eRu báðiR wæikiR" while Old English "híe syndon bégen (þá) wáce"). The words "they" and "weak" are both borrowed from Old Norse, and the word "both" might also be a borrowing, though this is still disputed by some. While the number of loanwords adopted from the Scandinavians wasn't as numerous as that of Norman French or Latin, their depth and every day nature make them a substantial and very important part of every day English speech as they are part of the very core of the modern English vocabulary.
Words like "bull" and "Thursday" are more difficult when it comes to their origins. "Bull" may be from either Old English "bula" or Old Norse "buli" while "Thursday" may be a borrowing, or it could simply be from the Old English "Þunresdæg" which could've been influenced by the Old Norse cognate. The word "are" is from Old English "earun"/"aron" as well as the Old Norse cognates.
Dialects
As Proto-Norse evolved into Old Norse, in the 8th century, the effects of the
Germanic umlaut seem to have been very much the same over the whole Old Norse area. But in later dialects of the language a split occurred mainly between west and east as the use of umlauts began to vary. The typical umlauts (for example
fylla from *
fullian) were better preserved in the West due to later generalizations in the east where many instances of umlaut were removed (many archaic Eastern texts as well as eastern runic inscriptions however portray the same extent of umlauts as in later Western Old Norse). All the while the changes resulting in diaeresis (for example
hiarta from
herto) were more influential in the East probably once again due to generalizations within the inflectional system. This difference was one of the greatest reasons behind the dialectalization that took place in the 9th century and
10th century shaping an Old West Norse dialect in
Norway and the Atlantic settlements and an Old East Norse dialect in
Denmark and
Sweden.
A second difference was that Old West Norse lost certain combinations of consonants. The combinations -
mp-, -
nt-, and -
nk- were assimilated into -
pp-, -
tt- and -
kk- in Old West Norse, but this phenomenon was limited in Old East Norse.
{] by
Snorri Sturluson:
Móðir Dyggva var Drótt, dóttir Danps konungs, sonar Rígs er fyrstr var konungr kallaðr á danska tungu.Dyggve's mother was Drott, the daughter of king Danp,
Ríg's son, who was the first to be called king in the Danish tongue.
...stirt var honum norrœnt mál, ok kylfdi mJk til orðanna, ok hfðu margir menn þat mJk at spotti....the Norse language was hard for him, and he often fumbled for words, which amused people greatly.
Here is a comparison between the two dialects as well as Old Gutnish. It is a transcription from one of the Funbo Runestones (U990) meaning :
Veðr and Thane and Gunnar raised this stone after Haursi, their father. God help his spirit:
Veðr ok Þegn ok Gunnarr reistu stein þenna at Haursa, fður sinn. Guð hjalpi nd hans. (OWN)
Veðr ok Þegn ok Gunnarr ræistu stæin þenna at Haursa, faður sinn. Guð hialpi and hans (OEN)
Veðr ok Þegn ok Gunnarr raistu stain þenna at Haursa, faður sinn. Guð hialpi and hans (OG)
The OEN original text above is transliterated according to traditional scholar methods meaning u-umlaut is not regarded in runic Old East Norse even though more recent studies have shown that the positions where it applies are the same as for runic Old West Norse. An alternative and probably more accurate transliteration would therefore render the text in OEN as such:
Veðr ok Þegn ok Gunnarr ræistu stæin þenna at Haursa, fður sinn. Guð hialpi nd hans (OEN)
Old West Norse
Most of the innovations that appeared in Old Norse spread evenly through the Old Norse area, but some were geographically limited and created a dialectal difference between Old West Norse and Old East Norse. One difference was that Old West Norse and Old Gutnish did not take part in the monophthongization which changed
æi/
ei into
e,
øy/
ey into
ø and
au into
ø. An early difference was that Old West Norse had the forms
bú (dwelling),
kú (accusative for cow) and
trú (faith) whereas Old East Norse had
bo,
ko and
tro. Old West Norse was also characterized by the preservation of u-umlaut, which meant that for example
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