On the integration of scandinavian loan verbs into medieval english

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URN:	urn:nbn:de:bsz:180-madoc-710633
Document Type:	Doctoral dissertation
Year of publication:	2025
Place of publication:	Mannheim
University:	Universität Mannheim
Evaluator:	Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date of oral examination:	2025
Publication language:	English
Institution:	School of Humanities > Anglistik IV - Anglistische Linguistik/Diachronie (Trips 2006-)
Subject:	400 Language, linguistics 420 English 439 Other Germanic languages
Keywords (English):	language contact , argument structure , loan verb , code-copying , accommodation , Old Norse , Old English , Middle English , mutual intelligibility , cognate
Abstract:	This dissertation explores the integration of Norse-derived loan verbs into medieval English, focusing on the influence of genealogical, lexical and structural closeness between the contact languages on their argument structure integration and morphosyntactic accommodation. Employing dictionary-based and corpus-driven approaches using qualitative and quantitative methods, the collected studies examine individual verbs, verb classes, and changes to argument structure patterns and alternations. The findings reveal that the linguistic closeness of the languages in contact, including their mutual intelligibility, enabled the conflict-free integration of Norse-derived verbs, with argument structures assigned by analogy to native equivalents. Both cognate and non-cognate verbs adopted cognate patterns, ensuring the stability of the English argument structure system and preventing major structural changes. The research presents methodological advances in the investigation of historic language contact between closely-related languages and highlights how linguistic closeness and a communicative mode of receptive multilingualism facilitated selective copying, underscoring the importance of interlingual equivalences.
Translation of the title:	Zur Integration Skandinavischer Lehnverben in das Alt- und Mittelenglische (German)
Additional information:	in dieser Veröffentlichung sind Artikel und Buchkapitel enthalten, die bereits erschienen sind. Die Reproduktion erschienener Arbeiten ist durch die Verlage (Springer, AMAES, CUP) bestätigt worden und die Nutzungsrechte an Manuskriptversionen der zur Veröffentlichung angenommenen Arbeiten (John Benjamins, Brepols) sind abgeklärt worden.