Everything about Norse Language totally explained
Old Norse is the
North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of
Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the
Viking Age, until about
1300.
It evolved from the older
Proto-Norse, in the 8th century and evolved into the modern North Germanic languages after the Viking Age.
Most speakers of Old Norse dialects spoke the
Old East Norse dialect in what are present-date Denmark and Sweden. In texts which date from Medieval Icelandic time, writers wrote with Old Icelandic and
Old Norwegian dialects. These dialects derive from the
Old West Norse dialect.
No clear geographical boundary exists between the two dialects. Old East Norse traits were found in eastern Norway and Old West Norse traits were found in western Sweden.
Some consider
Old Gutnish, sometimes included in Old East Norse because it's the least known, a third dialect since it shares traits with both
Old West Norse and
Old East Norse and also has developed its own.
The
Icelandic
Gray Goose Laws states that Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders and Danes spoke the same language,
dǫnsk tunga. Speakers of the eastern dialect, spoken in Sweden and Denmark, would have said
dansk tunga (Danish tongue) or
norrønt mál (Nordic language) to name their language.
Some claim that speakers of Old Norse and speakers of
Old English,
Old Saxon and
Old Low Franconian would have been able to understand each other. However, this claim may be an overstatement.
Gradually, Old Norse splintered into the modern
North Germanic languages:
Icelandic,
Faroese,
Norwegian,
Danish and
Swedish.
Modern Icelandic is closest to Old Norse. Written modern Icelandic derives from Old Norse/modern Icelandic phoneme system. Contemporary Icelandic-speakers can understand written Old Norse, which differs slightly 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.
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,
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 in the East. In Russia it survived longest in
Novgorod and probably lasted into the
13th century.
Consonants
Old Norse has six stop phonemes. Of these /p/ is rare word-initially and /d/ and /b/ don't occur between vowels, because of the fricative
allophones of the
Proto-Germanic language (for example
*b *[β] > v between vowels). The /g/ phoneme is realized as a voiced velar fricative [ɣ] inside words and wordfinally, except when it's
geminated.
Stop | p b |
t d |
|
|
k g |
|
| Nasal | m |
n |
|
|
(ŋ) |
|
| Fricative | f (v) |
θ (ð) |
s |
|
(x) (ɣ) |
h
|
| Approximant | w |
|
|
j |
|
|
| Liquid | |
|
r l |
|
|
|
The velar fricative [x] is an allophone of /k/ and /ɣ/ before /s/ and /t/.
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 was used briefly for the sounds /u/, /v/, and /w/.
| Phoneme |
9th-10th c. |
11th-13th c. |
12th-14th c. |
Printed West Norse |
| /p/ |
ᛒ |
ᛔ, ᛕ |
p |
p |
| /b/ |
ᛒ |
ᛒ |
b |
b |
| /f/ |
ᚠ |
ᚠ |
f |
f |
| /v/ |
ᚠ |
ᚡ |
f, ff, u, ffu |
f |
| /t/ |
ᛏ |
ᛐ |
t |
t |
| /d/ |
ᛏ |
ᛑ |
d |
d |
| /θ/ |
ᚦ |
ᚦ |
þ, th |
þ |
| /ð/ |
ᚦ |
ᚧ |
þ, th |
ð |
| /s/ |
ᛋ |
ᛌ |
s |
s |
| /ts/ |
ᛋ |
ᛌ |
s, z |
z |
| /k/ |
ᚴ |
ᚴ |
k, c |
k |
| /g/ |
ᚴ |
ᚵ |
g |
g |
| /ɣ/ |
ᚴ |
ᚵ |
g, gh |
g |
| /h/ |
ᚼ |
ᚼ |
h |
h |
| /m/ |
ᛘ |
ᛘ |
m |
m |
| /n/ |
ᚾ |
ᚳ |
n |
n |
| /r/ |
ᚱ |
ᚱ |
r |
r |
| /ɽ/ |
ᛦ |
ᛧ |
r |
r |
| /l/ |
ᛚ |
ᛚ |
l |
l |
| /j/ |
ᛁ |
ᛁ |
i |
j |
| /w/ |
ᚢ |
ᚢ |
u, w, ƿ |
v |
| Phoneme |
9th-10th c. |
11th-13th c. |
12th-14th c. |
Printed West Norse |
| /iː/ |
ᛁ |
ᛁ |
i, ii, í |
í |
| /i/ |
ᛁ |
ᛁ |
i |
i |
| /i/ (unstressed) |
ᛁ |
ᛁ, ᛅ |
i, e, æ |
i |
| /eː/ |
ᛁ |
ᚽ |
e, ee, é, æ, ææ |
é |
| /e/ |
ᛁ, ᛁᚬ |
ᛅ |
e, æ |
e |
| /æː/ |
ᛅ, ᚬ |
ᛅ |
æ, ææ, ę |
æ |
| /æ/ |
ᛅ, ᚬ |
ᛅ |
e, ę |
e |
| /aː/ |
ᛅ, ᚬ |
ᛆ |
a, aa |
á |
| /a/ |
ᛅ, ᚬ |
ᛆ |
a |
a |
| /a/ (unstressed) |
ᛅ, ᚬ |
ᛆ |
a, æ |
a |
| /yː/ |
ᚢ |
ᚤ, ᛦ |
y, yy |
ý |
| /y/ |
ᚢ |
ᚤ, ᛦ |
y |
y |
| /øː/ |
ᚢ |
ᚯ |
ø, øø, ǿ, ǫ |
œ |
| /ø/ |
ᚢ, ᛅᚢ |
ᚯ |
ø, ǫ |
ø |
| /uː/ |
ᚢ |
ᚢ |
u, uu, ú |
ú |
| /u/ |
ᚢ |
ᚢ |
u |
u |
| /u/ (unstressed) |
ᚢ |
ᚢ, ᚮ |
u, o |
u |
| /oː/ |
ᚢ |
ᚮ |
o, oo, ó |
ó |
| /o/ |
ᚢ |
ᚮ |
o |
o |
| /ɒː > aː/ |
ᛅ, ᛅᚢ |
ᛆ |
a, aa, á, ó |
á, ǫ́ |
| /ɒ/ |
ᛅ, ᛅᚢ |
ᛆ |
W ǫ, o / E a, ø |
ǫ |
| /juː/ |
ᛁ ᚢ |
ᛁ ᚢ |
iu, iú |
jú |
| /joː/ |
ᛁ ᚢ |
ᛁ ᚢ |
W io, ió / E iu |
jó |
| /jɒ/ |
ᛁ ᛅ |
ᛁ ᛆ |
W io, iǫ / E io, iø |
jǫ |
| /ja/ |
ᛁ ᛅ |
ᛁ ᛆ |
ia |
ja |
| /æi/ |
ᛅᛁ |
ᛅᛁ / ᚽ |
W ei / E e, ee |
e |
| /ɒu/ |
ᛅᚢ |
ᛆᚢ / ᚯ |
W au / E ø, øø |
au |
| /øy/ |
ᛅᚢ |
ᛆᚢ / ᚯ |
W ey / E ø, øø |
ey |
Grammar
Old Norse was a highly
inflected 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
declined in four grammatical cases –
nominative,
genitive,
dative and
accusative, in singular and
plural. Some pronouns (first and second person) could have
dual 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:
| The masculine noun armr (English arm) |
| Case |
Singular |
Plural |
| Nominative |
armr |
armar |
| Genitive |
arms |
arma |
| Dative |
armi |
ǫrmum/armum |
| Accusative |
arm |
arma |
| The feminine noun hǫll (OWN), hall (OEN) (English hall) |
| Case |
Singular |
Plural |
| Nominative |
hǫll/hall |
hallir/hallar (OEN) |
| Genitive |
hallar |
halla |
| Dative |
hǫllu/hallu |
hǫllum/hallum |
| Accusative |
hǫll/hall |
hallir/hallar (OEN) |
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, for example
troll (
a troll) –
trollit (
the troll),
hǫll (
a hall) –
hǫllin (
the hall),
armr (
an arm) –
armrinn (
the arm).
Verb
Verbs were
conjugated in person and number, in present and past tense, in indicative, imperative and
subjunctive mood.
| VERBS |
| A. WEAK VERBS, for example 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 |
kǫll-um |
dœm-um |
fylg-jum |
gleð-jum |
spyr-jum |
vǫk-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 |
kǫll-uðum |
dœm-dum |
fylg-dum |
glǫd-dum |
spur-ðum |
vǫk-tum |
dug-ðum |
| 2. |
boð-uðuð |
kǫll-uðuð |
dœm-duð |
fylg-duð |
glǫd-duð |
spur-ðuð |
vǫk-tuð |
dug-ðuð |
| 3. |
boð-uðu |
kǫll-uðu |
dœm-du |
fylg-du |
glǫd-du |
spur-ðu |
vǫk-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 |
kǫll-uð |
dœm-d |
|
glǫd-d |
spur-ð |
|
|
| Neut. |
|
boð-at |
kall-at |
dœm-t |
fylg-t |
glat-t |
spur-t |
vak-at |
dug-at |
| B. STRONG VERBS, for example Verbs in which the Preterite and Participle Passive are formed by changing the Root Vowel. |
| |
1st Class |
2nd Class |
3rd Class |
4th Class |
5th and 6th Class |
7th Class |
| Ablaut patterns |
i (e) : a : u |
í : ei : i |
jó : au : u. |
a : ó : a |
e : a : á : e / o |
á (a): é (e) : á (a)
au : jó : au |
| 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 |
fǫr-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 |
kneg-a |
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. |
rø-ri |
grø-ri |
sø-ri |
gnø-ri |
snø-ri |
frø-ri |
kø-ri |
slø-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. |
rø-ri |
grø-ri |
sø-ri |
gnø-ri |
snø-ri |
frø-ri |
kø-ri |
slø-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 |
| |
frør-inn |
kør-inn |
|
| D. VERBS WITH THE REFLEXIVE OR RECIPROCAL SUFFIX -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. |
kǫllu-mk |
kalli-mk |
kǫlluðu-mk |
kallaði-mk |
látu-mk |
láti-mk |
létu-mk |
léti-mk |
| 2. |
kalli-zt |
kalli-zt |
kǫlluðu-zt |
kallaði-zt |
láti-zt |
láti-zt |
létu-zt |
léti-zt |
| 3. |
kalla-st |
kalli-st |
kǫlluðu-st |
kallaði-st |
láta-st |
láti-st |
létu-st |
léti-st |
| PART. |
Pass. |
Neut. |
|
kalla-zt, láti-zt, (glað-zt, gefi-zt, bori-zt,) etc. |
|
| E. VERBS WITH THE NEGATIVE SUFFIX. |
| |
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!), etc. |
Texts
The earliest inscriptions in Old Norse are
runic, from the
8th century. Runes continued to be commonly used until the 15th century and have 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.
Relationship to English
Old English and Old Norse were closely related languages, and it's therefore not surprising that many words in Old Norse look familiar to English speakers, for example
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 (bǫrkR, 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 (kiǫlR, stem also kial-, kil-), kid (kið), knife (knífR), law (lǫg, stem lag-), leg (læggR), link (hlænkR), loan (lán), race (rǫs, 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)
- Interjection – hail (hæill), wassail (ves hæill)
- Personal pronoun – they (þæiR), their (þæiRa), them (þæim) (for which the Anglo-Saxons said híe, hiera, him)
- Prenominal 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: "Þæi
R e
Ru báði
R wæiki
R" 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're 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
umlauts 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
breaking (for example
hiarta from *
hertō) 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 and
10th centuries 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.
| English |
Old West Norse |
Old East Norse |
mushroom
steep
widow |
s(v)ǫppr
brattr
ekkia |
svamper
branter
ænkia |
However, these differences were an exception. The dialects were very similar and considered to be the same language, a language that they sometimes called the Danish tongue (dǫnsk tunga), sometimes Norse language (norrœnt mál), as evidenced in the following two quotes from
Heimskringla by
Snorri Sturluson:
Móðir Dyggva var Drótt, dóttir Danps konungs, sonar Rígs er fyrstr var konungr kallaðr á danska tungu.
(External Link
)
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 mJǫk til orðanna, ok hǫfðu margir menn þat mJǫk at spotti.
(External Link)
…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, fǫður sinn. Guð hjalpi ǫnd 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 isn't 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, fǫður sinn. Guð hialpi ǫnd 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 didn't take part in the monophthongization which changed
æi (
ei) into
ē,
øy (
ey) and
au into
ø̄. 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
bō,
kō and
trō. Old West Norse was also characterized by the preservation of
u-umlaut, which meant that for example
Proto-Norse *
tanþu (tooth) was pronounced
tǫnn and not
tann as in post runic Old East Norse (compare runic OEN (Swedish)
gǭs (goose), OWN
gǫ́s while post runic OEN
gās). Moreoever, there were nasal assimilations as in
bekkr (bench) from Proto-Norse *
bankiR (OEN
bænker).
The earliest body of text appears in
runic inscriptions and in poems composed ca
900 by
Tjodolf of Hvin. The earliest manuscripts are from the period
1150-
1200 and concern both legal, religious and historical matters. During the
12th and
13th centuries,
Trøndelag and
Vestlandet were the most important areas of the Norwegian kingdom and they shaped Old West Norse as an archaic language with a rich set of declensions. In the body of text that has come down to us from until ca
1300, Old West Norse had little dialect variation, and
Old Icelandic doesn't diverge much more than the
Old Norwegian dialects do from each other.
Old Norwegian differentiated early from Old Icelandic by the loss of the consonant
h in initial position before
l,
n and
r, thus whereas Old Icelandic manuscripts might use the form
hnefi (fist), Old Norwegian manuscripts might use
nefi.
From the late 13th century, old Icelandic and old Norwegian started to diverge more. After c. 1350, the
Black Death and following social upheavals seem to have accelerated language changes in Norway. From the late 14th century, the language used in Norway is generally referred to as
Middle Norwegian.
Text example
The following text is from
Egils saga. The manuscript is the oldest known for that saga, the so called
θ-fragment from the 13th century. The text clearly shows how little Icelandic has changed structurally. The last version is legitimate Modern Icelandic, although nothing has been altered but the spelling. The text also demonstrates, however, that a modern reader might have difficulties with the unaltered manuscript text, to say nothing of the lettering.
| The manuscript text, letter for letter |
The same text in normalized, Old Norse spelling |
The same text in Modern Icelandic |
| ÞgeiR blundr systor s egils v þar aþingino & hafði
gengit hart at liþueizlo við þst. h bað egil & þa
þstein coma ser t staðfesto ut þangat a myrar
h bio aðr fyr suNan huit a fyr neþan blundz vatn
Egill toc uel aþui. oc fysti þst at þr leti h þangat fa
ra. Egill setti þorgeir blund niðr at ana brecko
En stein fǫrði bustað siN ut yf lang á. & settiz niðr
at leiro lǫk. En egill reið hei suðr anes ept þingit
m flocc siN. & skilðoz þr feðgar m kęrleic
|
Þorgeirr blundr, systursonr Egils, var þar á þinginu ok hafði
gengit hart at liðveizlu við Þorstein. Hann bað Egil ok þá
Þorstein koma sér til staðfestu út þangat á Mýrar;
hann bjó áðr fyrir sunnan Hvítá, fyrir neðan Blundsvatn.
Egill tók vel á því ok fýsti Þorstein, at þeir léti hann þangat fara.
Egill setti Þorgeir blund niðr at Ánabrekku,
en Steinarr fœrði bústað sinn út yfir Langá ok settisk niðr
at Leirulæk. En Egill reið heim suðr á Nes eptir þingit
með flokk sinn, ok skildusk þeir feðgar með kærleik.
|
Þorgeir blundur, systursonur Egils, var þar á þinginu og hafði
gengið hart að liðveislu við Þorstein. Hann bað Egil og þá
Þorstein að koma sér til staðfestu út þangað á Mýrar;
hann bjó áður fyrir sunnan Hvítá, fyrir neðan Blundsvatn.
Egill tók vel á því og fýsti Þorstein, að þeir létu hann þangað fara.
Egill setti Þorgeir blund niður að Ánabrekku,
en Steinar færði bústað sinn út yfir Langá og settist niður
að Leirulæk. En Egill reið heim suður á Nes eftir þingið
með flokk sinn, og skildust þeir feðgar með kærleik.
|
Old East Norse
Old East Norse, between
800 and
1100, is in Sweden called
Runic Swedish and in Denmark
Runic Danish, but the use of
Swedish and
Danish isn't for linguistic reasons as the differences between them are minute at best during the more ancient stages of this dialect group (though changes had a tendency to occur earlier in the Danish region and until this day many Old Danish changes have still not taken place in modern Swedish rendering Swedish as the more archaic out of the two concerning both the ancient as well as modern languages, sometimes by a profound margin but in all differences are still minute). They are called
runic because the body of text appears in the
runic alphabet. Unlike
Proto-Norse, which was written with the
Elder Futhark, Old Norse was written with the
Younger Futhark, which only had 16 letters. Because of the limited number of runes, the rune for the vowel
u was also used for the vowels
o,
ø and
y, and the rune for
i was used for
e.
Runic Old East Norse is characteristic of being archaic in form, especially Swedish (which is still true for modern Swedish compared to Danish). In essence it corresponds to or surpasses the archaic structure of post runic Old West Norse which in its turn is generally more archaic than post runic Old East Norse. While typically "Eastern" in structure many later post runic changes and trademarks of EON had yet to happen. At the end of the 10th and early 11th century initial -
h before -
l, -
n and -
r was still preserved in the middle and northern parts of Sweden, and is sporadically still preserved in some northern dialects as
g-, for example
gly (lukewarm), from
hlýR. The phoneme -
R (evolved during the
Proto-Norse period from -
z) was still clearly separated from -
r in most positions, even when being geminated (while in OWN it had already merged with -
r) and the monophthongization of
æi and
øy/
au into
ē and
ø̄ respectively had yet to take place: (runic OEN)
fæigR (PN *faigiaz; bound to die; dead),
gæiRR (PN *gaizaz; spear),
haugR (PN *haugaz; mound, pile),
møydōmR (PN *mawi- + dōmaz; virginity),
diūR (PN *diuza; (wild) animal) while OWN
feigr,
geirr,
haugr,
meydómr,
dýr (post runic OEN
fēgher,
gēr,
hø̄gher,
mø̄dōmber,
diūr). The combinations -mp-, -nt-, and -nk- were often preserved while merging into -pp-, -tt- and -kk- in Old West Norse: (runic OEN)
*krimpa, (
Proto-Norse *krimpan)
*sprinta, (PN *sprintan)
*sænkva (PN *sankwian) while OWN
kreppa,
spretta and
søkkva (modern Swedish
krympa,
sprinta (dialect),
sänka, modern Danish
krympe,
sprinte,
sænke; to shrink, to sprint, to sink (transitive; compare intransitive "*sionkva" while OWN "søkkva" for both variations)). Feminine o-stems often preserve the plural ending -a
R while in OWN they more often merge with the feminine i-stems: (runic OEN)
*sōlaR,
*hafnaR/
*hamnaR,
*vāgaR while OWN
sólir,
hafnir and
vágir (modern Swedish
solar,
hamnar,
vågar; suns, havens, scales; Danish has mainly lost the distinction between the two stems with both endings now being rendered as -er or -e alternatively for the o-stems). OEN often preserves the original value of the vowel directly preceding runic
R while OWN receives
R-umlaut (resulting in the same change as with i-umlaut): (runic OEN)
*glaR,
*haRi and
hrauR while OWN
gler,
heri (later
héri) and
hrøyrr/hreyrr (modern Swedish
glar (older form),
hare,
rör; glass, hare, pile of rocks). u-umlaut is still preserved in both phonemic and allophonic positions like in post runic Old West Norse (while sparsely preserved in post runic OEN):
fǫður (accusative),
vǫrðr and
ǫrn (post runic Swedish
faþur,
varþer,
örn (u-umlaut preserved); father, guardian/care taking, eagle).
The plural ending of ja-stems were mostly preserved while those of OWN often acquired that of the i-stems: *bæðiaR, *bækkiaR, *væfiaR while OWN beðir, bekkir, vefir (modern Swedish bäddar, bäckar, vävar; beds, rivers, webs).
Vice versa masculine i-stems with the root ending in either g or k tended to shift the plural ending to that of the ja-stems while OWN kept the original: drængiaR, *ælgiaR and *bænkiaR while OWN drengir, elgir and bekkir (modern Swedish drängar (new meaning), älgar, bänkar; lads, elks, benches).
Until the early 12th century, Old East Norse was very much a uniform dialect. It was in Denmark that the first innovations appeared that would differentiate Old Danish from Old Swedish as these innovations spread north unevenly (unlike the earlier changes that spread more evenly over the East Norse area) creating a series of isoglosses going from Zealand to Svealand.
The word final vowels -a, -o and -e (Old Norse -a, -u and -i) started to merge into -ə, represented with the letter e. At the same time, the voiceless stop consonants p, t and k became voiced stops and even fricatives. These innovations resulted in that Danish has kage (cake), tunger (tongues) and gæster (guests) whereas (Standard) Swedish has retained older forms, kaka, tungor and gäster (OEN kaka, tungur, gæstir).
Moreover, in Danish a tonal word accent distinction shared with Norwegian and Swedish changed into stød around this time. In modern Swedish and Norwegian there are two tone contours (acute accent and grave accent in Swedish terminology, Tone1 and Tone2 in Norwegian), in words having tone1 in Norwegian and accute accent in Swedish is found stød in Danish. Stød is a glottal gesture considered a kind of creaky voice, and it seems to have been documented by swedish sources as early as the 14th century. The origin of scandinavian word tones is unclear, they may have developed from a non-distinctive tonal feature thought to have existed in Proto-norse which then became distinctive when the endings of words were reduced in continental Old Norse. There are tonal phenomena in neither Icelandic nor Faroese.
Text example
This is an extract from the Westrogothic law (Västgötalagen). It is the oldest text written as a manuscript found in Sweden and from the 13th century. It is contemporaneous with most of the Icelandic literature. The text marks the beginning of Old Swedish. » Dræpær maþar svænskan man eller smalenskæn, innan konongsrikis man, eigh væstgøskan, bøte firi atta ørtogher ok þrettan markær ok ænga ætar bot. […] Dræpar maþær danskan man allæ noræn man, bøte niv markum. Dræpær maþær vtlænskan man, eigh ma frid flyia or landi sinu oc j æth hans. Dræpær maþær vtlænskæn prest, bøte sva mykit firi sum hærlænskan man. Præstær skal i bondalaghum væræ. Varþær suþærman dræpin ællær ænskær maþær, ta skal bøta firi marchum fiurum þem sakinæ søkir, ok tvar marchar konongi.
Translation:
» If someone slays a Swede or a Smålander, a man from the kingdom, but not a West Geat, he'll pay eight örtugar and thirteen marks, but no wergild. The king owns nine marks from manslaughter and the killing of any man. If someone slays a Dane or a Norwegian, he'll pay nine marks. If someone slays a foreigner, he shan't be banished and have to flee to his clan. If someone slays a foreign priest, he'll pay as much as for a foreigner. A priest counts as a freeman. If a Southerner is slain or an Englishman, he'll pay four marks to the plaintiff and two marks to the king.
Old Gutnish
The
Gutasaga is the longest text surviving from
Old Gutnish. It was written in the
13th century and dealt with the early history of the Gotlanders. This part relates of the agreement that the Gotlanders had with the Swedish king sometime before the
9th century:
» So gingu gutar sielfs wiliandi vndir suia kunung þy at þair mattin frir Oc frelsir sykia suiariki j huerium staþ. vtan tull oc allar utgiftir. So aigu oc suiar sykia gutland firir vtan cornband ellar annur forbuþ. hegnan oc hielp sculdi kunungur gutum at waita. En þair wiþr þorftin. oc kallaþin. sendimen al oc kunungr oc ierl samulaiþ a gutnal þing senda. Oc latta þar taka scatt sinn. þair sendibuþar aighu friþ lysa gutum alla steþi til sykia yfir haf sum upsala kunungi til hoyrir. Oc so þair sum þan wegin aigu hinget sykia.
Translation:
» So, by their own volition, the Gotlanders became the subjects of the Swedish king, so that they could travel freely and without risk to any location in the Swedish kingdom without toll and other fees. Likewise, the Swedes had the right to go to Gotland without corn restrictions or other prohibitions. The king was to provide protection and aid, when they needed it and asked for it. The king and the jarl shall send emissaries to the Gutnish thing to receive the taxes. These emissaries shall declare free passage for the Gotlanders to all locations in the sea of the king at Uppsala (that is the Baltic Sea was under Swedish control) and likewise for everyone who wanted to travel to Gotland.
Note here that the diphthong
ai in
aigu,
þair and
waita isn't regressively umlauted to
ei as in for example Old Icelandic
eigu,
þeir and
veita.
Further Information
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