Some linguistic features of Old Dutch - Part 1
We have seen how the three opening words in the first half of the fragment (Hebban olla vogala) are very similar to modern Dutch (Hebben alle vogels). Let us now look at the second half of the probatio pennae (>link):
Old Dutch
hinase hic enda thu wat unbidan we nu
Modern Dutch
behalve ik en jij, wat beiden we nu
In the second half, there are some marked differences between the two versions. Because writing was steeped in the Latinate culture of the monasteries, texts in the native language were primarily written in the Latin alphabet. Since there is no letter 'k' in classical Latin, writers tended to use the 'c' instead; hence the spelling of the *personal pronoun '(h)ic' for 'ik'.
There are also more fundamental differences. For instance, the second personal pronoun in this fragment is 'thu', a form which has become obsolete. In Middle Dutch, this became 'du'. In the seventeenth century, 'du' would eventually be dropped in favour of the modern form 'je/jij'.
Full vowel endings:
The fragment above tells us something very important about the development of the Dutch language. It shows us that unstressed word endings have become weaker over time. This is illustrated by two clear examples:
Old Dutch
enda
(un)bidanModern Dutch
en
beiden (archaic; = wachten)
In the second example, we see how the full vowel 'a' (bidan) has weakened and become an 'e' (beiden). This weak 'e' sounds like the first syllable in the English word 'ago' and is called schwa. In time, this reduction could even lead to the complete disappearance of the unstressed syllable. This is demonstrated by the first example in the list: 'enda' became 'en'. Something similar happened in English. For instance, Old English 'beom' and 'metan' became '(to) be' and '(to) meet' respectively.
Question 6:
Can you find similar examples of full vowel endings in the first half of the probatio pennae (Hebban olla vogala nestas hagunnan)?
Check your answer (>link)
For a picture of the probatio pennae, together with a linguistic analysis and interpretation (in Dutch) click (@link) [Webpage in Dutch on the text fragment Hebban olla vogala at the site of the Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie (Institute for Dutch Lexicology)].
Click here (>link) to continue with your study of Old Dutch.
