Gladius Hispaniensis Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 Ave The physical presence of Norse people in Britain has been well documented - from the establishment of Danelaw to the crushing of Harald Hardrada's Norwegian army at Stamford Bridge. And from what I remember, the Scandinavian presence had made itself especially felt in the northern part of England. I'm wondering if anyone can post some links regarding the influence of the Scandinavians on the English language. I understand there are still some Norse words in Northern English vernacular. I would especially be interested in Nordic sounding place names or surnames. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 (edited) AveThe physical presence of Norse people in Britain has been well documented - from the establishment of Danelaw to the crushing of Harald Hardrada's Norwegian army at Stamford Bridge. And from what I remember, the Scandinavian presence had made itself especially felt in the northern part of England. I'm wondering if anyone can post some links regarding the influence of the Scandinavians on the English language. I understand there are still some Norse words in Northern English vernacular. I would especially be interested in Nordic sounding place names or surnames. Thanks in advance. 'Egg', 'Skirt' and 'Window' are all either Norse or Norse-influenced. See, for example,Norse influence on English The subject is extremely complicated and open to interpretation on many points. Good luck! Edited December 7, 2008 by sonic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladius Hispaniensis Posted December 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 That was an interesting article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artimi Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 I love the whimsy of the opening paragraph in the article, as well as the rest of the article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Neil Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 (edited) North - eastern English dialect - or 'Geordie' - has many words which are almost identical to modern Norwegian. The Geordie term for 'Going home' is 'Gan yem'. Modern Norwegian is 'Gaan Hjem'. Again, Geordie/Lowland Scots for child is 'Bairn'. Norwegian is 'Barn'. Just a handful of cognates amongst many, and in modern day use. Edited December 8, 2008 by Northern Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladius Hispaniensis Posted December 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 (edited) So I suppose I would be right in assuming that Englishmen from the southern and western part of the Isles have less Norse blood than northerners? I imagine this would also be reflected in surnames - although this might be a little harder to pinpoint. Edited December 8, 2008 by Gladius Hispaniensis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
votadini Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 I would especially be interested in Nordic sounding place names or surnames. It's generally thought that place-names ending in '-by' (Grimsby, Whitby, Birkby) indicate Norse settlement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 I would especially be interested in Nordic sounding place names or surnames. It's generally thought that place-names ending in '-by' (Grimsby, Whitby, Birkby) indicate Norse settlement. For place-names, a good starting place is to read 'Signposts to the Past' by Margaret Gelling. But remember that the only way to really understand them is to read the place-names in their oldest forms, as recently many have changed to conform with spelling rules and accepted pronunciations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Neil Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Particularly Norse place names in the English Lake District, near which I live, include: Skirwith, Keswick, Threlkeld and Thorlby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
votadini Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Particularly Norse place names in the English Lake District, near which I live, include: Skirwith, Keswick, Threlkeld and Thorlby. Definitely, Cumbria is chock-a-block with Norse name elements (fell, howe, pike, tarn, thwaite, gill, beck, etc) though still enough Brythonic and Angle to spice the toponymy up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagelfar Posted December 13, 2008 Report Share Posted December 13, 2008 I had a collegue many years ago who was from Sunderland. I made a joke that he was from the broken city. "S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Neil Posted December 13, 2008 Report Share Posted December 13, 2008 Being Swedish, I interpret a lot of the names in northern place names like old norse names. Quite right. A mere ten minutes drive from my home there is place called Dolphinholme. Going the other way, again about ten minutes, one passes through Arkholme, Holme, Milnthorpe and Nateby. When travelling through Norway and Sweden last year, I passed through many 'Holms', 'Bys' and 'Torps'. ( Then I ended up in Finland. Different story altogether!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longbow Posted December 18, 2008 Report Share Posted December 18, 2008 (edited) This Link has an extensive list of the Saxon,Norse and Brythonic place names in the North. What do the Norse call Streams?we call them Burns up here,is it a Norse word? Edited December 18, 2008 by longbow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagelfar Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 This Link has an extensive list of the Saxon,Norse and Brythonic place names in the North. What do the Norse call Streams?we call them Burns up here,is it a Norse word? I can't think of anything that resembles 'burns". There might be since my knowledge of old norse is very limited. In modern Swedish there are many word that could translate into stream, but the most obvious one is "str Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longbow Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 Thank's for that,we also call streams 'Becks' . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.