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QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER III.

1. Give some account of the race from which the Celtic element was introduced into the English language.

2. Mention the two branches of the Celtic family, and the several divisions of each.

3. Mention the four classes of elements in the present English, with some examples.

4. To what class of objects in the British islands are Celtic words applied? 5. Give some account of the introduction of the Latin element into the English language.

6. Was the Latin element extensively introduced into the English language during the Celtic period?

7. What class of Latin words were chiefly introduced during the Celtic period?

8. What class of Latin words were introduced during the Saxon period? 9. What class of Latin words were introduced after the Norman Conquest, and what analogies do they follow?

10. Mention the occasion upon which the Saxons came into England, and at what time.

11. Give some account of the Saxon race.

12. Mention the names of the three tribes that came into England, and into what part, and at what time they severally came.

13. From what is the term England derived?

14. Who was a distinguished king of the West Saxons, and what is said of him?

15. What was the geographical position of the Jutes, the Angles, the Saxons, and the Frisians in their own country?

16. What objection has been made to the compound term Anglo-Saxon ? 17. What was the character of the language spoken in England before the Norman Conquest?

18. Give some account of the race from which the Danish element was introduced into the English language.

19. How long did the Danes occupy the throne of England, and in what part of the country was this language especially introduced?

20. Give some account of the Anglo-Norman element, and by whom and when it was introduced.

21. By what classes was Norman-French spoken, and how long? 22. What causes operated to promote the currency of the Norman-French? 23. What effect was produced by a mixture of the races on the language? 24. To what classes of objects were Anglo-Norman words applied, and to what classes of objects were Anglo-Saxon words applied?

25. What can you say of the influence of the Norman Conquest upon the language?

26. What can you say of the transition of the Anglo-Saxon into English?

CHAPTER IV.

STAGES AND PERIODS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

§ 77.

SPECIMENS OF ANGLO-SAXON.

From Cadmon, on the Creation, who died A.D. 680.

Nu scylun hergan hefaen ricaes uard,

metudaes maecti end his mod gidanc uerc uuldur fadur

sue he uundra gihuaes eci drictin

or astelidae.

He aerist scop elda barnum heben til hrofe haleg scepen tha middun geard mon cynnaes uard eci dryctin aefter tiadae

firum foldu

frea allmectig.

King Alfred's Version of Literal English Version. the same, about A.D. 885.

Nu we sceolan herian
heofon-ríces weard,

metodes mihte
and his mod-geponc
wera wuldor-faeder
swa he wundra gehwaes
ece dryhten
oord onstealde.
He aerest gescéop
eorðan bearnum
heofon to hrófe
halig scyppend
pa middan-geard
mon cynnes weard
ece dryhten
aefter teode
firum foldan

frea aelmihtig.

Now must we praise
the guardian of heaven's
kingdom,

the Creator's might,
and his mind's thought,
glorious Father of men!
as of every wonder he,
Lord eternal,
formed the beginning.
He first framed

for the children of earth
the heavens as a roof;
holy Creator!

then mid-earth

the guardian of mankind,
the eternal Lord,

afterward produced
the earth for men,
Lord Almighty!

THE LORD'S PRAYER IN ANGLO-SAXON, WITH A GRAM

MATICAL ANALYSIS.

§ 78. Fæder ure, thu the eart on heofenum, si thin nama gehalgod; to-becume thin rice; geweordhe thin willa on eorthan swa swa on heofenum. Urne ge dæghwamlican hlaf syle us to-dæg, and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgifadh urum gyltendum, and ne gelæde thu us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfle. Fader, "father," the linguals d and th being interchanged, here in the vocative case.

Ure, "our," possessive adjective pronoun. The English diphthong ou is substituted for the Anglo-Saxon long vowel û.

Thu, "thou," the personal pronoun being inserted before the relative pronoun of the second person. Here, again, English ou = Anglo-Saxon û.

The, "who," indeclinable relative pronoun.

Eart, "art," 2d pers. sing. pres. indic. from wesan, "to be." On (whence English on), "in," here construed with the da

tive.

Heofenum, "the heavens," dative plural from heofen, "heaven."

Si, "be," 3d pers. sing. pres. subjunct. from wesan, “to be.” Thin, "thine," possessive adjective pronoun.

Nama, " name," with final a formative of nouns, which is dropped in English.

Gehalgod, "hallowed," past participle from gehalgian, “to hallow."

To-becume, "let come," 3d pers. sing. pres. subjunct. from to-becuman, "to approach" or "come."-Thin, "thine," as before.

Rice (comp. English ric in bishopric), "kingdom."

Geweordhe, "let be done," 3d pers. sing. pres. subjunct. from geweordhan, "to be done."-Thin, "thine," as before.

Willa, with final a formative of nouns, which is dropped in English.-On," in" or "on," here construed with the dative, as

before.

Eorthan, "earth," dative singular from eorthe, "earth."

Swa, "so," demonstrative adverb of manner, used as a demonstrative. Swa, "as," demonstrative adverb of manner, here used as a relative.—On heofenum, "in the heavens," as before. Urne, "our," possessive adjective pronoun in the accusative case singular.

Ge, "also," conjunction.

Daghwamlican, "daily," adjective in the accusative case

singular.

Hlaf (whence English loaf), "bread," in the accusative case. Syle, “give thou," 2d pers. sing. imper, from syllan (whence English to sell), “to give.”

Us, "to us," dative of we, "we."
To-dæg, "to-day," adverb.

And, "and," conjunction.

Forgyf, "forgive thou," 2d pers. sing. imper. from forgifan, "to forgive."-Us, "to us," as before.

Ure, "our," in accusative plural.

Gyltas, "debts," accusative plural, from gylt, "a debt.”— Swa swa, 66 so as," as before.

We, "we."

Forgifadh, "forgive," 1st pers. plur. pres. indic. from forgifan, "to forgive."

Urum, "our," in dative plural.

Gyltendum, "debtors," dative plural, from gyltend, "a debtor."—And, "and,” as before.

Ne, "not," adverb of negation.

Gelæde, "lead," 2d per. sing. imper. from geladan, "to lead." -Thu, "thou," as before.

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Us, "us," accusative of we, "we."

On, "into," here construed with an accusative.

Costnunge, "temptations," accusative plural, from costnung,

a temptation."

Ac, "but," conjunction.

Alys, "deliver thou," imper. from alysan, "to deliver."— Us, us," as before.

Of (whence English of), " from," construed with the dative. Yfle, "evil," dative sing. from yfel, "evil."

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§ 79. The term Semi-Saxon is applied to the language while it was going through the transition state from Saxon to English. It is characterized by its retaining the Saxon phraseology and the grammatical construction, while the words are rapidly changing their forms and softening down their terminations.

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[A Fragment, supposed to have been written about the year 1150.]

Semi-Saxon.

De wes bold gebyld

er þu iboren were;
de wes molde imynt
er du of moder come;
ac hit nes no idiht

ne peo deopnes imeten;

Literal English.

For thee was a house built

Ere thou wast born;

For thee was a mold appointed
Ere thou of mother camest;
But it is not prepared,
Nor the deepness meted:

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§ 80. In the Anglo-Saxon, number, case, and person are distinguished by a change in the vowel of the final syllable; in the Old English these vowels are all confounded; and in our modern English they are lost. Prepositions did the work of the lost inflections. "The only sure test by which we can distinguish an Old English from an Anglo-Saxon MS., is a confounding of the vowels of the final syllable, which is not done in AngloSaxon."-EDWIN GUEST, London Philological Society.

It cur

The following extract is from the proclamation of Henry III. to the people of Huntingdonshire, A.D. 1258. rently passes for the earliest specimen of English, i. e., Old English:

"Henry, thurg Godes fultome, King on Engleneloande, Lhoaurd on Yrloand, Duke on Normand, on Acquitain, Eorl on Anjou, send I greting to alle hise holde, ilaerde & ilewerde, on Huntingdonschiere. That witen ge well alle, thaet we willen & unnen (grant) thaet ure raedesmen alle other, the moare del of heom, thaet beoth ichosen thurg us and thurg thaet loandes-folk on ure Kuneriche, habbith idon, and schullen don, in the worthnes of God and ure threowthe, for the freme of the loande, thurg the besigte of than toforen iseide raedesmen, beo stede fæst and ilestinde in all thinge a butan ænde."

Literal Translation." Henry, through God's support, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy, of Aquitaine, Earl of Anjou, sends greeting to all his subjects, learned and unlearned, of Huntingdonshire. This know ye well all, that we will and grant what our counselors all, or the more part of them, that be chosen through us and through the land folk of our kingdom, have done, and shall do, to the honor of God, and our allegiance, for the good of the land, through the determination of the aforesaid counselors, be steadfast and permanent in all things without end."

The following is from Robert of Gloucester, who lived in the

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