Grace
I agree that studying Old Norse throws light on
usages in modern English.
I wonder if the expression "I'll larn him" is
really incorrect. In Old English 'læran' means 'to teach'. Old Norse
is almost the same - 'læra'. I can't find
the Old Norse word for 'learn', but in Old English it is 'leornian'. I
believe that 'I'll larn him' really does mean 'I'll teach him', but this
word generally fell out of use to be replaced by 'teach'. When people of later
generations, accustomed to the word 'teach', then heard the now
antiquated 'larn', they associated it with 'learn' and said
it was wrong. Not so. Archaic or anachronistic, yes, but not incorrect. People
who say 'larn' are the unconscious inheritors of part of a vocabulary
which has been replaced by Norman-French and Latinate
terminology.
I wonder how many other 'incorrect' words and
expressions used in English-speaking countries there are. Any
suggestions?
Cheers
Jed