Re: [tied] Re: Shibbolethisation

From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 6386
Date: 2001-03-06

-es plurals (OE -as) were simply generalised from the strong masculine declension (sta:n, sta:nas, wulf, wulfas, etc.). In Middle English this pattern became more productive than any alternative plural formation, though the weak plural in -en (OE -an) offered a little resistance and enjoyed a good deal of popularity in some ME dialects. The popularity of -es is at least partly due to its phonological transparency (most other noun inflections were reduced to schwa or zero in ME).
 
Piotr
 
----- Original Message -----
From: tgpedersen@...
To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2001 2:19 PM
Subject: Odp: [tied] Re: Shibbolethisation

...In the North there were Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian villages. The
standard theory says English (pre-Conquest?) arose from a mixture of
their respective languages. But when and where do villagers of
different villages meet, if at all? On the market. What do they do
there? Buy and sell. From and to whom? The representatives of the
Hanse; this was the only area where the Hanse dealt directly with the
producers. Now there's a good reason for creolization; note also the
Dutch and Plattdeutsch (or "Hansa-talk"!) predilection for s-plurals.
Is this perhaps where mr. Mercer's -s plurals came from?