From: Blanc Voden
Message: 6818
Date: 2006-08-03
--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "llama_nom" <600cell@...> wrote:
>
>
> I've just been given some notes from the Icelandic schools edition
of
> Njáls saga. It defines 'rúm' as "bil milli þóftna í báti", the
space
> between the thwarts in a boat ('þóftur' "thwarts" are the
> benches/boards where the rowers sit). The Oxford English
Dictionary
> actually gives this exact sense as a rare localised meaning
of "room",
> "9.d. The space between the thwarts of a boat. (A Scandinavian
> sense.)" So used, apparently, in Norfolk, in the 19th century at
least.
>
> On 'fengsöm', the notes just say "fengsæl, ötul um aðdrætti", she
was
> good at getting provisions, or (pro)active in acquiring
provisions.
> Unlike the English words "acquisitive" or "grasping", it seems that
> 'fengsamur' doesn't necessarily have a negative connotation. In
fact
> some of the quotes I appear to use it as an outright positive
quality
> (fengsöm og staðföst vinum sínum; fengsöm og forvitra). So the
author
> may be using it here in a tongue in cheek way here.
>
> Regarding the line
>
> "Hann var að hlaða skútuna en þeir báru á út ..."
>
> it's been brought to my attention that the accepted text is a
little
> different; the schools edition and the Íslensk Fornrit edition
both have:
>
> "Hann var að að hlaða skútuna en þeir báru á út ..."
>
> In this version there is an extra (stressed) 'að' before the
> infinitive marker 'að'. It doesn't affect the meaning much,
except to
> emphasise the idea that that he's "busy loading", "in the middle of
> loading", "in the process of loading".
>
> Re. 'á út', I've been advised by a native Icelandic speaker that
the
> sense is indeed "out onto [the boat]". 'út' suggests that the
boat is
> in the water, so they have to go 'út' "out" to it from the shore to
> load the goods 'á' "onto" it. Some quotes from other sagas, with a
> preposition before 'út' either with a noun complement or without:
>
> hann af skafti og skaut skaftinu á sjó út, en vopnin
> batt hann í bagga í
>
> Tóku þeir til segls og sigldu á haf út. Tók þá byrinn
> að vaxa og gerði veður
>
> En ekki nenni eg draga hann úr húsum út." "Þú munt
> ráða að sinni," sagði
>
> varð fyrir þeim. Þar hljóp Kýlan á út en Þórir skaut
> eftir honum spjótinu því
>
> Lagið kom í skjöldinn og renndi af út og kom á nára
> hestinum og þar á hol.
>
> I've been told that it's more natural to put the preposition before
> 'út' when there's not noun.
>
> As for the whole middle voice / myðmynd thing, I'm not sure of the
> best terminology, clearly different writers use different terms
(I've
> also seen "reflexive middle" used in modern syntactic papers on
> Icelandic). I suppose there is potential for ambiguity in all
these
> terms, but hopefully the context will make things clear most of the
> time. For now I'll try to remember to specify "middle voice FORM"
or
> some such, if I think there's any doubt. And if anyone's confused
> they can ask. In case anyone read message 6806, "Icelanders take
> Miðmynd for verbs forms suffixed with -ST and in modern Icelandic
all
> of them I know give passive result", I'll just point out that the
> reflexive suffix doesn't always correspond to an English passive:
>
> dásk at e-u / e-m "to admire" (Modern: dást að)
> eignask "to acquire" (Modern: eignast)
>
> ...and that passive meaning can be expressed in other ways in Old
> Norse / Icelandic besides the reflexive suffix: 'hann var
drepinn' "he
> was slain"; 'honum var(ð) borgit' "he was saved".
>