New answers tagged history
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Is there any historical basis for pronouncing the “Ye Olde …“ with a /j/?
For reference
Middle English possessed a determiner spelled variously hie, yhe, yeo etc. before Modern English she/her became standard. The origin is not completely certain, see Wiktionary on she:
...
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4
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How did the "double consonant to shorten vowel" thing come about? ("furry" vs. "fury")
"Furry" and "fury" is actually a pretty bad example of this rule because of what "r" does to vowels, and "u" in particular.
In any case, historically, a double ...
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First usage of parentheses or brackets ( and )
Just to add: Salutati visually translated the classical figure of digression "parenthesis" or "interpositio" by inventing the typographical mark which would bear the same name. So ...
1
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Pronunciation of "Ine", as the name of the Saxon king in modern English
There are several guides to Old English pronunciation. Here is one of them: https://oldenglish.info/advpronunciationguide.html
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2
votes
Accepted
Pronunciation of "Ine", as the name of the Saxon king in modern English
It's most likely /'in ə/.
The last [e] being pronounced is common in Old and Middle English before about 1400. Generally you're safe going with a schwa /ə/ sound for that final [e].
The [i] will ...
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0
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Normans vs. Saxons: cow = beef, sheep = mutton, chicken =?
During the Middle English period, geline/gelyne was a word for cooked hen (per the MED):
Gelyne in brothe. Take rawe hennes, chop hem, caste hem into a potte.
It was from Old French.
P.S. That ...
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8
votes
Accepted
How did grammarians determine that the Present Continuous is an aspect?
So, the thrust of the question seems to be why we don't regard 'sitting' in 'Jane was sitting' as an adjective, and why is 'is sitting' considered a present continuous construction there, as opposed ...
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5
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Are the origins of ¡ay, güey! and 'oy vey' related at all?
There are a lot of interesting issues here that all sort of are independent but related.
First:
'Oy vey' (pronounced /oj ve/) is an expression of exasperation. It is a shortening of (and loanphrase ...
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