Excluding data (PS)

[Larry Trask]

On Sun, 26 Sep 1999, Jens Elmegaard Rasmussen wrote:

> But take any dictionary of Icelandic and ask how many of its words
> existed in Old Norse. The answer is, practically all!

I've just realized I have a query about this.  Is it literally true that
"practically all" of the words in a dictionary of modern Icelandic
existed in Old Norse?  Or is it only true that the *elements* of most
modern words existed in Old Norse?

The language of a modern technological society requires a vast number of
words which are unlikely to have existed in Old Norse -- at least, in
the relevant sense.  Presumably modern Icelandic has words for `photon',
`cantilever bridge', `carburetor', `stealth bomber', `radium', `gene',
`molecule', `miniskirt', `strip-tease', `ski pole', `skateboard',
`morpheme', `metalanguage', `piezoelectricity', `pyramid selling',
`stock market', and zillions of other things which were unknown to the
Vikings.  One way or another, then, a comprehensive dictionary of modern
Icelandic must contain an awful lot of words which did not exist in Old
Norse -- even if such words are typically *constructed* in Icelandic
from native elements.

On top of this, what of the very large number of names for plants,
animals, foods and drinks that the Vikings didn't know about?  What
about the Icelandic words for `banana', `avocado', `whiskey', `cola',
`hamburger', `aardvark', `kangaroo', `gorilla', `skunk', and so forth?

Larry Trask
COGS
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

larryt at cogs.susx.ac.uk