LL-L "Lexicon" 2009.10.31 (01) [EN]

[Lowlands-L List]

===========================================
L O W L A N D S - L - 31 October 2009 - Volume 01
lowlands at lowlands-l.net - http://lowlands-l.net/
Encoding: Unicode (UTF-08)
Language Codes: lowlands-l.net/codes.php
===========================================

From: Paul Finlow-Bates <wolf_thunder51 at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Lexicon" 2009.10.30 (02) [EN]

Re one of the "Native English" words, "outgang" for "exit"; we already have,
and regularly use "way out", which is totally Germanic in words, if not
form.

Whether this sort of analytic assembly, rather than typical Germanic
compounding, can be laid at the door of the Normans is a moot point. The
language on its island was always going to drift away from its Continental
relatives, Normans or not.  Also "exit" can hardly be blamed on the Normans
either; most of them were as ignorant of Latin as the English. Quite
possibly the Church Latin influence would have happened anyway.  If it is
Church Latin at all; the vast majority of Latin borrowings in English are
16th C and later and come from the use of that language for international
scientific communication.  By then the descendents of the Normans were all
completely English-speaking, so their influence can have nothing to do with
it.

Paul

•

==============================END===================================

 * Please submit postings to lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org.

 * Postings will be displayed unedited in digest form.

 * Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.

 * Commands for automated functions (including "signoff lowlands-l")

   are to be sent to listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org or at

   http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html.

*********************************************************************
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lowlands-l/attachments/20091031/fdcf3486/attachment.htm>