LL-L "Grammar" 2003.02.28 (13) [E]

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From: James Ward <jamesward at earthlink.net>
Subject: Grammar

Sandy Fleming wrote:

> It's a mistake to apply Latin grammar in English,

Sandy, I know that what follows does not refer to what you said, but I
include your quote because it is the inspiration for this question:

Have any of you noticed that in some Old English texts the Latin names
are inflected in the Latin manner when used in Old English case-specific
constructions?  For example, if the word "amicus" were to be included as
an indirect object in an Old English construction, it would be found as
"amico."  Curious, eh?

Has anyone noticed this kind of Latin usage in the context of any other
languages?  Well, okay, _Lowlands_ languages...   :)

Best to all,

James Ward

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From: Críostóir Ó Ciardha <paada_please at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Grammar" 2003.02.28 (08) [E]
Ian wrote:
"It is, of course, particularly well-known in Ireland,
where additionally it is very common to use the
third-person reflexive form to refer to someone of
importance - 'Is himself [the man of the house] in?',
'Herself [The wife, Mother] wouldn't like me doing
that.'"

Absolutely. This is the best example of Gaelic substrate at play! 'An bhfuil
[fear na ti] eisean _féin_ anseo?' 'Nil mhaith léi [an bhean, an mháthair]
si _fhéin_ shin' (where the forms _sé_ and _si_ are equivalent to English
_him_ and _her_ respectively, in contrast to _é_ and _i_ 'he' and 'she').

Interestingly, this form is so useful and delightfully persistent that it
doesn't take an outsider long to adopt. Many is the time I've heard visitors
say things like 'How about you yourself?' after only a few days in Ireland.

Maith thú

Criostóir.

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