The Old English Exponent for the Semantic Prime MOVE^*

* This research was funded through the project FFI2011-29532 (MINECO). I would like to thank the Editor and the referees of AJL for their useful comments and remarks on the first version of this article. The usual disclaimers apply.

Abstract

This journal article engages in the search for the Old English exponent of the semantic prime MOVE as described within the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) model. For the semantics of movement and motion, this study draws on the NSM model, which selects the term MOVE as the proper primitive to express the different meanings related both to translational and internal motion. With this background, this study describes the semantic and syntactic properties of the main Old English verbs related to motion in order to select the best candidate for the exponent of MOVE. The analytical part comprises the application of four criteria of prime identification, including the textual, the morphological, the semantic and the syntactic criterion. The conclusion is reached that the verb (ge)styrian is the Old English exponent for the semantic prime MOVE.

Keywords:

• Old English
• Natural Semantic Metalanguage
• Semantic Primes
• Motion

Notes

* This research was funded through the project FFI2011-29532 (MINECO). I would like to thank the Editor and the referees of AJL for their useful comments and remarks on the first version of this article. The usual disclaimers apply.

¹ For further information on semantic molecules see Goddard (2007, 2008, 2011, 2012).

² The Germanic verbal prefixes a-, be-, for-, ge-, on- and to- represent an exception to the overall regularity of Old English word formation. These prefixes have undergone a process of semantic bleaching and are largely interchangeable (Hiltunen 1983; Ogura 1995). The prefix ge- raises additional issues because it is the most frequent in the language and performs several functions. It is attached to nouns, adjectives and, above all, verbs. The reason for its generalization is that, as a marker of the past participle of verbs that function as base of lexical derivation, it spreads across the lexicon and enjoys both an inflectional and a derivational status. Given that it undergoes the same semantic weakening as the other prefixes mentioned above, it turns out that in many instances no difference in meaning is attributable to its attachment. In this article, this is indicated with brackets, as in (ge)stīgan. See Martín Arista (2011, 2012, 2014) on the prefix ge- in inflection and derivation and the consequences of its attachment for morphological relatedness in the Old English lexicon.

³ For further examples on motion explications see Goddard (1997a, 2011).

⁴ In the Old English examples that follow a gloss is provided consisting of a word-by-word translation and the syntactic skeleton (NOM stands for nominative, subject; ACC stands for accusative, object (except in infinitive constructions that take an accusative subject, which is marked as ACCSUB); INF, IMP, PRES, PAST, PRESPART, PP and SUBJ stand, respectively, for infinitive, imperative, present, preterite, present participle, past participle and subjunctive from the verbal conjugation). The reflexive accusative and dative is indicated by means of the abbreviations REFLACC and REFLDAT, respectively.

⁵ As Kastovsky (1992) explains, a typological change starts taking place in the lexicon of Old English whereby stem-based morphology (or variable base morphology) is replaced by word-based morphology (or invariable base morphology). For this reason, in this discussion the lexical paradigms under scrutiny are based on the stem, thus wend-, rather than on the corresponding verb (wendan) or noun (wend).

⁶ The proto-Germanic reconstruction for the strong verb is *wenđanan (Orel 2003: 454), and for the weak verb *wanđjanan (Orel 2003: 446). The attested forms of the proto-Germanic strong verb are Gothic us-windan ‘to twine, to plait’, Old Norse vinda ‘to wring, to twist’, Old English windan ‘to twist, to roll’, Old Frisian winda ‘to twist, to roll’, Old Saxon windan ‘to twist, to roll’ and Old High German wintan ‘to twist, to roll’ (Orel 2003: 454). The attested forms of the weak verb include Gothic wandjan ‘to turn’, Old Norse venda ‘to turn’, Old Frisian wenda ‘to turn’, Old Saxon wendian ‘to direct’ and Old High German wenten ‘to turn’ (Orel 2003: 446). Under the strong verb stem WEND-A-, Seebold (1970: 555) lists Gothic windan, wand, wundun, wundans, Old English windan, wand, wundon, wunden and Old Frisian winda, among others, all with the meaning ‘to wind’.

⁷ In Present-Day English to move is polysemous (motion and emotion). The Old English verb (ge)styrian also conveys both senses, the motional and the emotional. Bosworth and Toller (1973) point out that the figurative meaning is only found in transitive formations and that this sense is often expressed by the ge-prefixed verb.

⁸ It must be borne in mind in this respect that the meaning ‘to move in a specific manner’ is not attested in English until 1500. This is the reason why specific meanings are subsumed under the general intransitive construction ‘to move, be in motion’ in Old English.