The integration of Norse-derived terms in English: effects of formal similarity

Pons-Sanz, Sara ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8752-0652 and Roberts, Sean ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5990-9161 2025. The integration of Norse-derived terms in English: effects of formal similarity. Transactions of the Philological Society Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Language change arising from language contact is a complex phenomenon. Peter Matthews encouraged researchers to consider it as firmly grounded in the behaviour of individual speakers. We apply this perspective to investigating the integration of Norse-derived terms into medieval English, testing for the effect of their phonetic similarity to their English (pseudo)cognates. Carefully controlling for etymology, meaning and textual attestation, and using a novel data transcription method and coding scheme, we have compiled a database of hundreds of Norse-derived and native forms. The proportion of Norse-derived terms compared to their English (pseudo)cognates is used as a measure of integration; we apply three measures of formal similarity (based on sound class, articulatory features and historical change). We find a significant negative relationship: Norse-derived terms are more frequent if they are more similar to their English equivalents. There is evidence for a non-linear relationship, specifically that the effect is strongest at the extremes of similarity. There are also significant effects related to the impact of alliteration on the choice of Norse-derived terms and whether forms might have originally been perceived as more characteristically Norse. Moreover, our results suggest that the rate of use of Norse-derived terms, not just their presence, can be taken as an important pointer of the chronological and dialectal origin of a text / manuscript.

Item Type:	Article
Status:	Submitted
Schools:	Schools > English, Communication and Philosophy
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PE English
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	1467-968X
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	18 September 2025
Date of Acceptance:	9 September 2025
Last Modified:	18 Sep 2025 15:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/181141

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