Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch by George Tobias Flom
page 25 of 156 (16%)
page 25 of 156 (16%)
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is far more common in Norway than _tved_ in Denmark. The form of the
word in place-names in England is, furthermore, more Norse than Danish. In the earliest Scandinavian settlements in England, those of Lincolnshire, for instance, _thwaite_ might be Danish if it occurred, for monophthongation of _æi_ to _e_ did not take place in Danish before about the end of the 9th Century; by about 900 this was complete (see §6). The Scandinavian settlements in Northwestern England, however, did not take place so early, consequently if these names were Danish and not Norse we should expect to find _thwet_, or _thweet_ (_tweet_), in place of _thwaite_. It is then to be regarded as Norse and not Danish. _Thwaite_ occurs almost exclusively in Northwestern England--43 times in Cumberland as against 3 in the rest of England south of Yorkshire. _Garth_ (O.N. _garðr_, O. Dan. _gardh_, later _gaard_), occurs very often in Cumberland. _With_, _ness_, _holm_, _land_, and _how_, do not occur very often. _How_ reminds one of the Jutish _höw_ in Modern Danish dialect. The rest of these may be either Danish or Norse. In Yorkshire we find a mixed condition of affairs. East Riding, as we should expect, has predominantly Danish names. _Thorpe_, which occurs 63 times in Lincolnshire, is found 48 times in East Riding. _Fell_, _tarn_ and _haugh_ do not occur. _Force_ is found twice, and _thwaite_ once. _Dale_, however, occurs 12 times. West Riding was probably settled by Danes from the East and by Norsemen from the West. _Thorpe_ occurs 29 times, _with_ 8, _toft_ 2, _beck_ 4, _fell_ 15, _thwaite_ 6, _dale_ 12, and _tarn_ 2. In North Riding _thorpe_ occurs 18 times. _Force_, _fell_, and _tarn_ together 12. The large number of names in _dale_ in North Riding is rather striking (40 in all), as compared with 52 for Westmoreland and Cumberland. While _dale_ is predominantly Norse, it may perfectly well be Danish, and it is not rare in Denmark. Furthermore, the greater number of _dales_ in |
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