(See a separate overview for
the language of the Hildina poem)
This overview is mostly based on
forms picked up from Jakob Jakobsen's etymological dictionary. Of course,
it should be kept in mind that most of those forms represent not
directly Norn but rather its remnants in Shetland Scots and may well
originate from different dialects and epochs. Nevertheless, we think
that this material to a certain degree allows its systematisation and a
contour description of the grammar of Shetland Norn (or, at least, its
morphology) can be rendered. See also the chapter on Old Norse for a
grammar reference.
Short
viewDetailed
view
A. Substantives
A.1. Indefinite declension
A.1.1. Singular
A.1.1.1. Strong
declension
A.1.1.2. Weak
declension
A.1.2. Plural
A.2. Definite declension
A.2.1. Singular
A.2.2. Plural
B. Adjectives
B.1. Strong adjectives
B.2. Weak declension
B.3. Comparative and superlative degree
B.3.1. Comparative degree
B.3.2. Superlative degree
C. Pronouns
C.1. Personal pronouns
C.2. Possessive pronouns
C.3. Demonstrative pronouns
C.4. Indefinite and interrogative pronouns
D. Numerals
D.1. Cardinal numerals
D.2. Ordinal numerals
E. Verbs
E.1. Indicative
E.1.1. Present
E.1.2. Past
E.2. Imperative
E.3. Subjunctive
E.4. Invinitive
E.5. Present (active) participle
E.6. Past (passive) participle
E.7. Middle voice
A. Substantives
B. Adjectives
C. Pronouns
D. Numerals
E. Verbs
A.
SUBSTANTIVES
A.1. Indefinite declension
A.1.1. Singular
A.1.1.1. Strong declension
A.1.1.1.1.
Nominative/accusative
The standard Old Norse (ON) masculine
ending -r is dropped in most cases (merging thus with
accusative), except a few words where it still shows up as -er:
(Norn < Old Norse
unless specified)
erdros < arðr-áss
modera handalos < maðr(inn) handalauss
fogborder < fjúkburðr
funder, finder < fundr
hwisterester (*hwister-hester) < hestr
kidnpuster < kinnpústr
Most of the feminine and neuter strong substantives in ON had no
ending in nominative and the same applies to Shetland Norn (further
referred to as Norn).
A.1.1.1.2
Genitive
a) -s was a common
genitive singular ending in masculine and neuter declension in ON. This
ending is widely presented in Norn:
Hornshul < Hornshóll
s(j)usamillabakka (*sjósámillibakka) < á milli sjós ok
bakka
Maedadalls Woe < Matdalsá
Vigadalswo < Víkardalsá
Polsgjo < Pollsgjá
marta di gons teke di veps < margt til garns, tekit
til vepts
Vatshwi < Vatnskví
De Felsend < fells endi
merkis-time < merkis-tíð
As -s is the only genitive ending in English, there is no
doubt that it had to stay in Norn under any circumstances. In separate
cases -s shows up as -is, -sa, -ses:
Rønisfell < Hraunsfell, Rønis vo < hrauns-vágr
Markamudiswo < markamótsá
elis < éls
Vatsaros < Vatnsrás
Banufseskodda < Boðahnúfskoddi
The ending
-is could have developed owing to the influence from words ending
in
-i, which had the genitive ending -is, e.g. ON sæti
- Gen. sætis. An influence from Scots is also possible. The other examples - Vatsaros,
Bahufseskodda
- can contain a contamination of various genitive endings.
b) Another regular genitive ending - ar/r - was used
in the strong feminine and the strong i/u-masculine declensions. In Norn
it's normally preserved as -a/e (occasionally a > i),
-er, -r:
masc.
de Jørnategs < Jǫrundar teigar
de Sjurategs < Sigurðar teigar
*Sunlasetter < Sǫlmundarsetr
Tronaseter (Tronister) < Þrándarsetr;
de Fjardepall < fjarðarpallr;
ryggagitel < ryggjargeitill
Skeldebrøs < Skjaldarbrjóst
Skellavelti < Skjaldarvelta?
Ballafell < ballarfell (?); de Bellagø < ballargýgr
hatterskum < *hattarskúm
fem.
Engamor, Engatus, Engamosdelds; Engermorvatn
< engjar-
de Gørasten, Gøstens < gýgjarsteinn; de Gørhul <
gýgjarhóll
(W)Ordal < árdalr; de Orems < árheimar; Worgert
< árgarðr; Orgil < árgil; (W)Orli < árhlið;
Woros - áróss; (W)Orwick, Orruk < árvík
olla < ullar-
Grindavelta < grindar-
Hamnavoe < hafnarvágr
Møradelds < mýrardeildir, Mørategs < mýrarteigar
de Stranategs < strandarteigar
skotnarur < *skotanar-róðr
ufsahella < upsarhella
Tuptategs < tuptar-;
utia < útíð(ar?)
Vigagjo < víkargjá
lir, lida < hlíðar; Lifell, de Lidadal <
hlíðardalr; de Lirend(s) < hlíðarendi; Lirhul
(-hol, wol) < hlíðarhóll
noralegg < nálar-leggr
Maligjo < malargjá
Navigjo < nafargjá
The above examples show that -r is normally preserved in
monosyllabic words (wor < ár, lir < hlíðar, gør < gýgjar), but
tends to drop in bisyllabic ones. The reflexes of Old Norse hlíð
show both types of this development: hlíðar > lir, lida. The
choice obviously depends upon whether -ð- stays (as -d-)
or disappears at all, which gives either a mono- or bisyllabic word
respectively.
A.1.1.1.3. Dative
In Old Norse strong masculine and neuter nouns had the ending
-i. It seems to be well-preserved in Norn. Feminine nouns had no
ending in dative except the word hǫnd -
D.sg. hendi:
lagi (to be in a lagi [lag] 'to be excited') < lagi,
D.sg. of
lag
Velli < á velli, D.sg.of vǫllr
Stakken groiti < stakkrinn í grjóti
Vo < í vági
andi < í hendi
A.1.1.1.4. Accusative
Corresponding to most Norwegian, Danish and Swedish dialects, as
well as West Germanic languages (German), accusative in Norn strongly
inclined to merging with nominative. It is especially evident in
the strong masculine declension where nominative has lost its masculine
ending -r which made it look the same as the accusative form. In
most of the feminine and all the neuter words nominative and accusative
were morphologically identical.
A.1.1.1.5. Summary
|
Masc |
Fem |
Neu |
N |
(er) |
- |
- |
A |
- |
- |
- |
D |
i |
- |
i |
G |
s/is/a,er |
a,r,er |
s |
A.1.1.2. Weak declension
A.1.1.2.1. Nominative
One of the most prominent pecularities of this group of nouns is
fluctuations between the masculine endings -i (oiginally,
nominative) and -a (originally, accusative, dative and genitive).
Their confusion can witness the blending of the nominative and
accusative cases in Norn as we have already discussed above. As a
result, other forms with the ending -a swapped it for -i
by analogy. In neuter the Old Norse ending -a
is mostly preserved or dropped occasionally.
a) Masculine
bilk, bilki, bulk < Icel. bulki m., bylki n., Nor. bulk m. < ON
*bulkr
hog, hogi, hoga < hagi
ralli < Nor. Swed. ralla
rømi, remi < rjómi
slagi, slaga < slaga, slagi
skugga, skugg < skuggi (cf. to be i' skugga < at vera í skugga)
b) Feminine
floga < fluga
flukra,flokra < Far. flykra
solta < solta
Smorkelda < smœr-/smjǫrkelda
c) Neuter
jarta < hjarta
joga < auga
jora < eyra
nir < nyra
Many weak nouns have lost their ending, although in a number of
forms it is still preserved (partially it owes to the occasional
blending of the strong and weak declension still in Old Norse, cf.
ON. stubbr vs.
stubbi). The omitting of the ending is especially noticeable
in female.
masc.
stubb nm. stub, stump < stubbr/stubbi
rukka, rokk < Nor. ruka
fem.
bor < bora
dagdvelj < dagdvelja
di < þýða
Greentua/Grøntu < grøn þúfa; Tuan stura < þúfan
stóra; Høtu < heyþúfa; Litlatu < litla þúfa; Muklatu <
mikla þúfa
A.1.1.2.2. Genitive
In Old Norse there was the same form for accusative, dative and
genitive of singular in the weak declension of nouns. However, we have
collected the examples of genitive into a separate group, because most
of them are parts of compound words. In feminine the ending -u is
often replaced with
-a (the same change -u > -a is frequent in the plural
of weak adjectives, see B.2.3.):
masc.
Mangaseter < Magnasetr, Magni
Tirvister (*Turvasetter) < Torfasetr, Torfi;
s(j)usamillabakka (*sjósámillibakka) < milli sjós ok bakka
fem.
Kellabrun < keldu-brunnr, kelda
Kjorkabi < kirkjubœr; Kjorkigert < kirkjugarðr;
de Kjorkidelds < kirkjudeildir; K(j)orkhul < kirkjuhóll,
de Kjorkalis < kirkjuhlíðir; Korkaseter < kirkjusetr,
kirkja
pannabrod/panni- < pǫnnubrot,
panna
gjonge-sop, gjonga-fish/gjonge-fish < gǫngu-sopi,
gǫngu-fiskr,
ganga
A.1.1.2.3. Accusative, dative
folgju, fulgju < fulgu, fulga
grinsko, alongside grønska < grœnsku, grœnska
hurro, horro < Nor. hurru, hurra
ilsko, ilsku, alongside ilska < ilsku, ilska
fongsnoro < *fang-snarvu, *fang-snarva (Alternatively
the final
-o can be explained as a result of the influence from -v-, cf.
dorg > * dorw > Norn dorro, like sorg > Eng.
sorrow)
A.1.1.2.4.
Summary
|
Masc |
Fem |
Neu |
N |
i (a) |
a (o) |
a,- |
A |
a |
a, *o (u) |
*a (-) |
D |
a |
o (u) |
*a
(-) |
G |
a |
o (u) |
*a
(-) |
A.1.2. Plural
A.1.2.1. Nominative
Old Norse had various plural nominative endings in masculine and
feminine: -ar, -ir, -ur, -r. In neuter there was a zero
ending in the strong declension and the ending -u in the weak
one. All this is narrowed down to 3 endings in Norn: -ar, -er and
the neuter zero ending. The weak neuter declension has apparently
borrowed the ending -er, see below jogers.
drengar < drengar (also drengir), sg.
drengr
de Kletters < klettar, klettr
de Engers < engjar, eng
vister < vistir, vist
ilsker < ilskur, ilska
klør, sg.
klø < kljár, sg. klé
ger (*kør, kyr) < kýr, sg. kú
jogers (*joger) < augu, sg. auga; cf. Far. pl.
eygu, eygur
A.1.2.2. Genitive
The main genitive plural ending in ON was -a. It is quite
well preserved in Norn, occasionally appearing in a slightly different
phonetic form, f.ex. as -e:
dea-dumbvidlavoga <
dymbildagavika, -daga-, Nom. sg. dagr
Hulmawater < hólmavatn; Hulmasjønn < hólmatjǫrn
Kollafirt < Kollafjǫrðr; Kollevo < Kollavágr; Kollefell
< Kollafell; Kollerøn < Kollahraun, kollr
husamilla(n) < millum húsa; milla gorda < millum
garða; skottamilliskrua < skotta milli skrúfa;
s(j)usamillabakka < milli sjós ok bakka; millen fjella,
Mella fjela < millum fella
(fjalla); Milla hella < milli hella; Milla stakki
(*Milla stakka) < milli stakka; Milla stena < milli steina;
Milla vatna
< milli vatna; Milja sanda < milli sanda
Gott a taka gamla manna ro < gott at taka gamalla manna
ráð de Emannasod < *eins-manna-sátr < eins-manns-sátr;
cf. de Twegemanso < tveggja-manna-sátr; de Vjedemansso <
veiðimanns/a-sátr.
In the last case we face the mixing of the endings for genitive
sg. and pl. Logically it should have been *Emannsod, *Twegemann(a)o
and *Vjedemann(a)o, but the outcome is opposite due to
corruption.
According to the rule of vocalic contraction, the genitive plural ending
-a is usually dropped when the root ends in a vowel:
Sørett < sauðarétt
Millenor < millum á(a); (-r is pleonastic)
The genitive ending -na, proper to female and neuter of the
weak declension shows up in few cases:
ornaskap < eyrna-, Nom.sg. eyra
A.1.2.3. Dative
The ON ending is always -um, which in Norn turned into
-en (cf. the Faroese ending -um [ωn]):
Hwien < *í kvíum, Nom.sg. kví
Toften < í Toftum, tóft
De Nes(j)en < í Nesjum, nes
hwiden s(w)iglen < (með) hvítum seglum
Hulen < Hólum, hóll (or Hól(l)inn, see A.2.1.1)
Tuen < í þúfum, þúfa (or þúfan, see A.2.1.1)
A.1.2.4. Accusative
In neuter and feminine accusative plural had the same ending as
nominative. In masculine it was equal to the nominative ending, but
failed the final
-r: Nom.pl. hestar, dalir, Acc.pl hesta, dali. Remains
of this system are still to be found in Norn:
blura < blóra, Nom.pl. blórar
dimmodali < dimmu dali, *dimmudali, Nom.pl. -dalir
A.1.2.5. Summary
|
Masc |
Fem |
Neu |
N |
ar, er |
ar, er, r |
s. -, w.
er |
A |
a, i |
ar, er, r |
s. -, w.
er |
D |
en |
en |
en |
G |
a |
a |
s. a, w.
na |
A.2. Definite
declension (with the suffigated article)
A.2.1. Singular
A.2.1.1. Nominative-accusative.
a) Masculine
The mixing of nominative and accusative is evident where definite
nouns are concerned, especially when a noun is followed by a (weak)
adjective in accusative, e.g. pollin djuba which repeats the old
accusative form
pollinn djúpa, nominative pollrinn djúpi. We quote both
accusative and nominative forms of the Old Norse archetypes, either
separately (Acc. kollinn, Nom. kollrinn) or within
the same word (eld(r)inn).
globeren < gláparin
de Fors(in) < forsinn
Hessen gula < hestinn gula (Acc), hestrinn guli (Nom)
slagi, slaga < ON slaga, slagi
Boens < boðinn (boði)
lavin < hleifinn (Acc), hleifrinn (Nom)
Stakken groiti < stakk(r)inn í grjóti, Stakken
sjukka < stakkinn
þjukka, Nom. stakkrinn þjukki
hogin/hogen; de Hogen < haginn de Kollen
[Kullen] < kollinn, Nom. kollrinn
de jaderin, jadren (jader) < jaðarinn
dene komene ljus [lusa] < daginn [dǫgun?] er kominn í ljós, Nom. dagrinn
ungadrengen < unga drenginn, Nom. ungi drengrinn
Klettin rø < klett(r)inn rauði
monin, Edm. monen < máninn
hildin < eld(r)inn
kjosen < kossinn
halsin < hálsinn
Pollin djuba < pollinn djúpa, Nom. pollrinn djúpi
ratsin < rassinn
simmen < síminn
Stenavellen; Vallernes
Hulen, Hulin < hólinn, Nom. hóllinn (otherwise
treated as Dat.pl, see A.1.2.3.); Hulen brenda < hólinn
brennda, Nom. hóllinn brenndi; Hulen hjoga < hólinn háa,
Nom. hóllinn hái (Far. høgi); Hulna hwessa < hólinn hvassa,
Nom. hóllinn hvassi
(or Nom. plur. hólarnir hvǫssu, see
A.2.2.1.); Hulen [hollen] kwida < hólinn hvíta,
Nom. hóllinn hvíti; Hulen rundi < hólinn rundi; Hul(en)
skarpa < hólinn skarpa, Nom. hóllin skarpi; Hulen (Ulna) stura
[sturi] < hólinn stóra, Nom. hóllinn stóri
Tuen < þúfan (otherwise í þúfum, see A.1.2.3)
In several cases the old masculine ending -inn shows up in
the shape of -a or -e. The conditions of this change are
unclear, although it echoes a similar development of the feminine
article in Norwegian dialects, cf. ON bókin > Nynorsk boka.
Nevertheless, in Norn such cases are registered mostly in masculine.
Probably this is an example of the ending -a
spreading out as a universal ending of Norn, see f.ex. J.Jakobsen,
"Etymological Dictionary...", "Fragments of Norn", p. XCIII, "Gryle
verse" ("All the old grammatical endings in this verse have been
levelled to -a, except in bjadnis <...>").
sagde kolle gambli [kolla gambla] < sagði karlinn
gamli
spungna ligger i gliggan < spónninn liggr í *glygganum
modera handalos < maðr(inn) handalauss
b) Feminine
In feminine the blending of nominative and accusative is especially
obvious. Most examples show strong declension which Old Norse endings
were -in (Nom.) and -ina/-na (Acc.). In Norn they show up
as -en/in and -ena/-na respectively. The weak endings in
Old Norse were -an and -una, in Norn they appear as
-en/in
and -ena respectively.
mørena grøna < mýrina grœnu, Nom. mýrin
grœna; mørna kwida < mýrina
hvítu, mýrin hvíta; Blomørna < blámýrrin/-ina
Gjona stura < Acc. gjána stóru; Nom. gjáin
stóra; Gjona wi' < gjána við
Ørna wi < eyrina við
Wona svarta < ána svǫrtu, áin svarta
Kusena stura < kǫsina stóru, kǫsin stóra
dongjin < dyngjan
skivin < skífan
de Sletten < sléttan
jilder hjolskin! < illa heilsa(n)
Grunkens < grunnkan
pirrena < pirruna (alternative interpretation:
pirr-hœna)
Smina wi < smiðjuna við
Rivena høgena wi < rifuna hauginn við
c)
Neuter
The Old Norse ending for nominative and accusative was -it. In a
few Norn words the final -t is still on, but most often it
is dropped. The vowel is presented as -i, rarely -e.
tungeflet/-it < tungufallit
darget (also darg) < darget
valne vatne < fallinn í vatnit
firsta fari! < fyrsta farit
sommere litla < summarit lítla
Røni fogra < hraunit fagra; de Berrarønis <
berghraunit; de Fellarønis < fellhraunit; Hjogarønis
< haugahraunit; Krogarøni < krák(u)hraunit;
Langa-/Longarøni < langa hraunit.
seppalama (*-lami) < søta lambit
sjønibøsni < sjónar-bysnit
A.2.1.2. Genitive
a) Masculine, neuter
The masculine (and neuter) ending in Old Norse was -ins.
Preserved in Norn.
Holsinswart < halsins varða [-i]
b) feminine
In Old Norse The feminine ending was -innar (strong) and
-unnar (weak). In Norn the final
-r is dropped, the double -nn- is shortened and the initial
vocal -i- or -u- reduced, so the outcome is -na:
Wonaswartadal < árinnar-svǫrtudalr
Murnategs < mýrarinnar-teigar; de Mørnabrods < mýrarinnar-brotar?
(or Celt. brod?; also treated as mýranna-brotar,
see A.2.2.2.) Nipnafell < gnípunnar-fell (also
treated as gnípna-fell, see A.2.2.2.)
A.2.1.3. Dative
a) The masculine ending in Old Norse was -inum (strong) or
-anum
(weak). Norn
has most often the ending -en or (respectively?) -an,
i.e. the same as in accusative (see though the account on the language
of Hildinakvadet where there still is a different ending).
gleggin, gleggan < glygginum, glygganum
ølt i riggen < ilt í hrygginum
Kletten rø < (á) klettinum [klettinn] rauða
b) Feminine
The Old Norse strong ending -inni appears as -in in the
only example we have found (see also an anological conclusion for the
language of Hildinakvadet). No traces of the weak ending -unni
have been discovered.
Møren < á/í mýrinni
No examples of dative definite in neuter (Old Norse -inu) are
found either.
A.2.1.4. Accusative sg. masc. weak (strong covered above) -ann
- Norn -an
agglovan < *agga-klofann, A.sg.def. of klofi
Tongan swarta < tangann svarta, tanginn svarti
Rivena-høgena-wi < rifan/rifuna-hauginn-við - a
separate form which shows an influence from the feminine ending -ena.
A.2.2. Plural.
A.2.2.1. Nominative
a) masculine, feminine
In Old Norse both genders had the endings -ar/-ir/-ur + -nir
(masc.)/-nar (fem.). In Norn all these variants have merged into
-erne (-ene) which must be a combination of nominative and
accusative forms and is very typical for many continental Scandinavian
dialects. A slightly different development is shown by donna <
dyrnar, where -rn- follows straight after the root vowel.
visterne, visterno < vistirnar
Kletterne < klettarnir
Vallernes < vellirnir
Hulna hwessa < hólarnir hvǫssu (or hólinn hvassa, see A.2.1.1.)
oba donna [dønna, dønni]! < opna dyrnar!
boochsina < buksurnar (?)
b) neuter
de Lediens (ledi) <
leitin
Nom.pl. of leiti
de Rønins < hraunin, hraun
Ennins <
ennin, enni
viln (vils) < vilin Nom. pl. of vil
de Gilins < gilin grœnu
There are few examples of the ending being -ena (-*eni, -*ini)
which is the same ending as exists in Faroese and Danish, unlike the
ending -in as in Old Norse:
Gilena grona (<
*gilini) < gilin grœnu, Far. *gilini
grønu
clovena < Nor. klov + in
The following word has formally no neuter plural article, but its
final part
(-in) does remind it, so that in Faroese and Danish it acquired the
final vowel -e/i by analogy from the article. However, this did
not happen to Norn:
sotskin < systkin,
but Far. systkini, Dan. søskende
A.2.2.2. Genitive plural has a common ending for all 3 genders:
-anna [-nanna]. In Norn it is normally preserved as -na,
rarely -ena.
Midla jouna [jongna, jungna] < milli gjánna
Hwinarigger < kvíanna-ryggr
Hulnarift < hólanna-ript
Rivnateng < rifna-tangi
de Mørnabrods < mýranna-brotar (or
mýrarinnar-brotar? see A.2.1.2.) Nipnafell <
gnípna-fell (or gnípunnar-fell? see A.2.1.2.)
Tegenavall (Tegnivaldjes) < teiganna-völlr
Husenvord (Husavord) < húsanna-varða
A.2.2.3. Dative
Unfortunately, no definite dative plural forms have been discovered.
A.2.2.4. Feminine and neuter names had identical forms for
nominative and accusative plural. Accusative masculine in Old Norse had
the ending -ana or -ina. In Norn these endings are merged
into -ena or -na.
L(j)øgena grøna <
lœkina grœnu,
Nom. lœknirnir
grœnu
Hulna hwessa < hólana hvǫssu, hólarnir hvǫssu
Tegena gronna [gronja] < teigana grinnu [grœnu?],
teigarnir grinnu
Blettena/blekna grøna < blettina grœnu, blettirnir
grœnu
Stakkena grona < stakkana grœnu, stakkarnir grœnu
Summary. Singular
(s. - strong, w. -weak, sw. - both strong and weak)
|
Masc |
Fem |
Neu |
N |
sw. en/in,
a |
sw. en/in |
s. i(t),
w. ? |
A |
s. en/in,
w. an |
sw. ena/na |
s. i(t),
w. ? |
D |
s. en,
w. an |
s. en,
w. ? |
? |
G |
s. ins,
w. ? |
s. na,
w. na? |
s. ins?,
w. ? |
Plural
|
Masc |
Fem |
Neu |
N |
erne |
erne, na |
in(i?) |
A |
(e)na |
erne, na |
in(i?) |
D |
? |
? |
? |
G |
(e)na |
(e)na |
(e)na |
B. ADJECTIVES
B.1. Strong adjectives
The repertoire of various grammatical forms presented by strong
adjectives is quite scarce. The following forms only have been
registered: Nom.sg.masc/fem/neu, Acc.sg.masc., Dat.sg.masc, Nom.pl.masc
(?), Gen.pl. and Dat.pl.
B.1.1. Singular nominative. Like with masculine names, adjectives
in Old Norse had the masculine nominative singular ending -r but
only few instances of this ending are found in the remnants of Norn:
naber [nabel] < knappr
uvolter [uvolt, uvilt] < óðvilltr (?)
The rest of adjective forms have this ending dropped and thus
coincide with the old feminine form.
modera handalos < maðr(inn) handalauss
Mukkel/Mikkel Rø < mikil Rauðey; Rø stur < Rauðey stór
Grøni < grœn ey;
Grøntu < grœn tó/þúfa
In feminine the ending -a [-e] is sometimes present. Most
likely it originates from the Accusative form (góða) or,
alternatively, the weak Nominative form (also góða).
Sanday Stour [stura] < Sandey stór(a)
De vare [vera] gue ti < þat var góð tíð (Nom), Acc. góða
tíð
B.1.2. Neuter ending in old Norse was -t. It is well
preserved in Norn.
smutt < smátt, Neu. smár
uvart < óvart, óvarr
utoitleg(t) < óþýðligt, óþýðiligr
Sometimes the neuter form includes additional inserts:
mjoget < mjótt, *mjó-ótt
In a separate case the final -(t)t is eliminated
altogether:
hwī ligǝrǝ hwī < hvítt liggr í hvítu
B.1.3. Singular accusative masc. In Old Norse the ending is
-an, in Norn it is preseved as -en
in those few examples where it still can be traced:
goden dag! < góðan dag!
B.1.4. Singular dative. Like with the dative plural of nouns, the
old ending
-um shows up as -en.
hwiden s(w)iglen swerten tro < (með) hvítum seglum, svǫrtum þræði
B.1.5. Plural nominative:
ungadrengar < contamination of Acc. unga drenga and Nom.
ungir drengar (?)
Otherwise it might be influenced by an alternative form
ungadrengen < unga drenginn or, more likely, be a reflex of a weak
form: ungu drengar (see B.2).
B.1.6. The only surviving Genitive plural form is gamla <
gamalla (assimilation of the standard Gen.pl. ending -ra,
which changes to -la after -l-):
Gott a taka gamla manna ro < gott at taka gamalla manna
ráð
B.1.7. Plural dative. Same as B.1.4.
hwiden s(w)iglen swerten tro < (með) hvítum seglum, svǫrtum þræði
B.2. Weak declension
B.2.1. In a number of cases adjectives are preserved in their old
weak form. All occurences of this type show the masculine ending -i:
dummi < Fær. dummi,dummur/dumbur, Nor.dumm
bolleti < bǫllótti, bǫllóttr
huketi < hókótti, hókóttr
kruketi < krókótti, krókóttr
mirki < myrki, myrkr
keremi < kæri minn, kærr
kluki < klóki, klókr
Some of these adjectives appear as substantivated nouns:
halti < halti, haltr
hardi < harði, harðr
rødi < rauði, rauðr
smjongni < (hinn) smeygni, smeyginn
B.2.2. Weak adjective with an indefinitive substantive (widespread
among toponymes). In the case of feminine nouns, it becomes difficult to
distinguish between the old strong Accusative singular form and the weak
nominative singular one, which had the same ending -a in Old
Norse (see B.1.1.).
longafloga < langa fluga
de Longegø < langa gýgr
Grønablett < grœna blett, grœni blettr;
Gronastakk/Gronistakk < grœna stakk, grœni stakkr, Grønitong/Gronateng <
grœna tanga, grœni tangi
Kwidamørr < hvíta mýrr; Hwidanes, Kwidanes < hvíta nes; Hwitiberg <
hvíta berg; Hwita-/Kwitastakk < hvíta stakk, hvíti stakkr
Brattikom < bratti kambr; Rongakom < ranga kamb, rangi kambr; Mukla Kom
< mikla kamb, mikli kambr; Litla Kom < litla kamb, litli kambr
de Longemi < lǫngumið
Ruøy stoura < Rauðey stóra
Øje gamla < iða gamla
de Gamlabuls/Gamlibøls < gǫmlu ból; Gamla hellek < gamla hella
Hjoganip < høga gnípa (?)
Tjongi longi, Longatonga < tangi(nn) langi, tanga langa
sota [soti] lamb! < sœta lamb!
In the original weak forms consonantal inserts occasionally occur:
groga < gráa, grár, cf. Anglo-Saxon græg
B.2.3. Weak adjective with a definitive substantive. Most of the
forms show the ending -a. The masculine Nominative ending -i
is rather rare (gambli, rundi), the plural and feminine indirect
ending -u is replaced with -a in most examples except
dimmodali < dimmu dali (see a similar development in genitive
feminine of substantives, A.1.1.2.2.).
sagde kolle gambli [kolla gambla] < sagði karlinn gamli
Stakken sjukka < stakkinn þjukka, Nom. stakkrinn þjukkr
seppalama < sœta lambit (?)
sjolin sjota < sálin sœta
ungadrengen < unga drenginn, Nom. ungi drengrinn
Gjona stura < gjáin stóra; Acc. gjána stóru
Blettena/blekna grøna < blettina grœnu; Dalin grøna < dalinn grœna,
dalrinn grœni; Fidna grøna < fitina grœnu, fitin grœna; Ljøgena grøna <
lœkina grœnu, lœkirnir grœnu; Mørena grøna < mýrina grœnu, mýrin grœna;
Stakkena grona < stakkana grœnu,stakkarnir grœnu; Tona grona < tóna
grœnu, tóin grœna; Gilena grona < gilin grœnu, Far. gilini grønu
Hellena kwida < helluna hvítu, hellan hvíta; Hulen kwida < hólinn hvíta,
hóllinn hvíti; Mørna kwida < mýrina hvítu, mýrrin hvíta
Gorsten stura < garðstaðinn stóra, garðstaðrinn stóri; Hulen stura <
hóllinn stóri;
Vadlin/Vallin stura < vaðilinn stóra, vaðillinn stóri;
Hessen gula < hestinn gula, hestrinn guli
Hulin rundi < hóllinn rundi
sommere litla < summarið litla;
L(j)øgena grøna < lœkina groenu, lœknirnir grœnu
dimmodali < dimmu dali(na)
B.2.4. Because of vocalic contraction in Norn a number of
adjectives ending in a vowel (or the original -ð-) does not allow
us to detect exactly whether it is an old strong or weak form:
Klettin rø < klettinn rauða, klettrinn rauði; (undir) klettinum rauða
Rø hedler < rauðr [rauði?] hellir (Fo)
Hellena gro < helluna grá(u), Nom. hellan grá(a)
B.3. Comparative and superlative
degree
B.3.1. Comparative degree. The
older endings -ri and
-ra are preserved, apart from the ending -er which must have
been borrowed from Scots, despite the Old Norse form
betr which also should have given the ending -er.
Øtra/Hemra Nip < ytri/*heimari gnípa
Sudra Kidn < syðri kinn
ettri < eptri,aptari
better < betr, L.Sc./Eng. better
Øver/Neder Sund < øfra/neðra sund
de øter/inner Kinnens < ytri/innri kinn
de hemer/framer Sedek < *heimara/fremra sæti or
*heimari/fremri seta
Adverbial paradigm:
hema - hemer - hemest < *heima - *heimari - *heimast
B.3.2. Superlative degree
Hostanup < hæsti gnúpr
i mirkastim hura < i myrkastum 'hour' ('in the darkest hour'); see
comments by J.Jakobsen on this form in his "Etymological Dictionary...",
p. CXVI.
C. PRONOUNS
C.1. Personal pronouns
1. sg.: Nom. ek < ek, Acc. mog < mig:
ek ska(l) skjera < ek skal skera
æve rigrive mog < (ek) efa(sk) (at þú) hrygghrífir mik
2. sg.: Nom.
du, Acc. dig,dok < þig, Gen. din < þín, Dat. djer.
Like in Old Norse, the nominative form can be used in the imperative
form of a verb, cf. ON halt þú > haltu:
Shetland Scots looks-to! < look + tu (< þú)
Shetland Scots haltu dog at djer < haltu
(þik) at þér (double recirpocal form)
3. sg.: Nom. hann, haņņa hanna daga < hann dagar
2.pl.: Nom. di < þit/þér?, dor < Fær. tygur; Gen.
dor(a) <
Goden dag til dor(a)! < góðan dag til yðvar
Shetland Scots kwar'r dor gaun? where are you going?
C.2. Possessive pronouns
1. sg.: mi,mit
lammit < lamb mitt
keremi < kæri minn
2. sg.: dit, det
C.3. Demonstrative pronouns
Shetland Norn der < þat er
it(t)a, jada < þetta, masc. þessi, Fær. neu. hetta
C.4. Indefinite and interrogative
pronouns
marg; neu. mart(a) < margr, margt
kwar, sing.neut. kwart < hvert (uppo kwart ura < uppá hvert eyra)
or kwat < hvat: kwat a ita? kwat e jada? < hvat er þetta?
D. NUMERALS
D.1. Cardinal numerals
de Emannasod < *eins-manns-sátr; de Twegemanso < *tveggja-manna-sátr
fire,føre < fjórir, Far. fýra '4'
trettin < þrettan '13'
fjomtena, fjumtan < fimmtán '15'
seks < sex; cf. sekserin,seksærin < sexæringr
tretti < þrjátíu '30'
D.2. Ordinal numerals
firsta fari! second anari! < fyrsta farið, annað! ('1st',
'2nd')
trid < þriði '3d'
(tiind < tíund 'tithe' in bot(is)tiind)
trettind < þrettándi '13th'
E. VERBS
E.1. Indicative
E.1.1. Present. The system of
endings in the present seem to be the same as in Faroese: 1.sg -e,
2,3.sg -er,-ar, pl. -a. In many instances the final -r
in 2,3.sg is dropped, most probably when the next word begins in a
consonant.
1. sg.
æve rigrive mog < (ek) efa(sk) (at þú) hrygghrífir mik
3. sg.
ligga, liger < liggr
siter < sitr
seve < sefr,søfr
leka < leikr
hanna daga < hann dagar
kaller < kallar
3.pl.
wakna < vakna
gonga, gonge, gongera < ganga
honge < hanga
Preterito-present verbs:
1,3 sg.
skal skal, skall, skar < skal
Shetland Scots
who æs it? < hver á þat?
2.sg.
sal du < skalt þú
1.pl.
skola < skulum
E.1.2. Past. In some cases the
respective infinitive form is also mentioned after the past form.
E.1.2.1. Strong verbs
gret, grot < grét, gráta
wann, winn < vann, vinna
strød/strøded, strø < streyði(?), streyja
lep/loped, lop < hljóp, hlaupa
gat, get < gat, geta
dret, dräit < dreit, dríta
strok < strauk, strjúka
skrē < skreið, skríða
kom < kom
E.1.2.2. Weak verbs. Once again, the endings are practically the
same as those of Faroese: -e in sg., -u [-e] in pl.
sagde kolle/a gambli/a < sagði karlinn gamli, segja
sokketu < sóktu/sóttu, sækja
vogede < vǫktu
rude < *róðu/reru, róa
E.2. Imperative
Preserving the
old imperative, Norn shows a tendency to add a vowel if the imperative
did originally not have it, cf. kome < kom, ria < ríð. Either it
is the result of a levelling influence from weak verbs or it is just the
infinitive used in the imperative meaning.
trivi < þríf í!
Halt < halt
tak < tak
kome < kom
gera so! < gera svá!
klapa < klappa
ria < ríð
ræn(na) < renn
A number of forms have preserved the old Old Norse imperative
particle -tu which originates from the personal pronoun 2.sg.
þú:
høredu < heyr þú, heyrðu
Shetland Scots looks-to! < look + tu (< þú)
Shetland Scots (or Norn?) haltu dog at djer
< haltu
(þik) at þér (double recirpocal form)
E.3. Subjunctive
twit se dee! < tvít sé þér!
welawirdi < vel verði þér, Fær. væl verði tær!
twiti var dee! < tvítt veri þér! twiti varg dee! < tvít verði þér! (?),
Fær. tví vorði [vorti] tær
I ver vi dee! < ek veri með þér! probably mixed with Eng. I wish
I were here (?)
E.4. Infinitive.
Infinitives of the verbs listed in Jakobsen's dictionary normally
have a zero ending according to the rules of English/Scots. However,
the Scandinavian infinitive ending -a
is still preserved in a few obscure forms apart from a number of forms
from the Norn texts.
ek ska(l) skjera < ek skal skera
skottamilliskrua < skotta milli skrúfa
tia,tiæ < þegja, Far. tiga
E.5. Present (active) participle
The original ending is preserved only in a few forms. In the most of
cases the Scots ending -in/en
is used instead.
driljandi < drillandi
gemsina < gemsanda, Gen.pl. of gemsandi
gløen < glóandi
E.6. Past (passive) participle
In some cases the respective infinitive form is also mentioned after the
participle.
E.6.1. Strong verbs
groten, grot < grátinn, gráta
sukken, sukk < sokkinn, sǫkkva
dritten, dräit < dritinn, dríta
teke < tekit
halden < haldinn
voksen < vaxinn
smjongni < hinn smeygni
fonn < fundinn, but:
hjogfinni < haugfundit?
nomin < numinn
boren < barinn
lopen [lupen], lopa < hlaupinn, hlaupa
upplopen < upphlaupinn
wantriven < *vanþrifinn or rather L.Sc. wanthrivin?
dene komene ljus [lusa] < dagar [dǫgun?] kominn í ljós
valne vatne (FO fadlin) < fallinn í vatnið
vanvordin, vanvurden < vanvorðinn
runnin < runninn
E.6.2. Weak verbs
Hulen brenda < hóllinn brenndi
lengdi < lengðir
teldar < taldar Fem.pl.
run, rin < hruninn, hrynja
uppadoga < uppidagaðr
vandet < vandaðr
supet < sópað
hoitted, -et < háttaðr
E.7. Middle voice
helsk < helsask (?)
pinnis < pínask (?)
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