Additional

Быкова О.И. и др. История германских языков и письменности.- Воронеж: ВГУ, 1982.

Стеблин-Каменский М.И. История скандинавских языков. М.-Л.:АН СССР, 1953.- С.9-41.

Elliott R. Runes: An Introduction.- Manchester, 1959.

Howard M. The runes and other magical alphabets.-L.: The Aquarian Press, 1981.

Moltke E. Runes and their origin: Denmark and elsewhere.- Copenhagen, 1985.

Sources: "On the Origins of the Latin Alphabet: Modern Views, by Arthur E. Gordon. California Studies in Classical Antiquity, Vol. 2, (1969), pp. 157-170.

Components of OLD Germanic Vocabulary

and the ways of its development

1. Etymological layers of Old Germanic vocabulary

The vocabulary of Old Germanic languages consisted of two principal groups differentiated according to their origin: native words and borrowings (loan words).

1.1. Native words

Native Germanic lexicon was constituted by three etymological layers dating back to different chronological periods – Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Germanic and the epoch after splitting languages.

The first and the most ancient etymological layer of all Germanic languages is Common Indo-European. Here belong the words which were inherited and preserved from Proto-Indo-European.

Among words of Indo-European origin there are the following English ones which fall into several semantic groups:

- terms of kinship - words denoting members of the family and closest relations (father, mother, brother, son, grandfather, grandmother, daughter);

- names of parts of human body (eye, ear, foot, heart, nose; nail);

- names of plants and animals (tree, birch, beech; cat, wolf, goose);

- words denoting periods of time (night, year, day);

- word denoting basic qualities (young, cold, long, old)

- colour names (red, white, yellow, black);

- words denoting nature phenomena (sun, moon, snow, star, water, hill, stone);

- basic numerals: (one, two, three, six, ten);

- verbs denoting basic activities (do, eat, sleep, beat, sit, love)

- some pronouns (I, my, mine).

Words of Indo-European origin have cognates in other languages of Indo-European family which are the witnesses of common origin. Cognates are words related to each other by common descent and having derived from a common source. One can come across cognate words in related languages. For example, Engl. sun (OE sunne) has cognates in other Indo-European languages: OS, OHG, ON sunna; Du. zon, G. Sonne, Goth. sunnō, Homeric Gr. eélios, Attic hḗlios, L. sōl, Russ. солнце, Ukr. сонце, Avestan xueng, cf. IE *saewel- ‘to shine, sun’.

The second etymological layer in the lexicons of all Germanic languages is Common Germanic word-stock which follows Common Indo-European layer according to the chronology of its development. Its formation dates back to Proto-Germanic period which was common to Germanic-speaking community. Thus, the words of this lexical layer have cognates within Germanic group of languages, but have no parallels outside it.

Common Germanic words fall into the following semantic groups:

- names of plants and animals (fox, sheep, crow);

- words denoting periods of time (summer, winter, time, tide, month, week);

- words denoting artefacts (house, bridge, room, hat);

- words denoting nature phenomena (storm, ice, rain);

- verbs denoting basic activities (make, look, like).

All of them have cognates in other Germanic languages. As illustrations of Common Germanic cognates the following examples may serve: Engl. winter (O.E. winter) from P.Gmc. *wentruz (cf. O.Fris., Du. winter, O.S., O.H.G. wintar, Ger. Winter, Dan., Swed. vinter, Goth. wintrus, O.N. vetr).

The third etymological constituent of the native Germanic word-stock is the group of English (German, etc.) words proper. Its formation starts after the splitting of the unity of Proto-Germanic language comprising different Germanic tribal dialects that took place at the end of the Late Proto-Germanic period. The development of this lexical layer is the result of divergent change of Germanic languages after their splitting into groups of tribal dialects that served as the bases for the formation of separate Germanic languages. It is the etymological layer of words each Germanic language formed on its own.

To this part of Germanic word-stock such English words belong: bird (O.E. bridd, originally "young bird"), call (O.E. ceallian). Most of these words are the products of ancient word-forming processes. To such words belong both morphologically simple words, simplified in the course of numerous phonetic processes, e.g.: lord (cf. O.E. hlaford "master of a household, ruler, superior," earlier hlafweard, lit. "one who guards the loaves," from hlaf "bread, loaf" + weard "keeper, guardian, ward").

They have no cognates either within Germanic group of languages or outside it.