Theme Thursday -- Sound -- What Language Is by John McWhorter

Hosted by Reading Between the Pages

Rules:

*A theme will be posted each week on Thursday
*Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading that features the theme
*Post it and don't forget to mention the author and title of the book
*Event is open for the whole week
*Link back to Reading Between the Pages

This week's theme is sound/music.  

 

Did you ever wonder why Ned is the nickname for Edward, Nellie for Ellen, and Nan for Ann?  After all, if someone's name is Maria and you come to be fond of her, your impulse is not to start calling her N'Maria -- and speakers of Old and Middle English were no sillier than we are.  In itself, even Ned for Ed seems a little goofy -- "Hey there, Ed, Eddie boy, good ol' . . . .Nnnnned!!!"  Why??? Today, if we have a friend named Aisha, the last thing we would start saying is "Ooh , here comes my . . . Nnnaisha!"  What was it with early Brits and n?  

 

The answer is a "mistake".  Just as in German, my is mein, in Old English, my was min [long i].  You would say, in modern parlance, mine book, mine cat.  And, you would often say, in affection, mine Ed, mine Ellen. As min changed to my, people started heaing the old n as the first sound in the names: mine Ed became my Ned.  The result was new versions of these names starting with n, used as nicknames -- i.e., names you use in affection, as people used to in saying mine Ed.

 

I'm thrilled to hear this explained, as I've often wondered about this exact thing.  I wonder if Sarah/Sallie has a similar explanation?