TABLE OF CONTENTS (THE FIGURES IN PARENTHESIS REFER TO THE PARAGRAPHS) CHAPTER I DOUBLE GENDER' 1. The Old French is an excellent example of a language with a wealth of forms, showing the influence of multiple causes and interrelations, and not yet reduced to uniformity by usage and authority. In the matter of gender this fact becomes at once apparent. The subject has been studied in a number of works, but in none has the material been arranged primarily to show the extent to which variation occurs in the Old French for one and the same word. 2. For such instances of common gender there is no lack of examples in the Latin, e. g. serpens, perdix, finis, dies, pulvis, etc. The distinction of gender was sometimes a differentiation between the classic and the popular speech (cf. Jörss, p. 9). In the Old French a great number of causes combine to increase this class. Latin forms originally different might in the course of natural development coincide, e. g., cingulu and cingula > çaingle (m. and f.). The feminine form of a word led to a change in its gender, e. g., papa (m.) > pape (m. and f.). The logical reference of a word to persons of both sexes influenced it, e. g., mestre (m. and f.). A change in meaning brought about a change in gender; thus espie (f.), originally abstract, "spying ", when applied to persons assumed common gender; cf. prison (f.), the place, and prison (m.), the person. Of the same class, but differently explained, are brebis and jument. Some words that come in popularly are Double gender will be seen to contribute strongly to case breakdown and is therefore taken up in this opening chapter. of different gender from the same words when brought in under learned influence; thus, li paors, Gregoire, p. 263/22; paor, ibid., p. 252/19-20; cel meisme blanchor, ibid., p. 209/17-18. Cf. also the examples of cremor given infra, 12. An ending found in words of different genders causes a variation; e. g., the parisyllabic in -is; axis (m.) appears in French as ais (m. and f.). A confusion of more or less similar suffixes leads to a mixed gender; e. g.,-ione (f.) and -one (m.) are confused in achoison, soupeçon, and possibly in communion (cf. Wahlund, Brendan, p. LI, note 1), all found with common gender; -ate (f.) and -atu (m.), in parenté (m. and f.); -aticu (m.) and -agine (f.), in image (m. and f.). The meaning of a word causes it to vary by analogy to other words of its class; so diemanche, originally feminine, assumed masculine gender under the influence of the other days of the week. Words of different meaning and gender become confused; e. g., French salut (f.) < salute, and salut (m.), a verbal substantive or possibly a derivative of *salutum, are not distinguished, and salut occurs in the Old French as a word of common gender, without differentiation of meaning (cf. Wahlund, Brendan, LIII, note 4). Rhyme words and words found closely connected with each other cause a change, e. g., foudre (m. and f.) under the influence of poudre ; possibly dent (m. and f.) by analogy to gens (but cf. Behrens, Beiträge, pp. 398-99). In the case of la mer, by analogy to la terre, the change apparently was complete. The original meaning of a word may give rise to a neutral idea which exists by its side. So rien (f.) is found as a pronoun as early as Chrétien (cf. Foerster, Wörterbuch, s. v. rien). English influence could lead to an ignorance or laxness in the matter of gender. Cf. li flur, Brandan, 96. Confusion is promoted by the similarities in the form of the definite article in the two genders. This is true. in the case of words with initial vowel; in such words as are used primarily in the plural, where the forms are identical in the objective; and in dialects where li is used for both mas1. For the influence of compounds, cf. Armbruster, pp. 120 ff. culine and feminine, and la > le (cf. Wahlund, Brendan, p. L, for influence of the initial vowel). 3. Of a somewhat different nature from the types just cited are those cases where there is competition between two or more words denoting the same thing and similar in form, except that one has a masculine termination and gender, the other a feminine. The explanation may lie in an original of double form, cf. sestier-sestière (vid. BEC., 29, pp. 369-70; also infra, 23); or, as in the greater number of cases, in the fact that one word is a verbal substantive while the other is the regularly derived noun. The following doublets are found in Foerster's Wörterbuch, and will show how frequent were such parallel forms: ansaing-ansaigne; besoing-besoigne'; ceintur-ceinture; cervel-cervele; creant-creante; crincrigne; deffans-deffanse; delai-delaie; despans-despanse ; devin-devine; doi-doie; frestel-frestele; ling-ligne ; panspanse ; pansé-pansee; pré-prée; talant-talante; on page 217*, note 1, are mentioned also murmur-murmure; tormenttormente; joi-joie2. 4. In addition to the influences already noted, there is a very important one: namely, that of the neuter plurals, which came into the French as feminines, often in the rôle of singulars due to their collective force. As a consequence, there exist side by side masculine forms from the singular and feminine forms from the plural, e. g., mérite (m. and f.). In Bernhard are found in the same work both forms: les dones, pp. 133, 212; li don, pp. 120, 210. The following sentence shows well the difference in gender according to number: Lo queil signe seuirent auoc altres signes. Gregoire, p. 230/10 (Quod signum etiam alia signa sunt comitata. Note that auoc is here an adverb, as elsewhere in this text). Other cases of feminine forms are totes mes osses, Bernh., p. 166; lur mortes osses, Gregoire, p. 155/4-5; flechies les genoilhes, ibid., 1. Here there is usually a slight difference of meaning. 2. For those words of this list which owe the second form to a neuter plural origin, cf. the following paragraph. |