Publications by Annina Seiler
Seiler, Annina. 2014. The Scripting of the Germanic Languages: A Comparative Study of "Spelling Difficulties" in Old English, Old High German and Old Saxon. Zürich: Chronos., 2014
The early medieval Germanic languages started to be written down in the Roman alphabet when their... more The early medieval Germanic languages started to be written down in the Roman alphabet when their speakers converted to Christianity and adopted parts of Late Antique culture. The alphabet was not only a new medium of transmission; its introduction also resulted in a new literate mentality and performance. For the West Germanic dialects spoken in England and on the Continent, this process took place from the late 7th to the early 9th century.
The scripting of these languages included the transfer and adaptation of the alphabet to the vernacular languages. Some of the specifically Germanic sounds caused spelling problems since there were no characters available for them in the Roman alphabet. This was the case, for example, for the ancestors of the sounds represented by 〈ch〉 in Modern German, or by 〈th〉 and 〈w〉 in Modern English. The present volume investigates the spellings employed for such sounds in the earliest written attestations of Old English, Old High German, and Old Saxon. Hence it looks into the solutions to the spelling difficulties that the scribes created. The analysed data reveal surprisingly sophisticated spellings, demonstrating both a high degree of phonological awareness as well as an intimate knowledge of Latin orthography on the part of the writers. The study demonstrates that these early writing systems, though highly idiosyncratic, are more regular than has hitherto been known: The first writers of German and English follow the orthographic rules that they set up for themselves with unexpected consistency.
Seiler, Annina. [forthcoming]. 'Factual and Fictional Inscriptions: Literacy and the Visual Imagination in Anglo-Saxon England'. Anglo-Saxon England and the Visual Imagination, ed. by J.D. Niles, S.S. Klein & J. Wilcox: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.
Based on an analysis of literacy in Anglo-Saxon England and the functions of writing in general, ... more Based on an analysis of literacy in Anglo-Saxon England and the functions of writing in general, Seiler argues in this paper that for the reading of inscriptions in Anglo-Saxon, it was not only necessary to provide an oralized account of an epigraphic text, but to apply visual imagination as well. Writing in inscriptions does not only serve the representation of language; it also has a strong visual appeal which draws the attention of the viewer to the secondary functions of language. As a result, those functions are also important for the reading process. Three fictional examples from Beowulf, Solomon and Saturn and Elene are used to illustrate such a reading process. The paper postulates that it is not too far-fetched to assume that the way in which inscriptions are presented in those texts was paralleled by ordinary Anglo-Saxons’ readings of actual inscriptions and that this transgresses our modern expectations about reading, which focus on the representation of language, or rather, on a vocalization of any given text.
Seiler, Annina. 2013. 'Die Urkunden Des Schreibers Waldo: Eine Graphematische Analyse'. Sprachwissenschaft 38.123-46., 2013
Alphabetic writing systems show a general tendency to develop from typologically “shallow” to mor... more Alphabetic writing systems show a general tendency to develop from typologically “shallow” to more “deep” orthographies. This tenet, however, is not universally valid: Based on a graphemic analysis of the vernacular elements (mainly personal names) of the charters and charter drafts written by scribe Waldo at St Gallen during the 2nd half of the 8th century, Seiler shows that there are instances in the earliest period of Old High German writing where the development goes in the opposite direction. Waldo often employs the phonologically ambiguous monographs 〈g〉 and 〈h〉 in the charter drafts, but introduces the digraphs 〈gh〉 and 〈hc~ch〉 for the same forms in the charter and thus achieves a more phonographic spelling.
Seiler, Annina. 2012. 'The Function of the Sword-Hilt Inscription in Beowulf'. Words, Words, Words: Philology and Beyond. Festschrift for Andreas Fischer on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday, ed. by S. Chevalier & T. Honegger, 181-97. Tübingen: Narr Francke Attempto., 2012
The article presents an analysis of an inscription on the sword hilt described in Beowulf 1687–98... more The article presents an analysis of an inscription on the sword hilt described in Beowulf 1687–98a. This inscription represents the only reference to writing in the entire poem and has consequently received much scholarly attention. In this paper, Seiler claims that the sword-hilt inscription should be examined as a piece of writing used in a situation of “vocality”, a term that characterizes a society which makes use of writing as a whole, but where access to literacy is mediated only by a small minority of experts. In this view, Hrothgar can be identified as the reader of the inscription. A comparison with two other runic texts serves to highlight the function of the sword-hilt inscription: unlike the rune-stick occurring in a parallel part of Grettis saga, the Beowulf inscription is not a fully functioning means of communication. Rather it serves as a support for Beowulf’s oral account of his adventure and, like the South Germanic inscription on the Pforzen buckle, it establishes a connection to a legendary past, which serves as a kind of prophecy fulfilled by the present.
Seiler, Annina. 2011. 'Litteras Superfluas - Zum Gebrauch 'Überflüssiger' Buchstaben Im Althochdeutschen, Altsächsischen Und Altenglischen'. Lautschriftsprache. Beiträge Zur Vergleichenden Historischen Graphematik, ed. by E. Glaser, A. Seiler & M. Waldispühl, 167-83. Zürich: Chronos., 2011
Teaching Writing, Learning to Write: Proceedings of the Xvith Colloquium of the Comité International De Paléographie Latine, ed. by P.R. Robinson, 91-101. London: King's College London, Centre for Late Antique & Medieval Studies., 2010
Die angelsächsischen Münzen sind ein Glücksfall für die Philologie: Sie überliefern eine grosse Z... more Die angelsächsischen Münzen sind ein Glücksfall für die Philologie: Sie überliefern eine grosse Zahl von Personennamen vom 7. Jh. bis zur normannischen Eroberung und umfassen nicht nur Namen von Königen oder Bischöfen sondern auch von Münzern, die nichts mit dem klösterlichen Umfeld zu tun haben, das uns in der handschriftlichen Überlieferung begegnet. Ausserdem werden auf den angelsächsischen Münzen zwei Schriftsysteme verwendet: Wir finden einerseits runstafas, also Runenstäbe und anderseits litterae, lateinische Buchstaben. Dass beide Schriftsysteme in diesem Kontext verwendet wurden, ist aufschlussreich für Fragen zur Schriftlichkeit im angelsächsischen England: Wir können in den Personennamen der Münzen Phänomene beobachten, die in der handschriftlichen Überlieferung nicht fassbar sind. Eines davon ist die Übernahme der Runstafas wyn und thorn ins altenglische Alphabet, der ich in diesem Vortrag nachgehen will.
Anglia-Zeitschrift für englische Philologie, Jan 1, 2009
Seiler, Annina. 2008. 'The Scripting of Old English. An Analysis of Anglo-Saxon Spellings for W and Þ'. Sprachwissenschaft 33.139-72., 2008
The Anglo-Saxons, like the other Germanic peoples, adopted Latin literacy with their conversion t... more The Anglo-Saxons, like the other Germanic peoples, adopted Latin literacy with their conversion to Christianity. When they started to write their vernacular language they used the Latin alphabet rather then the indigenous runic script for the scripting of Old English. This caused some problems because the Latin alphabet lacked symbols for the specifically Old English sounds. An analysis of the spelling variants for w and þ in some of the earliest Old English sources shows that at first the scribes just used the Roman letter representing the sound which was most like the Old English one in question. Later on, they improved the spelling by the use of digraphs like 〈uu〉 and 〈th〉 or the help of diacritics (e. g. the dash of 〈ð〉 ʽethʼ). Only towards the end of the 8th century are the runic symbols 〈ƿ〉 ʽwynʼ and 〈þ〉 ʽthornʼ included into the Anglo-Saxon alphabet.
Papers by Annina Seiler
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Sep 29, 2023
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Sep 29, 2023
The Medieval translator, 2023
The Chaucer Review
Some of the bawdy details of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales continue to pose challenges to translator... more Some of the bawdy details of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales continue to pose challenges to translators, who must find renderings that are both descriptively and stylistically adequate. The Miller’s Tale provides an illustrative case study, in which the drunken narrator describes Nicholas’s rather physical wooing of the carpenter’s wife Alisoun in graphic detail. Existing translations of the key term queynte range from the flowery euphemism to the straightforward vulgarism. An appropriate translation into present-day English needs to be based not only on sound philological analysis, but also on a careful evaluation of the register of the original Middle English expression. This article offers a corpus-based assessment of relevant candidate expressions in order to propose a translation that captures the appropriate level of (im)politeness, both of the narrator towards his fellow pilgrims and of Chaucer towards his readers.
Katalogbeitrage zur Ausstellung 'Geheimnisse auf Pergament' in der Stiftsbibliothek St. G... more Katalogbeitrage zur Ausstellung 'Geheimnisse auf Pergament' in der Stiftsbibliothek St. Gallen
The Languages of Early Medieval Charters, 2020
This chapter focuses on the graphemic representation of names in early single-sheet charters from... more This chapter focuses on the graphemic representation of names in early single-sheet charters from Anglo-Saxon England and from the abbey of St Gall. Personal and place-names in Latin charters are among the earliest written evidence for Old English and Old High German. Given their ambiguous lexico-semantic status, scribes could choose whether to treat names as vernacular items or as part of the Latin (con)text. This is reflected in the spellings which they use for the representation of specifically Germanic sounds as well as in their choice of inflectional endings. An analysis of the distribution of these features shows that there is a strong correlation between spellings/endings and different sections of the charters: Latinized spellings and case endings dominate in the dispositive section of charters, whereas more vernacular forms are used in the witness list and, for the St Gall charters, in the charter drafts. A second factor that influences the written representation of names is the social status of the people involved: the names of important people, such as kings, counts or bishops, are more often Latinized than those of more ordinary witnesses. Moreover, the type of name also plays a role as place-names generally display a higher degree of vernacular features than personal names. Thus, the graphemic variation attested in these charters turns out to be highly functional and is indicative of different communicative purposes attached to separate sections of the charters
Germanistische Bibliothek, 2019
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Publications by Annina Seiler
The scripting of these languages included the transfer and adaptation of the alphabet to the vernacular languages. Some of the specifically Germanic sounds caused spelling problems since there were no characters available for them in the Roman alphabet. This was the case, for example, for the ancestors of the sounds represented by 〈ch〉 in Modern German, or by 〈th〉 and 〈w〉 in Modern English. The present volume investigates the spellings employed for such sounds in the earliest written attestations of Old English, Old High German, and Old Saxon. Hence it looks into the solutions to the spelling difficulties that the scribes created. The analysed data reveal surprisingly sophisticated spellings, demonstrating both a high degree of phonological awareness as well as an intimate knowledge of Latin orthography on the part of the writers. The study demonstrates that these early writing systems, though highly idiosyncratic, are more regular than has hitherto been known: The first writers of German and English follow the orthographic rules that they set up for themselves with unexpected consistency.
Papers by Annina Seiler
The scripting of these languages included the transfer and adaptation of the alphabet to the vernacular languages. Some of the specifically Germanic sounds caused spelling problems since there were no characters available for them in the Roman alphabet. This was the case, for example, for the ancestors of the sounds represented by 〈ch〉 in Modern German, or by 〈th〉 and 〈w〉 in Modern English. The present volume investigates the spellings employed for such sounds in the earliest written attestations of Old English, Old High German, and Old Saxon. Hence it looks into the solutions to the spelling difficulties that the scribes created. The analysed data reveal surprisingly sophisticated spellings, demonstrating both a high degree of phonological awareness as well as an intimate knowledge of Latin orthography on the part of the writers. The study demonstrates that these early writing systems, though highly idiosyncratic, are more regular than has hitherto been known: The first writers of German and English follow the orthographic rules that they set up for themselves with unexpected consistency.
The text guides the student on a walk throughout Paris, visiting numerous shops and other locations as a pretext for providing a range of everyday vocabulary to the learner. Each section is further complemented by a commentary, providing additional grammatical information as well as translations of key terms into French. One thirteenth century copy, Brugge, Hoofdbibliotheek Biekorf (Stadsbibliotheek), 536, eliminates the commentary in favour of a different strategy.This manuscript offers a text with all commentary excised, in favour of providing extensive interlinear glosses in both Middle English and French.
This manuscript, produced for an English audience, provides a unique snapshot of both medieval language learning and language contact. The present paper examines the use of interlinear glossing as a teaching tool as well as the relationship between the two vernaculars during the thirteenth century. It compares the interlinear glossing with the commentary present in other witnesses and considers how the glosses might be used by teachers and language learners. It also provides an analysis of the hands involved in the French and Middle English glosses, considering which words are glossed, which languages are used to gloss and when these glosses are added, as more than one glossator has been identified. By focusing on sections on anatomy, shoes and botany, it will explore how the text was used to teach language, and how different vernaculars were used in varying semantic fields.
Current work in medieval multilingualism in England explores the relationship between the vernaculars and the effects of language contact on the development of the lexis of Middle English and Anglo-French. Of particular interest then in this manuscript are the stacked,
bilingual glosses, creating Latin –Old French –Middle English triads, allowing a close study of lexical choice across the vernaculars in specific semantic fields.