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  1. #21
    Geoffers
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carmy
    No, I'm not saying that C didn't exist in Old English, just that it didn't exist in Anglo-Saxon English, which was in place when the Normans arrived.
    NO! It did exist.

    The language I refer to as Old English used to be referred to as Anglo-Saxon. It was the language used in England pre-invasion.

    C used before a, o, u and y was pronounced as the modern K

    C used before e and i was pronounced as the modern 'ch', though it was softened depending on its position within a word.

  2. #22
    Carmy
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    Ah, so Old English is Anglo-Saxon? Yet another foul up of Internet information.

    So how much did it change when it became Middle English?

    BTW, I'm finding Shropshire links that tie in to Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire, where my family is. Not necessarily my family, still checking them through.

  3. #23
    Geoffers
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carmy
    Ah, so Old English is Anglo-Saxon? Yet another foul up of Internet information.

    So how much did it change when it became Middle English?
    There were substantial changes over time with the absorbing of norman-french words into English language - and changes in letters used, e.g. the introdution of q and increased use of k (My Old English dictionaries include a few words beginning with k, but I have never seen one in an original document that I have translated).

    If you can find a copy, Straatman's Middle English Dictionary is an excellent source. Originally published in 1891, it has been republished by the OUP in 1995. It remains a source of constant reference for me.

  4. #24
    Carmy
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    Thanks, Geoffers.

    A little while ago I was skipping through an e-book translated from French which recorded the happenings in a Shropshire family involving the name Faulk, although he wasn't the subject of the book. In it, there were several references to names of places and things starting with Q and sometimes Qy. It seemed so strange to my ears because I'm used to Q being followed by U.

  5. #25
    Carmy
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    While responding to my fellow researcher this morning, a thought suddenly struck me -- and why it didn't earlier I'll never know. Must be the old age thing kicking in.

    Even in modern-day Wales, we often use the name of a person's house or where they live as a surname. For example, although she was the only Sylvia for 50 miles around, my friend was always called Sylvia Penbanc although her surname was Jones.

    That seems to make it easier to see how house or place names could have become adopted as surnames in the old days.

    I'm sure this happens everywhere, not just in Wales. Unfortunately, when streets were built, some were called by their house number --Davy 26 -- for example. (I hope there was never a No. 69.) I suppose we have a lot to be thankful for.

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