Britain Quote by Larry Trask
“In the ninth and tenth centuries the Vikings invaded Britain from Scandinavia and settled in large numbers. Their language, which we call Old Norse, was at least partly comprehensible to the English, who did not hesitate to take over hundreds of words from it: skirt, window, scrub, sky, give, hit, kick, scatter, scrape, skill, scowl, score, fellow, want, skin, knife, law, happy, ugly, wrong and even the pronouns they and them.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The History of English Language, 1994
Vikings introduced many Old Norse words to English, showing how languages borrow and evolve through contact.
In simple terms: Vikings contributed many everyday words to English.
Key Takeaway
Appreciate linguistic borrowing.
Themes
language
history
contact
lexicon
Mood
educational
curious
Type
linguistic
historical
When to use this quote
- learning languages
- teaching English
- historical research
- word origin studies
Key Concepts
etymology
cultural exchange
Questions to Reflect On
- Which borrowed words do you use daily?
- How does language reflect cultural contact?
A Different Perspective
Borrowing can be resisted, limiting linguistic growth.
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