Pronoun inflection in the North Sea Germanic languages: The dative-accusative levelling in the first and second person singular

Abstract

North Sea Germanic languages were closely related in the Middle Ages, sharing many phonological, morphological and lexical features. A conspicuous grammatical parallel among these languages is found in the system of personal pronouns. In general Old Saxon makes no distinction between dative and accusative forms of the first and second person singular. However, accusative forms are occasionally found especially in manuscript C of the Heliand. This paper presents a general overview of the dative – accusative levelling in the first and second person singular and reassesses evidence taken from early texts written in the various North Sea Germanic languages.
Considered as a “mixed language” by historical linguists, Old Saxon in particular combines pronominal features as found in both North Sea Germanic and Continental West Germanic. Especially from a morphological point of view, it shares many features with Old High German and Old Low Franconian, thereby reflecting the intermediate position it occupies among West Germanic
languages and offering a useful perspective for evaluating both Old English and Old Frisian.