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Here's Michael Alexander's [ed., _Beowulf: A Glossed Text_] reply to my email query about The Yogh Prob. His comments are upper case: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Michael Alexander <snip> Date: 2008/12/3 Subject: Re: yogh alliteration in BEOWULF To: Judy Prince <[log in to unmask]> Dear Judy - if I may - Many thanks for your query. I offer comments below. I am not a real philologist, NB. Michael 2008/12/3 Judy Prince <[log in to unmask]> > Dear Professor Alexander, > Though I hadn't heard of you until last week when dear friend Dr. Robert > Hamilton recommended your Beowulf: A Glossed Text to our POETRYETC > listmembers, I will be bold and ask you to help us understand the odd fact > that in the Beowulf MS, yoghs that to us sound like a g and like a y are > alliterated. > > Following are POETRYETC listmembers attempts to understand or explain the > situation: > > 1) Robert [Robin] Hamilton: "In the Beowulf MS, yogh/g seems to represent > two different sounds [clearly distinct in Modern English and already > distinct at least as early as GGK which doesn't allow alliteration on these > sounds] . . . so I'm guessing that either, when the poem was composed, the > sounds were closer to each other than they were by the time it was written > down, or that they were so similar that alliteration was perfectly > acceptable, or both." SEE NEXT. > > 2) Christopher Walker who quotes Wrenn (1958): "The alliterating of [line > 1] shows that at an early date the front ['year'] and the back ['gear'] > positions of g still retained their original fricative or spirant quality; > for it is the spirantal quality which makes the alliteration. Pronounced in > the later classical Anglo-Saxon of AElfric's time, when the MS was copied, > there would be no true alliteration." I AM SURE WRENN IS RIGHT HERE. I > SUPPOSE IMPERFECT ALLITERATION THAT ONCE WORKED WOULD BE RETAINED AS > TRADITIONAL; THE SAME THING HAPPENED WITH RHYME WORDS, I THINK, IN LATER > VERSIFICATION. > > 3) Robin Hamilton: "If [Wrenn is] correct, it strongly calls into > question Kevin S. Kiernan's contention that the poem was composed at the > time the Beowulf MS as we have it was written down, about 1010 AD." I > AGREE, OF COURSE. I HAVE NEVER ACCEPTED KIERNAN'S IDEA. NOR DOES TOM > SHIPPEY. IT MUST BE MUCH OLDER. ESSENTIALLY THERE BY THE TIME OF ALFRED'S > DEATH, I WOULD SAY, AND PROBABLY EARLIER. KIERNAN DOES NOT ACCOUNT FOR THE > FACT THAT THE SCRIBE DID NOT UNDERSTAND ARCHAIC BITS OF WHAT HE COPIED. > > And there we've come to much hair-tearing. None of us is expert in this > field, though several of us studied OE years ago. SAVE YOUR GREY HAIRS! > > Would you please point out some sources that reconcile these issues? I > CAN'T. THERE ARE PLENTY OF SCHOLARS WHO COULD. > > <snip> MJA > > Thank you, > > Judy Prince > > >