MORPHOLOGY IN GERMANIC LANGUAGES: THE ADJECTIVE, THE PRONOUN, THE NUMERAL, AND THE VERB IN OLD ENGLISH
Keywords:
Old English, Germanic languages, morphology, grammatical gender, inflection, strong and weak paradigms, adjectives, pronouns, numerals, verbs, case system, historical development, linguistic change, diachrony, verb classes, linguistic evolution.Abstract
This article analyzes the morphological structure of Old English within the broader system of Germanic languages, focusing on adjectives, pronouns, numerals, and verbs as essential grammatical categories. Old English preserved a highly synthetic and inflectional structure, characterized by rich case distinctions, gender agreement, strong and weak inflectional patterns, and complex verbal paradigms. By examining the forms and historical development of these word classes, the study demonstrates how Old English morphology reflects earlier Germanic principles and how these features evolved into the simplified, analytic forms found in modern English. Special attention is given to the role of inflection, the organization of the case system, the interplay between strong and weak paradigms, and the gradual shift from synthetic morphology to analytic constructions.
