hellog〜英語史ブログ / 2024-04-26

■ #5478. 中英語における職業を表わす by-name とともに現われる定冠詞や前置詞とその脱落 [article][preposition][onomastics][personal_name][name_project][methodology][eme][by-name][latin][french][evidence][translation][me_dialect][sobokunagimon][occupational_term]

　英語の姓には，原則として定冠詞 the の付くものがない．また，前置詞 of を含む名前もほとんどない．この点で，他のいくつかのヨーロッパ諸語とは異なった振る舞いを示す．
　しかし歴史を振り返ると，中英語期には，職業名などの一般名詞に由来する姓は一般名詞として用いられていた頃からの惰性で定冠詞が付く例も皆無ではなかったし，of などの前置詞付きの名前なども普通にあった．中英語期の姓は，しばしばフランス語の姓の慣用に従ったこともあり，それほど特別な振る舞いを示していたわけでもなかったのだ．
　ところが，中英語期の中盤から後半にかけて，地域差もあるようだが，この定冠詞や前置詞が姓から切り落とされるようになってきたという．Fransson (25) の説明を読んでみよう．

   Surnames of occupation and nicknames are usually preceded by the definite article, le (masc.) or la (fem.); the two forms are regularly kept apart in the earlier rolls, but in the 15th century they are often confused. Those names in this book that are preceded by the have all been taken from rolls translated into English, and the has been inserted by the editor instead of le or la. The case is that the hardly ever occurs in the manuscripts; cf the following instances, which show the custom in reality: Rose the regratere 1377 (Langland: Piers Plowman 226). Lucia ye Aukereswoman 1275 1.RH 413 (L. la Aukereswomman ib. 426).
   Sometimes de occurs instead of le; this is due to an error made either by the scribe or the editor. The case is that de has an extensive use in local surnames, e.g. Thom. de Selby. Other prepositions (in, atte, of etc.) are not so common, especially not in early rolls.
   The article, however, is often left out; this is rare in the 12th and 13th centuries, but becomes common in the middle of the 14th century. There is an obvious difference between different parts of England: in the South the article precedes the surname almost regularly during the present period, while in the North it is very often omitted. The final disappearance of le takes place in the latter half of the 14th century; in most counties one rarely finds it after c1375, but in some cases, e.g. in Lancashire, le occurs fairly often as late as c1400. De is often retained some 50 years longer than le: in York it disappears in the early 15th century, in Lancashire it sometimes occurs c1450, while in the South it is regularly dropped at the end of the 14th century.

　歴史的な過程は理解できたが，なぜ定冠詞や前置詞が切り落とされることになったのかには触れられていない．検討すべき素朴な疑問が1つ増えた．名前における前置詞については「#2366. なぜ英語人名の順序は「名＋姓」なのか」 ([2015-10-19-1]) で少しく触れたことがある．そちらも参照されたい．

　・ Fransson, G. Middle English Surnames of Occupation 1100--1350, with an Excursus on Toponymical Surnames. Lund Studies in English 3. Lund: Gleerup, 1935.

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