
Episode 55: To Be or Not To Be
The History of English Podcast
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The Old Norse Verb Ending
Many modern ling think that it actually came from the vikings. The location and timing suggest a viking origin. This ending appeared in the north of england around the nine hundreds, so this is when most of the other norse influences came in. One theory is that linguistic confusion caused the anglo saxons to shift the sound at the end from an are sound to an s sound. And shakespeare had no problem using both endings together.
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