2.-ledstryk og andre sprogformer i Kortvending

Resumé

A new and brilliant diplomatic edition of »Kortt wendingh« appeared in 2013, following MS AM 808, 4°. The editor was †Leif Stedstrup. The edition contains a so-called »school comedy« written by Hans Christensen Sthen in c. 1570. Sthen was born in 1544 and grew up in Roskilde. His hymns, some of which are still sung, are well known, but his language is not particularly well researched. I have tried to extract all of the interesting pronunciations and a few of the grammatical features that occur in »Kortt wendingh«. It has not proven to be an easy task because Danish orthography in the sixteenth century was somewhat complex and can be difficult for us to evaluate today. But as all alphabetical writing encapsulates the pronunciation of its time, I think that such a linguistic investigation can be undertaken and provide information about late sixteenth-century Danish pronunciation on Sjælland. (Incidentally, »Kortt wendingh« is both the name of the main character (cf. the English name Curt) and a phrase in Danish meaning a ‘sharp vicissitude’ (concerning one’s fate), which is, indeed, the topic of the play).