43
2.2 Hwæt as an InterjectionInterestingly, Ælfric, in his grammar of Old English, discusses interjec-
tions – terming them betwextalegednys ‘lying in between’ – but does not
include hwæt among the forms (see Sauer 2006 , 2009 : 169– 173). Stanley
observes that “Ælfric’s omission is surprising seeing that this word when used
to open a sentence appears to function often as an interjection; at least, it is
regarded as such by all Anglo- Saxonists” (2000: 541). Sauer notes, however,
that “[o] f the more frequent [interjections], noticeably hwæt is absent, but this
may be due to the fact that hwæt is a discourse marker and does not primarily
express emotion” (2009: 163).
The fi rst to discuss exclamatory hwæt is probably Jacob Grimm in his
Germanic grammar (1898[1837]: 528– 531). Grimm notes that hwæt can occur
sentence initially before pronouns and nouns and does not entail inverted
(interrogative) word order. Grimm concludes as follows:^3
Dies hvät muß in der ags. sprache vollkommen eingeübt gewesen sein, da es so leicht,
und mit unmerklicher bedeutung hinzutritt. immer aber steht es vornen im satz, oft als
das erste wort einer begonnene rede ..., je es hebt ganze gedicht an ... da β keine grage
darin ruf, jedoch in sehr gemäßigtem sinn. (Grimm 1898[1837]: 530)
This hwæt must have been completely customary to the Anglo- Saxon language, since
it was added so easily and with imperceptible signifi cation. But it always stands at the
head of the sentence, often as the fi rst word beginning a speech...; indeed, it inaugurates
whole poems ... I have stated already that no question is involved; it seems to be just an
exclamation, yet in a very restrained sense. (Translation by Stanley 2000 : 530)
In his study of Alfredian prose, Wülfi ng ( 1901 : 688– 692) provides an
extensive discussion of hwæt as an interjection, noting its uses in begin-
ning new sections, introducing direct speech, and prefacing addresses in
the middle of longer speeches.^4 He understands its function as a simple
emphatic (688). Mitchell ( 1985 , I: 528) includes hwæt among the inventory
of OE interjections, glossing it as ‘ah! lo!’, while Cassidy ( 1996 : 45) says
that hwæt serves as “a signal that he [the scop] was about to begin, a call
to attention, a mood- setting note of seriousness that we can only imag-
ine.” In a detailed, philological examination of exclamatory hwæt , Stanley
cites examples from both prose and verse, emphasizing that hwæt is always
unstressed in verse (550– 553). He notes the diffi culties of assessing the
meaning of OE interjections and of distinguishing exclamatory and inter-
rogative hwæt , seeing its meaning as something like ‘Well, what now?’
(545) or “so” (554).
3 While Grimm fi nds no evidence of this usage in Old High German or Gothic, Hopper ( 1977 )
argues that Old High German wat (cognate with OE hwæt and Old Saxon huat ), a “quasi-
formulaic construction,” occurs in the transition from third- person narration to a fi rst- / second-
person frame of reference (484). He suggest that wat “may introduce direct speech or focus the
attention of the hearer on the words of a fi rst- person instigator” (484).
4 Stanley ( 2000 : 541f.) is critical of some of the syntactic contexts Wülfi ng identifi es for hwæt.