Quote:
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Originally Posted by girlgun
i knew i should've quoted you.
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The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology (Wilson, 1988, ISBN
0-8242-0745-9) says: "~I~
pron. 1137
i; later
I (about 1250,
in
The Story of Genesis and Exodus); developed from the unstressed
form of Old English (about 725)
ic singular pronoun of the first
person (nominative case). Modern and Middle English
I developed
from earlier
i in the stressed position.
I came to be written
with a capital letter thereby making it a distinct word and avoiding
misreading handwritten manuscripts. In the northern and midland
dialects of England the capitalized form
I appeared about 1250.
In the south of England, where Old English
ic early shifted in
pronunciation to
ich (by palatalization), the form
I did not
become established until the 1700's (although it appears
sporadically before that time)."