History of the English Language
History of the English language
History of the English language
Set of flashcards Details
| Flashcards | 71 |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Category | English |
| Level | University |
| Created / Updated | 05.02.2015 / 23.07.2020 |
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When was the period of Old English?
From 450-1150
When was the period of Middle English?
From 1150-1500
When was the period of Early Modern English?
From 1500-1700
When was the period of Late Modern English?
From 1700-1900
When was the period of Present-Day English?
From 1900- today
What does the internal history of periods mean?
Common features at the levels of vocabulary, phonology, morphology and syntax
What does the external history of periods refer to?
To political and cultural events that had an influence on the development of language
The internal history of old English
--> Fully inflected
--> relatively free word order
--> germanic vocabulary
The external history of Old English
- 449: Britain invaded by Germanic tribes
-597: Augustine stared christianisation
- approx. 725: Oral composition of Beowulf
Internal history of Middle English
- reduced inflections
- increasingly fixed word order
- French and Latin official language
- French influence on English vocabulary
External history of Middle English
1066: Norman Conquest
1340-1400: Geoffrey Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales
Internal history of Early Modern English
- levelled inflections
- fixed word order
- Latin & Greek influence on vocabulary
- increasing standardisation
External history of Early Modern English
- 1476: Caxton set up printing press
-Reformation
-Renaissance
-1564-1616: William Shakespeare
Internal history of Late Modern English
- Codification of Standard English
- International Englishes
External history of Late Modern English
17th & 18th century: Grammary and dictionaries
17th century: world-wirde colonization by the British
Internal history of Present-Day English
-Emergence of new genres and text types with new media
- Influence of language in new genres on language in general
External history of Present-Day English
-Launch of television, internet, etc.
-Media takes on more important role in everyday life of people
What are limitations of periodisation?
a) language change starts after events
(It's a process, it needs time)
b) no clear boundaries between different stages
c) variation as prevalent element of language
Why is it difficult to gain information about spoken historical Englishes?
a) written code only
b) focus on a formal part of language
c) only a fraction of people is considered
d) sources are only texts
Explain the linguistic situation in Roman Britain.
Local celtic languages = farmers
Latin = Romans
Which Germanic tribes invaded Britain?
Jutes, Angles, Saxons and Frisians
Where did the Germanic tribes settle?
Jutes = Northumbrian (Scottland)
Angles = Mercian ( Middle England)
Frisians = Kentish (East England)
Saxons = West Saxon (Wales, South)
Name facts of Beowulf.
- oral story
- no author
- hero, good vs evil
- written source
Explain the Norman conquest.
It was a fight for the throne (throne was promised to William, Duke of Normandy, but given to Harold, an English noble man)
1066 = Battle of Hastings
Name linguistic consequences of the Norman Conquest.
- Anglo-Saxon nobility replaced by French one
- upper class = French
mass = English
Ther Clergy = Latin
-close connection between England and France
- French loans + lexical inventory = synonyms and mixtures (pig - pork)
Name facts about the Canterbury Tales.
- written by Geoffrey Chaucer
- known author
- written down first, then told
- collection of tales told by 7 pilgrims
What happened at the Renaissance?
- renewal of classcal ideas (Latin, Greek)
- rise of education, founding of universities
- scientific disciplines --> Latin borrowings
When was the book printing invented?
In 1455 (Early Modern English)
Who set up the first printing press and when was it?
William Caxton set up printing press in 1476.
What were consequences of the intvention of the printing press/ book printing?
-importance of the London dialect
- standardisation
- increased literacy = new genres
Which kind of new genres emerged in the Early Modern English period?
Pamphlets, King James Bible, scientific writings, drama, etc.
What kind of impact had William Shakespeare on the language?
- invented new words
- witten text to be spoken out loud (drama)
What is meant by the "Great Vowel Shift"?
- vowels are raised or diphthongised
What does 'standardization' involve?
Standardization involves the suppression of optional variety.
--> only English spelling comes close to having a standard
What is the keynote of present developments in English spelling?
brevity
Name some characteristics of 18th century spellings.
a) long <s> at the beginning and middle of words and in double <s> clusters, but never at the end
b) captitalization of nouns
c) 'd in past tenses & past articiples of verbs
d) the use of ligatures (e.g. ae or oe)
e) variation between -ick and -ic (in music(k))
f) " " -our and -or (in colo(u)r)
g) " " -ize and -ise (in citicise/ criticize)
h) apostrophs to mark omitted characters as in tho'
Name the processes of standardization.
1. selection
2. elaboration
3. codification
4. acceptance
Which were possible sources of Englsih standardization?
- London, Oxford & Camridge Triangle
- The Chancery
- Acrolectal Writings
= SELECTION
Who wrote the Oxford English Dictionary ? When was it?
Sir James Murray wrote the Oxford English Dictionary in 1900.
Who else published a dictionary in the Early Modern Period? When was it?
Samuel Johnson published his dictionary in 1755.
