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Culture Documents
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1. Past history of British empire.
2. America as source of science and tech.
3. America as source of popular media.
4. No language academy and no language policy.
5. Language of democratic traditions/countries. No lon g
history of absolute monarchies or dictators in L1 English -speaking
countries.
All languages change, and there are many forces which push language
to change. We also know that language changes often apply to groups and
systems within the language (a set of sounds, a group o f words).
A. Sound changes often occur first with the most frequently used
words and then spread to other words.
B. Fashion plays a role in change and in the spread of a change.
Social group prestige lead other groups to follow the prestige speech.
Group solidarity leads groups to stay away from prestige speech of outside
group.
C. Children grow with new speech habits (weak).
D. Psychological principle: "Ease of effort" (vs. "need to
communicate"). We try to economize our efforts.
a. If surroundi ng sounds are "voiced," change a "voiceless"
to voiced to make it easier to say; less mouth -muscle work.
b. Above is an example of "Assimilation." Assimilation is
very common as a way to change the ways we speak: "djeet yet" "topmost"
"foopball" .
c. Endings on words often are cut off; word -end consonants
aren't pronounced,word -end consonant clusters are reduced or dropped.
d. Sometimes sounds are inserted for easier pronunciation:
"thunner - thunder,""often," "thimel - thimble"
e. Sometimes sounds are reversed for easier pronunciation:
"waps-wasp," "bren -burn"
5. Begin with Indo -European Languages (only 58 -64 required reading). Most
European and Indian Languages.
A. All Indo -European languages come from Proto -Indo-European
perhaps spoken first in the region of the southern Ukraine from about 4500
BC to 3500 BC. Main source is Sredny Stog culture -- 4500-3500 BC. The
initial spread through southern Europe and near Asia happened from 3500 on
to about 2500 BC. From 3200 to 2200 BC most of northern and central Europe
was covere d by the Corded -Ware culture that probably descended from the
earlier indo -European culture. Southeast Europe and a bit of Turkey was
covered by the Balkan -Danubian complex, another Indo -European expansion.
Between the two early cultures, the early proto -languages of most of Europe
can be acconted for. The emergence of specific Indo -European families of
languages only begin at around 2000 BC (maybe a bit earlier for a few --
Greek). Most proto -language families only strongly separate by about 1200 -
1000 BC.
C. Evidence for Indo -European first present ed in 1786 at the Royal
Society by Sir William Jones, who noted overwhelming correspondences among
Greek, Latin, English, and Sanskrit.
Germanic Examples:
D. The text points out the resemblances among Englis h, German, and
Swedish; "stone, bone, oak, home, rope, goat, one" (Barber 58) /o:/, /ai/,
/e:/
E. The text also uses the same words to compare Old English Gothic
(East Germanic), Old High German, and Old Norse (North G)(circa 1000 AD).
(Barber 59)
/a:/, /ai/, /e:/, /e:/
F. Sound correspondences between related languages are sometimes
obscured by later borrowings, or by dependent sound changes (a change is
dependent on another sound in the word) in one of the languages.
(Barber 60 -61)
No "hoath" in English
Ha i Hae i Hae Heath
G. English and French are both Indo -European but from different
families (Germanic vs. Latin -Italic). Comparing modern English and French,
however, is misleading because there have been centuries of bor rowings
between the two languages. Core words (family, food, numbers, body -parts)
in the two languages indicate a more distant relationship between the two
languages.
H. The relations between Indo -European languages are well
illustrated by comparing Lat in, Greek, Sanskrit, Gothic, and Old English.
Few words that were specific to Germanic only (and not from PIE)
are left in modern English: ship, sail, keel, float, sea. Early Germanic
already was borrowing from Celtic and Latin because these groups had more
advanced social systems than the Germanic conqu erors.
4. Today: Some first main points on the language of Old English, its rise
from Anglo-Saxon, and then just 900 years of history of Britain (from 55 BC
to 875 AD).
d. The structur e of OE
e. The vocabulary of OE
f. The differences of OE from Germanic
First contact between Celts and other groups. Caeser invades Britain in
both 55 and 54 BC. He conquered locally, he saw, and h e left. Next Roman
invasion was in 43 AD. Romans founded London around 50 AD. By 60 AD,
much of England was under Roman rule. In 61 AD, the great british uprising
of the Iceni and Trinovantes occurred, led by the great Celtic queen,
Boudicea. When her father died, the Roman centurions plundered the Iceni
kingdom, whipped Boudicea publicly, and raped her two daughters. In
revenge, the Iceni under Boudicea attacked and killed all the inhabitants
of Colchester, London, and St Albans,perhaps well over 100 ,000 people.
They also slaughtered one of the four Roman legions stationed in Britain.
Two legions later met the Iceni in the midlands in the decisive battle and
the Romans won. If the Romans had lost this battle,who knows what language
we would all be speaking now. But the Romans won, the Iceni were
slaughtered, and Boudacia comitted suicide. By 70 AD, England was a
controlled Roman province. By 85 AD, Romans had advanced far to the
north, and began controlling lowland Scotland.
The Romans ruled for almost 400 years (43 AD to 410 AD), and the government
asted until 449 AD. Roman rule was civilized and quality of life was among
the highest throughout the Roman empire. Schooling and christianity were
introduced and developed by 400 -449. After Rom an suport was withdrawn
after 410 AD, northern tribes penetrated into England. Celto -Romans asked
for help from Angles and Saxons.
The Germanic groups landed in England in 449 AD (though many were probably
in Britain before 449 as traders and mercenaries). Angles, Saxons, and
Jutes:
These three groups came from what is now northern Netherlands, Germany, and
Denmark. There may also have been Frisians. The Saxons went to
Northumbria and to Wessex; The Jutes went to Sussex/Kent and Wessex; the
Angles went to Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria. In any case, the three
groups were quite similar to each other and they blended their cultur es and
languages.
For one hundred years (to 550 AD) there was a gradual penetration of
Germanic people into England, gradually displacing, ruling, and living with
the Celtic inhabitants. There was a long struggle with the Celto -Roman
population during th is time.
At the end of the 5th century, 490 -500ish AD, we have a Celto -Roman king
who stopped Germanic progress for 50 years, 500 to 550 AD. His name was a
version of Arthur, and he may be the historical version of the legendary
king. There does appea r to have been a series of 12 battles, ending with
the battle of Badon around 496 -500 AD. We actually know little about him.
After 550 AD the Anglo -Saxons spread continually so that by 600 AD, much of
England was under one of the Anglo -Saxon kingdoms. By 600 AD, christianity
also begins its spread beyond the British -Celtic populations. From 550 -600
AD, the East Anglia kingdom was dominant.
Battles continued between British (Celts) and Anglo -Saxon through 650 (and
lesser battles even up to 800 [Cornwa ll and Wales]). By 600 AD, the
kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia gain in power, with dominance gained by
Northumbria by 650 AD. Since the Northumbrian king was christian, and
other kingdoms declared loyalty to Northumbria, much of the island was
under the rule of a single English king; this type of dominance by a single
English king continued through to about 830 AD.
By around 700 AD, the various settlements grouped clearly into seven
kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex, Kent, Wess ex.
Also by 700 AD events led to the rise of Mercia. From 730 to 820 AD,
Mercia takes primacy.
King Offa of Mercia (around 780 -820 AD) was considered a great king, was
well-known on the continent, and considered important by Charlemagne.
It should be noted that the increasing Viking dominance over the seas
around England probably cut off the Angles and Saxons from their
continental homeland.
The loss of sea power by the Angles, Saxons, and Frisians was most likely
due to the pressure from the Charlemagne and the Franks who broke the Saxon
power on the continent. This loosening of the link back to the continent
may have explained why English moved away from German and Dutch. Without
the Vikings, and maybe Charlemagne, we might all be Dutch speakers!
Certainly without the Norman invasion of 1066, we might also be Dutch
speakers (or Frisian) of a sort.
Sept
17, 1997
Overall, the christian conversion of the Anglo -Saxons from 600 on led to a
great flowering of learning, literacy, and arts in England from 600 -800.
It was far in advance of the continent for these centuries and was not a
dark ages by comparison.
This also fostered the rise of Old English.
At about the same time as the rise of West Saxon, the Viking raids began
about 793 with sack of Lindisfarne. Initially, they were raids for
plundering. From about 860 on, large armies of Vikings land ed with the
intent of conquering and settling England. By 875, the Vikings had
conquered all of England except Wessex. Alfred "the Great" was the only
holdout.
A great Viking army invaded Wessex in 871 and were defeated at Ashdown by
king Ethelred and younger brother Alfred. Ethelred died in 871, and Afred,
at 24, became King of Wessex. Within a few years Danes again invaded
Wessex and won a number of battles, then left. After a brief truce from
874 to 877, The Danes invaded Wessex again, this time in tending permanent
control. In January 878, during feast of Twelfth Night, Danes attacked
Alfred's army by surprise and routed them at Wiltshire.
Viking attacks had reduced Alfred to a small marshy territory in the moors
on the Isle of Athelney with a f ew hundred men left --That was all that was
left of Anglo -Saxon English!
"If Alfred had given up and fled overseas like Burgred of
Mercia then not only England but the whole English -speaking world would not
exist today"
(Wood 1987:112).
Certainly if Alfred had given up, or been captured, we would most likely
all be Danish speakers now instead of English speakers!! To people of
Wessex, it looked like the war was over, the king a fugitive.
Alfred was "the Great" because he organized the kingdom, raised taxes,
trained a strong army, promoted education, schools, and literacy, and
promoted the us e of English as a national language. He began the Anglo -
Saxon Chronicle. He also developed the tradition of common law! His
family line, beginning from the 820s, led to a continued line of kings of
England, ruling the whole of the country for the first time. The Vikings
(from Europe) returned for more battles beginning in 892 until 896. The
Danes were defeated and Alfred died in 899. His son Edward fought later
wars and expanded the kingdom north and by 918 controlled all of England.
Alfred's grandson , King Athelstan (from 924 -940), was the third great king
and the first king to unite all the former kingdoms of England in 928.
Edmund, Edred, Edwig, and Edgar were also strong kings to comntinue the
House of Wessex in strength until 973. Unfortunately, the next King, a
child named Ethelred the Unready (ill -counseled) reigning from 973 -1016,
lost the kingdom by the end.
A king from Northumbria, Canute, conquered the Anglo -Saxon, Ethelred "the
unready," and became the first "Danish" king from 1017 to 1 042 (and was
married to Emma of Normandy --A key event). In 1042, English councilors
invited the son of Ethelred to take the throne, so Edward III, The
Confessor, ruled until 1066. On his death, the throne was contested by
Harold II and William of Normand y (two relatives).
This covers, very briefly, the story of England during the time of Old
English,until the Norman conquest.
The West Saxon Literary Language: The control of South and West England,
and the later conquest of the North and East of England , made the West
Saxon variety of Old English, from Wessex, the prestige dialect,
particularly with the emphasis on education and literacy by Alfred and
following kings. It is also worth noting that the West Saxon form was not
the ancestor of Modern Englis h, which descended more directly from a later
Anglian dialect.
A. OE had freer word order than modern English because of the many
inflectional systems that were still in productive use. Common to see SOV,
VSO, and SVO orders (See Barber 119).
A. Most borowings from Latin and Danish, from few othr sources.
Quite a bit fr om early Latin. Overall, not a lot of borrowing.
II. The Celts: migrated to west Europe by 3000 -2000 BC. See (Page 37)
for early settled areas. The Celts that remain are the Gaelic Irish, the
Welsh (1/2 million today), The Bretons, and the Gaelic Scots.
III. The Germanic tribes: Moved westward, southward, and further north
than the celtic migrations. They gradually took over Celtic lands on the
continent from the BC period on. In 449 (about), the Jutes, Angles,
Saxons, and maybe the Frisians, crossed in large numbers. But Anglo -Saxons
had been in English for at least the 50 years before, mostly as
mercenaries.
IV. The Making of English: By 600, there were 7 well -established Anglo -
Saxon kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Kent, Essex, Sussex,
Wessex.
By 1000, the country was known as Englaland. Anglo -Saxon Old
English contributes most of the most common words of MOE (pages 44 -45).
(See map on page 46).
VI. The Viking Invasion: Raiding from 750 on. The Vikings raided lands
from all of Western Europe and in Russia all the way to the Black Sea.
They were probably more vicious and cruel as raiders than the book su ggests
(cf. page 51); they were major slavers. They also destroyed much of
established education and literacy wherever they settled.
Alfred defeated the danes and established peace with the Danes 886
(pages 52-53). He also promoted education, literacy, and the English
language.(see Danelaw map on page 50)
VII. Old English (54 -56): Dane influence helped reduce extensive
inflectional system. Danes (from 850 AD to 1050 AD) may have brought up to
1000 frequently used words to English.
VIII. The Norman Invasion: 1066, William the Conqueror, the Norman Duke
wanted to take the English throne as part of the inheritance from the
Wessex kings following Edward the Confessor, who died in 1066. Harold,
another relative, claimed the English throne on Edward's death. So the
Normans invaded. Harold, the loser, was the last English -speaking king for
300 years. For at least 100 years, all important positions in England were
dominated by French -speaking Normans. (key on pages 59 -60)
IX. The Comeback of English: 1200 -1250 English regai ned strength.
Normans separated from France. More records being kept in English,
literacy training expanded in English, more manuscripts written in English.
By 1300, the Kings of England were developing allegiance to England and to
English. After 1300 , many upper class people learned French in classes
rather than naturally in the home. The French language spoken natively
in England was archaic and no longer valued, sounding like hillbillies
compared with continental French.
X. The 100 Year's War: 1337-1454. The long war against France led to
the supremacy of English. In 1356, court proceedings in London were
recorded in English. In 1362, Parliament was opened in English. In 1381,
King Richard II addressed peasants in English. From then o n, by 1400,
English became the language of the kings of England. (1429 -31, time of Joan
of Arc).
XI. Middle English: 1150 -1500 AD. Many changes in English in speech in
late OE appeared in writing in ME. Rise of East Midlands dialect occurred
with new centers of learning (Oxford, London, Cambridge). Dominant English
language figures: Chaucer (1340 -1400) and Caxton (1421 -1491) influenced
late Middle English.
Part of the reason the Vikings got so active by 800 is that the Frisians
(and Anglo -Saxons), who were rulers of the north seas before 8 00, were
defeated by Charlemagne (the great French leader/king at that time). We
know the Viking history in England even better than Barber describes in the
first part of this chapter. We even know that the key battle won by Alfred
the great was not Chip penham, but Abingdon (Barber, pg 128).
Many other basic words in English came from Old Norse rather than Old
English.
take, nay, loose, anger, cast, die, ill, dwell, bread, leg, neck,
dirt, knife, odd, ugly, call, drag, give, raise, smile, etc.
Most words were taken into English in the late OE period; in the early and
mid OE period, the contacts between Anglo -Saxons and Vikings were less
peaceful and there was less intermingling.
While, overall, the number of borrowings from Scandinavian were small, they
were extremely important because they w ere words that we use frequently in
English.
The Normans represented the height of the feudal society. All power
centered on the Duke, who handed out land and favors to local royalty in
return for their lo yalty in raising armies, committing their knights, and
taxing the people. It was a combined warrior class (and the age of
chivalry) and church society, and it was a well -run society. They
supported the church and built great cathedrals;they built the lar ge
castles; and they developed the early French rule of law.
However, when Edward the confessor died, Harold of the Godwin clan claimed
the throne (He was the brother -in-law of Edward the confessor). The Godwin
clan was actually a very powerful Wessex royal family which had also risen
to power in a number of the other English kingdoms at that time. So Harold
felt he had a legitimate claim.
Edward the Confessor, however, had already promised the line of succession
to William because of the Norman connection. And Harold himself in 1064,
just two years before the succession, pledge an oath of loyalty to William.
So in 1066, when Harold claimed the throne, William invaded to reclaim the
throne for the Normans. In 1066, at the battle of Hastings (the most
famous battle on English soil), William defeated Harold and English kings
were French speakers for the next 200 years!
William is an interesting story in himself. Born an illegitimate son of
Robert, Duke of Normandy, in 1027, he became Duke in 1034 at the age of
seven. At 20, in 1047, he was almost killed in a conspiracy but saved by
the protection of the King of France. Along with the King, he defeated his
enemies and secured his position. He ruled strongly until his death.
After the Battle of Hastings (in 1066), William Slowly marched on London.
By the time he arrived, the people of London invited him to take over.
They actually were tired of sucession fights and poor centralized rule, and
they were happy to be ruled by a strong king. By 1070, England was fully
in Norman control. William Died on 1087, and William II took over until he
died in 1100.
Then Henry I, a great king (1100 -1135), ascended and fought all comers to
legitimize his hold on England. by 1106, he was in control in England and
a good part of France. In 1154, Henry II (154 -1189), a second great king,
along with Eleanor of Aquitaine (of French nobility), ruled England and
more than 1/2 of France. This is als o a great love story!!
Richard I (the Lionhearted ruled from 1189 -1199), follwed by King John
(1199-1216). Henry III, another great king, ruled fro m (1216-1272). Then
we get the three Edwards: Edward the I (1272 -1307), Edward II (1307 -1327),
and Edwar d III (1327-1377). This ends the Norman (and Plantagenet
Dynasties).
Throughout the Norman era, French dominated the courts, the royal offices,
education (with Latin), and the higher levels of commerce. For the three
centuries of Norman rule, almost until 1400 (l ate Middle English), no
English variety was recognized as a standard norm.
Many differences among the five main Middle English dialects (pages 138 -
139;
On page 139, we see tha t Modern English evolved from only one of the
many possible dialects (see East Midlands example on page 140). Of course,
with Normans, the West Saxon dialect lost its earlier power as the literary
English dialect.
1200s saw the gradual movement away from French. The 1204 date represented
a time that no English Norman could keep lands in both England and France
(because King John lost control of Normandy). In 1215, the Magna Carta
took some power away from the king and spread it more locally; this might
have made English more functional for official uses away from the central
court.
Gradually those Normans who stayed in England began to identify with the
English.
By the 1300s, English was on the rise. The late 1300s saw the rise of
Chaucer and the king's opening speech to parliament given in English
(1362). At this time, school education also shifted to English. Finally,
by 1400 (1399, Henry IV), England had a king whose native language was
English!
The new standard that emerged by 1400 was the East Midlands dialect. This
reflected the importance of Cambridge University, the preferred dialect in
London, and the economic power of the East Midlands region. By the 1400s,
the London dialect grew in prestige, and the introduction of the printing
press before 1500 stabilized this dialect as the standard. As the book
says (Barber 145), by 1500 (the end of Middle English), written English was
pretty standardized to the East Midlands/London var iety, and it was being
used (often along with other local dialects) for writing throughout
England.
At this time Scots English also became a literary standard for the north of
England and for Scotland. The Stuart kings of Scotland were strong, and
Scots also prospered as an independent dialect of English.
The impact of French loan words was the greatest near the end of the ME
period when French itself was on the decline. Good examples of the many
words borrowed are given on pages 1 46-149! This borrowing occurre d
because, as English became used for many new purposes, it needed new words
that weren't in early Middle English --so they were borrowed many many words
from French.
Noun declensions just about disappeared (whew)! (See page 158 for
notes on a few relics that are left over in modern English.)
I. Changes in Spelling
5. OE [ae] -- [a]
a. [a, u, e] -- [e]
b. [an, on, un, um] -- [en] -- [e]
c. [as, es] -- [es]
d. [ath, eth] -- [eth] -- [e]
e. Then, for many words, [e] -- [o]!
2. The case system for nouns is greatly reduced (no one could hear
the differences anymore). Went from four cases to two
(Nominative/accusative/dative versus genitive). Plura l takes one additional
form for most words.
1. Loss of SOV word order. Mostly SVO with some VSO ordering.
2. Rise of, and increasing use of, prepositions.
3. Rise of auxiliary system: Helping verbs 'be', 'have', 'do', and
modals (will,must, can, may, should, shall, could, would, might ).
4. Use of 'have' expands for perfect tense, end use of 'be' for
this purpose.
5. Beginning of use of continuous tenses (I am going today).. This
only starts in late ME.
6. Only after 1700 can perfect and progressive tenses be combined
in all the complications we use today!
Oct 3,
1997
ENG 121: The Story of English: A Little History and SOE: The Muse of Fire,
Chapter 3
In the mid 1300s, we get the Black death, as the plague sweeps
across England, and later Scotland and Ireland. The mid -1300s also brings
on the beginning of the 100 years war between England and France; or
really, the Anglo -Norman Kingdom and the Kingdom of the King of France
(1337-1453). Begun by Edward the III, the 100 years war was an on and off
affair on the soil of France. Since the English king usually controlled
more land in France than did the French King, this was not strictly
speaking a war between England and France.
The period between 1400 -1500 saw the rise of English as the
standard language of royalty, government, church, and education. By 1500,
many people could read and write, though the overall percentage may not
have been more than 20 -30 percent ac ross England. Printing presses began
around 1476, and by 1500, many books and pamphlets were being published in
multiple copies. Book sales and book ownership were no longer under the
sole control of royalty or the church.
In 1475, the House of Tudor claimed the throne under Henry the VII.
The House of Tudor was to continue until 1603. Henry the VII, Henry the
VIII, and Elizabeth the I were the major figures of this age. Henry the
VII began the slow decline of Eng land's wealth and stability by indulging
in many wasteful enterprises, only to be surpassed by Henry the VIII.
Below are some of the key issues associated of Henry the VIII:
1. Six wives, creating some problems with future
Kings and Queens: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne
of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr.
2. The Divorce of Catherine of Aragon, led to the
break with catholicism, the English Reformation, and the destruction of the
entire monastery system. This also eventually led to a major loss of
wealth.
Henry died in 1547 and Elizabeth took over in 1558, after brief
rules by Edward VI and Mary I, ruling until 1603. She executed Mary, Queen
of Scots (who would have been Mary II), a potent ial competitor for the
throne, in 1587 after holding her prisoner for almost twenty years (from
1568); this ensured the rise of James VI (then king of Scotland --and son of
Mary, Queen of Scots), who was promised the English throne since Elizabeth
had no heirs. It also led to war with Spain and the Spanish Armada of
1588, which was defeated by bad luck, wild storms, and English seamanship.
By now, the Tudor government was in shambles, and Elizabeth did little to
improve financial matters or country stabil ity in her years. So by 1603,
England was a financial and political basket case. But enough of
history.
October 6,
1997
ENG 121: Changes in English from Middle English (ME) to Early Modern
English (EmoE).
Notes to accompany October 6 l ecture.
I. Changes in Vocabulary
1. Who, which, that become modern forms for relative pronouns and
questions words. 'Which' is still used in relative clauses to refer
to people.
Modern uses of these relative pronouns does not happen
until after 1700 --Modern English.
2. SVO ordering strengthens; still some VSO ordering, but more
poetic.
3. Preposition use increases.
4. Verb auxiliary system increases in use.
a. Increasing u se of 'have' for perfect tense, almost
modern by 1700.
b. Increasing uses for modal verbs
c. Beginning of progressive tenses, not in place fully
until after 1700.
d. Increasing use of dummy "do" auxiliary.
5. Emergence of third -person singular 's'.
6. The growing dominance of the 's' plural.
3. There were relatively few changes with shor t vowels from EMoE to
MoE.
4. Two new consonants were created during this period; they were
allophones but now became separate phonemes: [n] and [z] (sing, judge).
5. Some consonant sounds were also lost: e.g., [kn], [wr], [x], as
in knee, write, night, respectively.
October 8, 1997
The case of [ee], [ea], and [a] is an interesting story that you
should pay attention to (192 -193). It explains the matching of spellings
such as see and sea, steel and steal, but also the differences between
steal and steak, and beak and break.
Many ME diphthongs became pure vowels during the great vowel shift
(194).
II. In some cases, vowels moved from long to short in length, and they
often retained their long vowel spelling: bread, sweat, breath. The time
of change from long to short vowel also explains why certain 'oo' spellings
have two different pronunciati ons. Earlier changes in such words were
pronounced as [ ]; e.g., blood, flood. Other words changed later and
became pronounced as [ ]; e.g., look, foot, book.
III. There were relatively few changes with short vowels from EMoE to CE.
IV. Two new co nsonants were created during this period; they were
allophones but now they became independent phonemes: [n] and [ ].
V. Some consonants were also lost; e.g., [kn], [wr], [x], as in knee,
write, night, respectively.
VI. Table 8.1 gives good examples of changes made from Me through to CE.
VII. Strong and Weak Forms: In unstressed syllables, vowels developed weak
forms, typically [ ]. A number of syllable vowels also later restressed.
October 8,
1997
ENG 121: The Story of English - The Great Vowel Shift, and Other Mysteries:
Notes to accompany October 8 lecture.
8. Some words in (5) resisted this shift and are like (6) in sound
great, break, steak)! ([e: ])
Note: We now have an 'ea' spelling for two di fferent
sounds.
(streak, steak)
10. ai (as in mail, day) went to [ : ], then merged with the [a: ]
shift to [ :], then both went to [e: ] in GVS. So we have the same
pronunciation for maid and made, coming from two different sources.
11. u (as in soul, know), wne to [ : ], then went to [o: ] in GVS (like (
'boat'
12. iu ([iu]) become [ju: ], then becomes [u: ] (ewe, new, use,
rude, June) (Spelling patterns of 'ew', 'u')
III. Some long vowels became short vowels (mostly 'e' and 'o')
IV. Most short vowels have not changed in any major way since early ME.
Oct
10, 1997
ENG 121: The Story of English: SOE: The Muse of Fire, Chapter 3
This chapter tells the story of an eventful 70 years between 1555 and 1625.
During this time, Queen Elizabeth 1 ruled Engl and for 45 years and
England began it period of great empire. James the First of England (and
James the 6th of Scotland as well) combined England and Scotland into Great
Britain; he commissioned the King James bible; and Shakespeare was to write
all his pl ays.
This was also the period of transition to Modern English. From 1550 (or
1500) to 1700 is commonly known as the Early Modern English period. This
period is typically discussed as distinct from English after 1700 because
so much happened in this earl y period; relatively less happened from 1700
to the present.
The story of English, The Muse of Fire, focuses on the developments from
1550 to 1625. The story continues from 1625 to 1700 for early MoE, but
some of this is covered in Barber's chapter 8 o n early MoE.
Henry the 8th and Elizabeth the 1st transformed England into a
major power of Europe. English rose in prominence along with this
transformation. There was a new pride in English. The language underwent
many innovative uses of words, new words were being created quickly. Some
faded away, but many took hold.
Sir Walter Raleigh spread English power across the seas, and the
defeat of the Spanish armada in 1588 made England the leading sea power.
England also began to colonize the new world seriously from
1585, and from 1607, permanently with Jamestown.
From 1607 on, English was established in the new world. Many
dialects alo ng the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. reflect the English of
these early colonists.
Just eight years after uniting England and Scotland, King James
had his authorized version of the bible in English released in 1611. This
bible has been a landmark of the English language ever since. Note that
the King James version was NOT the first English bible: This bible follows
many earlier English version from 1535 on.
October 15,
1997
ENG 121: English in the Scientific Age (Part II) (Barber 219 -233)
All through English language history words have also died out,
though many fewer than have been added. Words may no longer be needed
(scrivener), or the pronunciation merges and one meaning leaves (queen
meaning harlot), or some wo rds become too shortened by changes in the
language ("ea" for river), or they go out of fashion (French loan 'cete'
for 'whale').
Nov
14, 1997