Test 1 Historical and Cultural Events.

ME Orthography
1. The time limits of the ME Period:
1066-1485/1475;
2. The name of the last Anglo-Saxon king was:
Harold Godwin
3. The period of total usage of French lasted from:
11-14th c.
4. The Oxford University was founded in:
1096
5. The Cambridge University was founded in:
1209
6. Who of the authors translated the Bible?
John Wycliff
7. The War of the Roses covered the period of:
1455 –1487
8. The Hundred years' war lasted:
1337 – 1453
9. The main dialect of the ME Period was:
The East Midland
10. The digraph 'ou' was introduced:
due to ornamental reasons y /i/, w/u/
11. The letter 'y' for the sound /i/ was introduced:
as a result of phonetic changes
12. ME digraphs 'ch' & 'tch' appeared:
as a result of phonetic changes
13. The digraph 'th' was introduced:
an innovation introduced by the Norman scribes
14. The letter 'o' for the sound /u/ was introduced:
as a result of phonetic changes

Exercise 6. What phonetic processes affected the changes observed in the ME words?
OE nama - ME name
Reduction to /ə/ [a - /ə/]
OE cycen - ME kichen
Short vowel development [y-i], consonant change [c-k, c-ch]
OE dæl - ME deel
Monophthongization of OE diphthongs [œ-e]
OFr chois - ME choice
French borrowing [oi]
Of tāhte - ME taughte
Change of vowel before /x/ [au]
OE wudu - ME wode
Lengthening in open syllables [u-o]
OE draȝan - ME drawen
Leveling of unstressed vowels [a - e], consonant change [ȝ-w]
OE ȝan - ME goon
Short vowel development (ā - ɔ:)

Exercise 7. What phonetic processes affected the changes observed in the ME words?
OE þohte - ME thoughte
Vowel + h - [ou]
OE hnute - ME nut
Loss of long consonant [hn - n]
OE hwæl - ME whal
Monophthongization of OE diphthongs [æ-e]
OE yfel - ME ifel, evel
Short vowel development [y - i]
OE hrycȝ - ME ridge
Monophthongization [hr - r]
OE fifta - ME fifte
Reduction to /ə/ [a - /ə/]
OE hērde - ME hērde
Shortening in a closed syllable
OE cēpan - ME kepen
Reduction to /ə/ [a - /ə/]

Exercise 8. Write down the ME form of the word on the basis of the O form reconstructing
the phonetic processes and orthographical changes of the ME Period.
OE cirice (church) - ME chirche
OE sceal (shall) - ME schal
OE hlystan (listen) - ME listenen
OE hraðe (rather) - ME rether
OE fyr (fire) - ME firen
OE writan (write) - ME writen
OE tēþ (teeth) - ME tothe
OE dēor (deer) - ME deer
OE steorra (star) - ME sterre