JSSC CGL PAPER 2 ENGLISH FULL SYLLABUS E-BOOK

PART B

History of the English Language

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A History of the English Language - A.C Baugh and Cable -
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SUMMARY ( WHOLE BOOK )

HISTORY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

The Importance of the Language:

It is the means by which man communicates his thoughts and feeling to the
others. It is the tool with which he conducts his business or manage the
government affairs.

It is the vehicle by which science and literature are transmitted from generation
to another. It is assumed that every educated person knows something about the
structure of his language, its position in the world and its relation to the other
languages, the source of its vocabulary and the prominent political,social and
cultural influences which have affected the language.

2. Influences at Work on Language:

English today reflects centuries of development. It has been mainly affected by

the social and political events. Some of such events are:

The Christianizing of Britain in 597 which caused the contact between the two
civilization Latin and Britain and consequently resulted in the increase of the
English vocabulary.

Other events are the Scandinavian invasion, the Norman,the hundred years war,
the expansion of the British empire and other factors.

In short, the English language results in its entire development from the
political, social and cultural history of the English people.

Growth and Decay:

Do languages change?

English as well as other languages are subject to growth and decay.

When a language ceases to change we call it a dead language (Latin 2000
years). The change in the language that could be observed is mainly in the
vocabulary. Old word die out,new words are added and existing words change
their meanings.

What causes the introduction of new words into the language?

To meet the new conditions of life e.g. for the change in meaning Shakespeare's
nice = foolish

Change in pronunciation OE stan=stone

Cu = cow .The changes are controlled by 'sound low' Changes in the

grammatical forms (could be a result of the gradual phonetic modification)

It coul be the result of unconditioned analogy(e.g.) knowed" This process may

affect the sound and meaning as well.

The Importance of a Language:

Is the relation between the language and the people's who speak it very strong?

A language lives only if there are people who speak it. Do you think that
learning about the historical background of the language is limited to English
students?

All educated people.

Why is the English language important?

A language is important if the people who speak it are important politically,

economically and culturally.

Give examples of important languages (English, French and German) some

languages are important due to the cultural value of ethnic group. classical
Greek, for instance is important for

it represents a great civilization. Importance of English:

It is spoken by great number of people, approximately 500 million 2012 late

statistics. ?

Is it the largest language in the world India 300 million china 880 million.

The importance is not limited to numbers of speakers .It depends on the

importance of the people who speak it. The political role of its nation and their
influence in the international commerce, their role in art and literature, in
science, invention. In short, it depends on their contribution to the progress of
the world. It is important as a " lingua franca" = common means of
communication among people of diverse tongues.

The Future of English:

Growth of population: Most native speakers of English live in the developed

countries which constitutes smaller proportion of the world's

population .However, English is widely used as a second language throughout

the world. In India which is one of the
[21:27, 05/07/2023] Amit Singh Tab B. ed: developing countries English is one
of the official languages.(Philippins and Nigeria) In some countries English is a
neutral language among various languages. Available textbooks in English grant
it supremacy over the other vernaculars.

Will English become a world language?

Positive consequences:

1. Travel communication

2. business conduction

3. observation and spread of science and knowledge.

4. world peace

More scientific research is probably published in English than any other

language. Moreover the preminence of English in commercial use is obvious.

The revolution in communication helped the spread of English.

Could the world enforce an international language?

It is the effect of economic and cultural forces which may determine such a
language. Since world war II English was the official language of one fourth of
the population of the world.

Even after the independent of the British colonies English continued to be used
alongside the vernaculars either as the primary language or a necessary second
in school, court and business. Assets and Liabilities:

There are some features of great advantage in facilitating the acquisition of

English by foreigners. The ability to express the multiplicity of ideas and
refinements of thoughts.

Is it easy to learn English?

1.Cosmopolitan vocabulary:

One of the assets of English is its vocabulary.

It is classified as Germanic language (same group to which belong German,

Dutch,Flemish ... More than half of its vocabulary is derived directly or
indirectly from Latin, French and other Romance languages Thus it shares a lot
of the vocabulary with such European languages which are derived from Latin,
French, Italian... "It has the capacity of assimilating word from other languages
e.g Italy balcony piano Spanish alligator, mosquito.

2.Inflectional Simplicity:

It is an inflected language however inflection in the noun as spoken have been

reduced to a sign of the plural and a form for the possessive. The Germanic
inflection of the adjective has been reduced to the indication of the comparative
degree. The verb has been simplified by the loss of personal endings singular
and plural.

3.Natural Gender:

Unlike other European languages English has adopted natural gender in place of
grammatical gender. Gender in English is determined by meaning. All nouns
naming living creatures are masculine or feminine. According to the sex of the
individual, and all other nouns are neuter.

Liabilities:

There are some difficulties in learning English. Idioms are forms of expression
peculiar to one language. All languages have their own way of saying things.
Another difficulty for foreigners is spelling and the frequent lack of correlation
between spelling and pronunciation e.g. the vowel sound in believe,
receive,leave,see,be is in each case represented by a different spelling. In the
case of consonants for example we have fourteen spellings for the sound of sh
shoe, sugar, issue, manssion mission, nation, suspicious, ocean, nauseous,
conscious,chaperon schist,fuchsia, pshaw.

The causes of such diversity:

One cannot tell how to spell an English word by its pronunciation or how to
pronounce it by its spelling.

Chapter 2

The Indo-European Family of Languages

A Language is constantly changing. Usually people associate language with

writing although writing is only a conventional device for recording sounds and
it is primarily speech. As long as the language lives and in actual use it is in
constant change. The language of any district or country is merely the sum total
of the individual speech habits.

Dialect Differences: How?

Separating one community from another for a considerable time may cause
differences between them. The differences may be slight if the separation is
slight. The result would be merely local dialects. However, the differences may
become considerable as to render the language of one district unintelligible to
the speakers of another.

In spite of the differences, languages preserve some common features that

indicate their mutual origin. Since English is a Germanic language notice a
close relationship eg, milch and milk brot and bread,wass and water....There are
some common words among different languages .Although sometimes the
differences in the initial consonants may obsecure the relationship. Thus the
languages of a large part of Europe and part of Asia were at one time identical.

The Discovery of Sanskrit: What?

Sanskrit is the language of ancient India,

In addition to the vocabulary sanskrit preserved an unusually full system of

declensions and conjunctions by which it became clear that the inflections of
these languages could be traced to a common origin. (table p.18) In fact the
hindu grammarian traced the roots and classified the formative elements, and
worked out the rules according to which certain sound changes occurred.

Grimm's Law

Who? German philologist called Jacob Grimm.

He formulated an explanation which systematically accounted for the

correspondences between certain consonants in the Germanic languages and
those found for example in sanskrit, Greek, and Latin e.g. according to Grimm
a/p/ in Indo-European, preserved as such in Latin and Greek was changed to an
/f/ in Germanic languages.

Latin piscis pes

English fish foot

The original voicless stops/p.tk/ were changed to spirants/f.ph/ The cause of

such change is not known. It must have taken place sometimes after the
segregation of the Germanic from nighbuoring dialects of the parent language.
The formulation of these correspondences of sounds among languages is known
as Grimm's Law. It could have resulted from a contact between Germanic and
non Germanic population. The shifting was still occurring as late as about the
fifteenth century. The Germanic sound-shift is the most distinctive feature
marking of the Germanic languages from the languages to which they are
related.

The Indo European Family:

The languages brought into relationship by descent or progressive

differentiation from a parent speech are conveniently called a family of
languages. Philologist named this family different names (Indo-Germanic,
Indo-Teutonic..) but a most widely term used is the Indo-European family
which indicates the geographical extent of the family. The parent tongue from
which the Indo-European languages have sprung have already become divided
and scattered long time ago.

The surviving languages show various degrees of similarity to one another

which indicates more or less direct relationship to their geographical
distribution. They are mainly divided into eleven groups Indian, Iranian,
Armenian Hellenic, Albanian, Italic, Balto-slavic,Germanic, Celtic, Hittite and
Tocharian.

1.Indian:

The old literary texts preserved in any Indo-European language are the old
books of Indian. The language in which they were written is called Sanskrit. It
was first restricted to religious writings and later it was extended to other types
of writings. Sanskrit was given a fixed, literary form. In this form it is known as
classical Sanskrit which is the medium of an extensive indian literature. For a
certain period of time it was looked upon as a learned language and held a place
in India similar to that occupied by Latin in medieval Europe. Later it ceased to
be a spoken language. Alongside Sanskrit there existed a large number of local
dialects. From these dialects descended the present languages of India, Pakistan
and Bangladesh Hindi, Urdu, Bengali) Thus urdu is by origin and present
structure is closely related to Hindi. However.It differs mainly in its
considerable mixture of Persian and Arabic and in its perso-Arabic script
instead of sanskrit characters.

2.Iranian:

The Indo-European population which settled this region had lived and probably
traveled for a considerable time in company with the members of the Indian
branch .Thus there are a number of linguistic features which the two groups
have in common. The region where those people settled has been subjected to
semitic influence and many of the early texts are preserved in semitic scripts.

In this region, since the 9th century,persian has been the language of an
important culture and an extensive literature.Persian contains a large Arabic
admixture so that today its vocabulary seems almost as much as Arabic as

3. Armanian:

strong Iranian influence to the extent that it was classified as an Iranian

language.
4. Hellenic:

Iranian. Other related languages in the near territory are Afghan or Pushtu and
Beluchi Kurdish in kurdistan Armanian is found in a small area south of the
caucasus Mountains. It lacks the grammatical gender and it shows a shifting of
certain consonants (Grimm's Law). It is known from the fifth century since the
Armanian were under persian domination for several centuries, the vocabulary
shows such Represented in Greek and other dialects. The conquest of Alexander
established the language in as in Syria and as well as Egypt and other coutries

5.Albanian:

In the northwest of Greece. It is probably the descendant of Illyrian. A language

spoken in the Northwestern Balkans. The vocabulary of the Albanian is mixed
with Latin Greek,Turkish.. As a consequent of the constant conquests. It was
first classed with the Hellenic group but since the beginning of the 20th century
it was recognized as an independent member of the family.

6.Italis

It has its center in Italy. Italy in ancient times suggest Rome and the language of
Rome, Latin. However Latin was only one of a number of languages found in
that area. In fact, the various languages that represent the survival of Latin in the
different parts of the Roman Empire are known as the Romance or Romanic
languages. Examples of such languages are French, Spanish, Portuguese and
Italian. These languages did not descend from classical Latin which was a
literary language with elaborate and artificial grammar. They descended from
vulgar Latin of the common people which is simpler in inflection and syntax.

7.Balto-Slavic:

It covers a vast area in the eastern part of Europe and it is divided in groups , the
Baltic and the Slavic. The Baltic languages are three in number :Prussian,
Lettish and Lithuanian. The latter is spoken by 3million people in the Baltic
state of lithuania, It is important among the Indo-European languages because
of its conservatism.(a lithuanian fesant can understand simple phrases in
Sanskrit). Lithuanian preserves some very old features which have disappeared
from practically all the other languages of the family. Slavic languages cover
Russia,Poland,Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria,Serbo-croatian.

8.Germanic:

The language descending from Germanic fall into three groups East Germanic,
North Germanic and west Germanic the principal language of East Germanic is
gothic. North Germanic is found in Scandinavia and Denmark. West Germanic
is of interest to us as the group to which English belong particularly to the low
Germanic branch.

9.Celtic

The celtic languages are consider the most extensive groups in the Indo-
European. Beside these languages there are two Hittite and Tocharian.

The Home of the Indo-Europian Family:

The indo-European languages are spoken today in many cultures which until
recently have had completely unrelated heritages. Considering the language
variety of people who have spoken these languages from early times, it is quite
possible that the people of the original Indo-European community already
represented a wide ethnic diversity. It is assumed that the original home of this
family was in that part of the world in which the language of the family are
chiefly to be found today. Thus we may exclude Africa Australia and the
American continents since we know that the extension of Indo-European
languages in these areas has occurred in historical times.

In general we could say that the only regions in which it is reasonable to seek
the original home of the Indo-European family are the mainland of Europe and
western part of Asia. Observation about the Indo-European language, show that
they have a common word for winter and for 'snow" which indicate that the
original home of the family was in a climate which at certain seasons at least
was fairly cold. On the other hand it is not certain that there was a common
word for the sea. The original community was apparently an inland one, but not
necessarily situated at a great distance from the coast.

Chapter 3
Old English

1.The Languages in England before English:

English is always associated with people, however English was introduced to

England about the middle of the fifth century. Since that time a number of races
inhabited the island (England).
The first people in England about whose language recognized are the Celts (the
last group of the immegrants to settle in Britain before the arrival of the Anglo-
Saxons). Celtic was the first Indo-European tongue spoken in Englang and it is
still spoken by a considerable number of people.

Another language was Latin which was introduced when Britain became a
province of the Roman Empire and it was used for about four centuries. 2.The
Romans in Britain and the Roman Conquest The Roman attempts to conquer
Britain were at the reign of Ceaser 55BC. Then it was promoted at the reign of
Claudius 43AD.

3. Romanization of the Island

The conquest of England under the Roman Empire resulted in the adoption of
various Roman habits and life style. The Roman conquest in fact developed
England. By the third century christianity had made some progress in the Island.

4.The Latin language

Among the evidences of Romanization of England is the use of Latin. It didn't

replace Celtic. It was confined upon occasions to the upper class and inhabitants
of the cities and towns. Thus its use wasn't widespread to the extent that cause it
to survive.

5. The Germanic Conquest

About the year 449 began the invasion of certain Germanic tribes to Britain.
These tribes for more than a hundred years migrated from Denmark and settled
in Britain specially in the south and the east. The Germanic tribes are called
Juts, Saxons, Angles and Frisians. 6.Anglo-Saxon Civilization:

In some districts the Anglo-Saxons probably settled down beside the Celts in
more or less peaceful contact. In others however they met resistance (the impact
on the language)

7.The Names 'English' and 'England:

The Celts called their Germanic Conqueror 'Saxons' probably because had their
first contact with through the Saxons.Soon the name' Anglia occurred beside
'Saxons'. From the beginning writers called their language Englisc (English)
which is derived from Angles and it was used to describe the language of all the
invading tribes. From about the year 1000 'England' (land of the Angles) began
to take its place. The name English is thus older than the name 'England'
English belongs to the low west Germanic branch of the Indo-European family
which means that it shares certain characteristics common to all Germanic
languages e.g shifting consonants "Grimms Law".

Although English belongs to the Germanic languages,it was affected by other

languages for it has some features in common with them which enable us to
distinguish a west Germanic group as contrasted with Scandinavian languages
(North Germanic) and Gothic (East Germanic).

8. The Periods in the History of English:

The fifteen hundred years of the existence of English in England could be

divided into three main periods. The dividing lines between them purely
arbitrary. The period from 450 to 1150 is known as Old English. It is described
as the period of full inflections.

From 1150 to 1500 the language is known as Middle English. During this
period the inflections, which had begun to break down towards the end of old
English period, became greatly reduced it was known as the period of leveled
inflections.

The language since 1500 is called Modern English. Since then a large part of
the original inflectional system has disappeared and therefore it is called the
period of lost inflection.

9. THE Dialects of English:

Old English has four distinctive dialects Northumbrian, Mercian West Saxon,
and Kentish

10. Some Characteristics of Old English:

The differences between OE and Modern English concern spelling and

pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar.Examples of such differences in
pronunciation are the long vowels in particular have undergone considerable
modification. /stan/=/stone//rap //rope/, /bat/s/boat/ Some of the first look of
strangeness which old English has to the modern reader is the differences of
spelling e.g. Old English made use of two characteristics to represent the sound
of /th/:/p/ and /8/ as in the word /wip/=with or /da/ athen,

/sh/represented by /sc/ sceap- sheep, scip-ship

A second feature of Old English would distinguish it from modern English is
the absence of words derived from Latin and French which form so large a part
of our present vocabulary. The vocabulary of old English is almost purely
Germanic. Studies show that about 85% of old English vocabulary no longer in
use. The old English vocabulary which survived are basic elements of the
language such as pronouns,prepositions, conjunctions,auxiliary verbs and words
that express fundamental concepts e.g. man, wife, child, house, leaf, bird...

Another feature that distinguish Old English from the English today is
grammar. Inflectional languages fall into two classes: synthetic and analytic.
A synthetic language is one which indicates the relation of words in a sentence
largely by means of inflections (OE) An analytic language: is one which make
extensive use of prepositions and auxiliary verbs and depends upon word order
to show other relationships and modern English is an analytic one.

11. The Resourcefulness of the Old English Vocabulary:

It might seem that Old English a language which lacked the large number of
words borrowed from Latin and French would be limited in resources.
However, Old English had its own way to enrich its vocabulary through affixes
and self-explaining compounds.

Old English had great flexibility, a capacity for bending old words to new uses
by means of prefixes and suffixes a single root is made to yield a variety of
derivatives. In fact Old English showed remarkable capacity for derivation and
word formation. It was more resourceful in utilizing its native material than
modern English. Part of the flexibility of the vocabulary of Old English is that it
comes from the generous use of prefixes and suffixes to form new words from
old words e.g. suffixes :full, ness, dom etc....and e.g. prefixes :fore, mis,
un,under Compounds consist of two or more native words whose meaning is
combination is either self-evident or has been rendered clear by association and
usage: steamboat railroad sewing machine, one-way street. 12. Old English
Literature:

The language of the past time is known by the quality of its literature. It is in
literature that a language displays its full power its ability to convey in vivid
and memorable form the thoughts and emotions of people. The literature of the
Anglo Saxons is one of the richest and most significant of any preserved among
the early Germanic people. Old English literature is of two sorts.

One is that which was brought to England by the Germanic conquerors and
represent the pagan stream whereas the other stream is the christian which was
evolved by the introduction of christianity into the island at the end of the 6th
century. The greatest work of Old English literature is the Bewolf a poem of
some 3000 lines known as the folk epic. In the development of literature,prose
comes late and vers is more effective for oral delivery and more easily retained
in the memory.

Chapter 4

1.Foreign Influences on Old English

The basis of Old English goes back to the Germanic tribes. However, it was
brought into contact with three other languages. At early times when it was
introduced into the island (during the first seven hundred years of its existence
in England). The language of the Celts,the Romans and the Scandinavian. The
apparent influence was the addition to its vocabulary.

A.The Celtic Influence:

The conquest of the Celts by the Anglo-Saxsons resulted in mixture of their

languages which is natural consequences.

The adoption of the native language was not equal in all regions.

A1. Celtic place names:

The language showed evidence of Celtic place-names eg the kingdom of Kent

owes its name to the Celtic word (canti). Many districts today specially in the
west and southwest preserve their original Celts names.

The name London although the origin of the word is somewhat uncertain most
likely goes back to Celtic. The Thames is a Celtic river name.

A2. Other Celtic Loan Words:

Other than place names Celtic words in English were of two groups

1. Those which the Anglo-Saxson learned through everyday contact with the
natives (orally trasmitted and of popular character)
2. Those which were introduced by the Irish missionaries in the north.
(connected with religious activities and were more or less learned. Generally
speaking the influence of the Celts upon the Anglo-Saxons was slight because
the relation of the Celts to the Anglo-Saxsons was that of a submerged race and
they were not in a position to make any contribution to Anglo-Saxson's
civilization.

B.Three Latin Influences on Old English:

The second great influence upon English was Latin. Latin had great influence
on OE because

It was the language of a higher Civilization. The Germanic tribes who became
the English,had various relations later with the Romans through which they
acquired a considerable number of Latin words. When they came to England,
they saw the evidence of the long Roman rule in the Island and learned from the
Celts a few additional Latinwords.

Generally speaking the character of the words sometimes give some clue to its
date. Common words among English and other Germanic languages indicate
that these words were not borrowed after the settlement in the Island(e.g.
copper)

B1. Contengntal Borrowing (Latin influence of the zero period):

The first Latin words to find their way into the English language owe their
adoption to the early contact between the Romans and the Germanic tribes in
the continent e.g. of the borrowed Latin words :kitchen, cup,cheese, wheat
pepper,butter etc.... The Romans contributions to the building arts are evident:
tile, chalk...

The great number of Latin words adopted by the Germanic language indicated
the relationship between the two people.

B2. Latin through Celtic transmission (Latin influence of the first period)

The use of Latin as a spoken language didn't long survive the end of Roman rule
in the island and even the minimum portion of the language which survived was
lost in the disorders that accompanied the Germanic invasions. There was no
opportunity for direct contact between Latin and Old English in England. Such
Latin words in English would have come through Celtic transmission.
B3. Latin influence of the second period (the chrisianizing of Britain)

The greatest influence of Latin upon OE was occasioned by introduction of

Christianity into Britain in 597

B4. Effect of Christianity on English civilization:

Schools were established. Were they taught different fields of knowledge

(poetry, astronomy, etc....

B5. The Earlier Influence of Christianity on the Vocabulary:

During the five hundred year since the introduction of Christianity to the close
of old English, Latin words must have been making their way gradually into
English Language. Vocabulary of this period were those related to religion and
its organization.

B6. Bendictine Reforms Influence on English:

The influence of Latin upon the English language rose and fell with the state of
the church and learning at this period started to borrow and describe less
popular words expressing ideas of a scientific and learned character.

B7. The Application of Native Words to New Concepts:

English didn't always adopt a foreign word to express a new concept .Often an
old word was applied to anew thing and by a slight adoption made to express a
new meaning. Anglo-Saxon God instead of Latin Deus.

B8. The Extent of the influence:

The influence on the language is seen in the number of words borrowed as a

result of Christianizing of Britain about 450 Latin words appear in English
writings without the derivatives and the proper names The Latin influence of the
second period was thorough and makes the beginning of the English habit of
incorporating foreign elements into its vocabulary.

C.The Scandinavian Influence -The Viking Age:

Near the end of the Old English, English underwent a third foreign influence as
a result of the contact with another important language,the Scandinavian.
Scandinavian peninsula and Denmark were one time neighbours of the Anglo-
Saxsons and closely related in blood and language. In the eighth century they
began to attack the island. In fact from the middle of the eighth century to the
beginning of the eleventh century it was known as the Viking Age.

C1.The Scandinavian Invasion of England:

The Scandinavian attacks upon England have three well recognized stages. The
first is the period of early raids in 787.The second stage which is marked by the
extensive settlement in 850.The third stage cover the period of political
adjustment and assimilation from 878 to 1042.

C2. The Settlement of the Dans in England:

The Scandinavian settlement in the island was evident from the 1,400 .Places in
England bear Scaninavian names specially in the north and east.

C3.The Amalgamation of the Two People:

There was a close kinship between the Anglo-Saxon and the Scandinavians.
Those groups who settled peacefully in Britain.

4.The Relation of the Two languages

There was an extensive interaction of the two languages upon each other. This
interaction is evident in the number of Scandinavian elements found in English.

C5. The Test of Borowed Words:

The similarity between Old English and the Scandinavian language makes it at
times very difficult to decide whether a given word in modern English is a
native or a borrowed one. e.g the development of the sound/sk/in old English
was early palatalized to/sh/written sc .

Whereas in the Scandinavian countries it retained its hard/sk/sound.

Consequently, while native word like ship, shall, fish have /sh/ sound in modern
English words borrowed from the Scandinavian are still pronounced with /sk/:
sky, skill, scrub,bask.

C6. Scandinavian Place Names:

Among the most notable evidences of the extensive Scandinavian.Settlement in
England is the large number of places that bear Scandinavian names (more than
600 places e.g Derby, Rugby etc..)

C7.The Earlier Borrowing:

At the early stage of Scandinavian invasion words borrowed were limited to

those associated with sea-roving and predatory people e.g: cnearr( small
warship) lip (fleat) dreng (worrior)

C8. Scandinavian loan-Words and Their Character

It was after the Danes had begun to settle in the Island and enter into the
ordinary relations of life with the English that Scandinavian words commenced
to enter in numbers into the language. Their settlement brought the English in
contact with a civilization very much like the English. The words borrowed
have the character of everyday use. e.g: die egg dirt, leg,kid, loan race, root...

C9.The Relation of Borrowed and Native Words

The borrowed Scandinavian words may not supply real need in English
vocabulary. It resulted as a consequent of the mixture of the people. The
Scandinavian and the English word were used side by side and the survival of
one or the other must often have been a matter of chance.

C10. Form Words:

The Scandinavian words that made their way into English were not confined to
nouns,adjectives, and verbs, but they were extended to
pronouns,prepositions,adverbs and even a part of verb to be. Such parts of
speech are not often transferred from one language to another and this is an
evidence of the intimate relationship that existed between the two languages.

C11. Scandinavian Influence Outside the Standard Speech :

Scandinavian elements were used in dialects too.

C12. Effects on Grammar and Syntax

The Scandinavian influence not only affected the vocabulary but extended to
matters of grammar and syntax as well. Inflections are seldom transformed from
one language to another. A number of inflectional elements peculiar to the
Northumbrian dialect have been attributed to Scandinavian influence, among
others s of the third person singular present indicative of verbs.

In many words the English and Scandinavian languages differed chiefly in their
inflectional elements. Such ending may create some obstacles in the way of
mutual understanding. Syntax however was less affected than vocabulary. The
probability of such influence naturally varies with the degree of intimacy that
exist between the speakers of two languages.

C13. Period of Extent of the influence:

The number of borrowed Scandinavian words that exist in standard English may
reach nine hundred. Such words represent common everyday things and
fundamental concepts. The English Dialect Dictionary.contains 1154 simple
words beginning with sc- (sk) which is a characteristic of Scandinavian
Language. The Scandinavian influence is one of the most interesting of the
foreign influences that have contributed to the English language.

Chapter five

The Norman Conquest and the Subjection of English 1066-1200

1.The Norman Conquest:

Towards the end of the old English period an event occurred which had a
greater effect on the English language than any other in the course of history.
This event was the Norman conquest in 1066.Such event resulted in the
reduction of inflection and the loss of a great number of Germanic vocabulary.
It also resulted in the adoption of enormous number of French words to the
extent that makes English almost as much as Romance languages as Germanic
language.

2 The Origin of Normandy:

Normandy is a district in the northern coast of France directly across the

channel. It became in 1000 one of the districts of the kingdom of France. The
Normans soon absorbed the most important elements of French civilization.
They adopted the important features of Frankish law, including the idea of jury.
It was at that time one of the outstanding legal systems of the world. Most
important event is that they have gave up their own language and learned
French. Before the Norman conquest the relations between England and
Normandy had been fairly close.

The relation between Normandy and England 1002 AEthelred the Unready
married a Norman lady.

Illustration

He was exiled by the Danes and took refuge with his brother-in-law in France.
His son Edward the Confessor(who was brought up in France) was restored to
the throne in 1042 from which his father was driven.

3.The year 1066

At the beginning of 1066, after the reign of twenty-four of Edward the

Confessor who died childless, England was faced again with the choice of a
successor. They elected Harold earl of the West Saxon. Before his death
Edward assured his second cousin William the duke of Normandy that he
should succeed him.In early manhood Edward had had to face a number of
crucial contests with rebellious barons, powerful neighbors, and even his
overlord the French King.

In 1066 the Normans under the leadership of William won the battle of Hastings
and then they had burnt and pillaged the southeast of England. By the end of
1066 William was crowned the king of England.

4. The Norman Settiment:

Many of the English higher class had been killed on the field of Hastings.Thus
William brought his Norman followers to replace such class. This process took
place for the next four years. In 1072 only one of the twelve earls in England
was an Englishman At the reign of William as well as the reign of his sons the
important positions were mostly held by Normans or men of foreign blood.

5. The use of French by the Upper Class:

The numbers of the new ruling class were sufficiently predominant to continue
to use their own language (French)
For two hundred years after the conquest French remained the language of the
upper class in England.The distinction between those who spoke French and
those who spoke English was not ethnic but largely social.

6.Cicumstances Promoting the Continued Use of French

The most important factor in the continued use of French by the English upper
class until the beginning of the thirteenth century was the close connection that
existed through all these years between England and the continent.

7.The Attitude Toward English:

English become uncultivated tongue,it was the language of a socially inferior

class but there was an evidence of mutual respect and peaceful cooperation.
During the period up to 1200 the attitude of the king and the upper class
towards the English language may be characterized as one of simple
indifference. They didn't cultivate English because their activities in England
did not necessitate it and their constant concern with continental affairs make
French for them more useful.

8. French Literature at the English Court:

Literature played an important part in the lives of the leisured class. Thus a
considerable body of French literature being produced in England from the
beginning of the 12th century.

9.Fusion of the Two People:

After a few years of the conquest people accepted the new order as a fact and
adjusted themselves to it. All the inhabitance of England were described as
English. This early fusion between French and English was evident in the
marriage of the Normans to English women. It is evident from the way in which
the English gave their support to their rulers.

10. The Disfusion of French and English:

French was the language of the court and the upper classes, English was the
speech of the mass of the people. The relation of two folds:

a).knowledge of English among the upper class: French was not confined to
persons of foreign extraction, but all those who were associated with the
governing class soon acquired a command of it. It was a mark of social
distinction. Since English was the language of the largest part of the
population,many of the upper class would acquire some familiarity with it. Most
of them could understand the language but could not speak it.English survived
for a considerable time in some Monastries for some bishops could not speak
English.

b) Knowledge of French among the middle class: By the end of the 12th century
a knowledge of English was not unusual among the upper class, and French was
also found among the lower social scale. knights as well as the middle class
cultivated French. In the period preceding the loss of Normandy in 1204 there
were some who spoke only French and many more who spoke only English and
there was a considerable number of bilinguals.

Chapter 6

The Re-establishment of English 1200-1500

Changing conditions after 1200: As long as England held its conditional

territory and the nobility of England were united to the continent by ties of
property and kinder, a real reason existed for the continued use of French
among the governing class in the island.

After 1200 conditions changed England lost an important part of its possessions
abroad. The nobility gradually relinquished their continental states.
Consequently new feelings developed such as rivalry between the two countries
accompanied by an anti foreign movement in England. Therefore the
maintenance became artificial Due to social and economic changes in the 14th
century English won its way back to universal use. In the 15th century French
almost disappeared.

The Facts that Caused the Disappearance of French:

The loss of Normandy

In 1204 king John lost Normandy which was binding England to the continent.
(the bridge of England to the continent). He married Isabel who was betrothed
engaged(in marriage contract) to a head of powerful and ambitious family. John
attacked this family which complained to the king of France Philip.

The latter summoned john 1202 to appear before his court at Paris. John thought
that since he was the king of England he wasn't subject to the French law. On
the day of the trial John did not appear, therefore the court declared his territory
(Normandy)confiscated.

Thus Philip carried out the decision of the court and invaded Normandy. After
loosing Normandy john lost his He lost his popularity after the death of his
nephew who was married to Philip's daughter who was murdered too supporters
one after another.

The loss of Normandy was beneficial to the English language as well as to the
other aspects The King and nobels started to look upon England as their
priority. The island king soon had his own political and economic goals which
were not the same of those of France.

Separation of the French and the English Nobilty:

After the Norman conquest a large number of the nobility held lands in both
countries (England and France)Thus existed a kind of interlocking aristocracy
and it was difficult for some of the English nobility to say whether they
belonged to England or to the continent.

In 1204 the king of France announced that he had confiscated the lands of
several great barons. The families who had estates on both sides where forced to
give up one or the other. Some nobles preferd their larger holdings in England
and gave up their Norman lands After 1250 all the nobility of England consider
themselves English.

France Reinforcements:

With the separation of French and English Nobility, the Norman nobility was
forced to identify itself with England. Consequently the country witnessed the
invasion of foreigners mainly from south of France at the reign of king john. It
increased at the time of his son Henry III (his mother and wife were French)
During king Henry's reign all the native officials of the court were dismissed
from their offices and replaced by foreigners. Those foreigners were placed in
charge of everything and they oppress the English subjects and nobles and
accused them of treachery to the king.

In 1236 Henry was married to Eleanor. Many of the relatives came to England
and the king rewarded them with lands possessions and money. e.g (one of her
uncles was appointed earl of Richmond)Henry III 1216-1272 during his long
reign the country was eaten up by strangers who were not only French but of
other nations such as Romans and Spanish.

The Reaction Against Foreigners and Growth of National Feeling:

In 1234 started the policy of (England for the English)
A number of bishops told the king that the situation was not wise or safe but
rather dangerous to the whole country because these aliens hate the English
people. Upon this threat the king dismissed the foreigners from offices. Those
foreigners didn't understand the English tongue, they lacked faith and cause the
country to be poor.

The reaction against foreigners caused some wars "Baron's" was in (1258-1265)
during which the foreigners were driven from England when peace was finally
restored and Edward (1272-1307) came to the throne we enter upon a period in
which England became conscious of its unity when the governmental officials
are for most part English. Thus the foreign attack in the thirteenth century
undoubtedly delayed the natural spread of the use of English by the upper class.

French Cultural Ascendency in Europe:

The stimulus given to the use of French in England by foreign additions to

the upper class coincides with the wide popularity that the French language
enjoyed all over Europe during the thirteenth century. Even some books were
translated into French because it was common to all people. The prestige
of French civilization was carried out by the greatest medieval literature By the
fame of the university of France and by the Normans themselves. These were
the reasons for the continued use of French among political circle in England.

English and French in the Thirteenth Century.

The thirteenth century was described as a period of shifting emphasis upon the
two languages spoken in England.The upper class continued to use French as
was the case in the 12the century however, the reasons for doing so were not the
same. French became a cultivated tongue supported by social custom and by
business and administrative conventions At the same time English was restoring
its recognition when the separation of the English nobles from their interest in
France had been completed (English) it was becoming generally used by the
upper classes.

It was at this time the adoption of the French words into the English language
took place on a large scale. Their French words occurs when those who know
French and have been accustomed to use it try to express themselves in English.
Moreover the literature intended for polite circles begin to be made over from
French into English. By the end of the century the young generation of nobility
started to speak English as their mother tongue and had to be taught French with
English glosses.
French was used by the upper class as well as in parliament, in the low court,
public negotiations. French was read by the educated. As the use of French
declined French appeared as either in court or peculiar(example :mistaken in
gender by some writers using La before a man's name and Le before a wonan's
name.

Compare to the decline of the use of French the use of English spread among
the upper. Evidence of the spread of English is little treaties to teach children
French when French was treated as a foreign language.

Latin was the language of record. To sum up the situation in the latter part of
13th century, English was widely known among all classes though not
recognized by everyone.

Attempts to Arrest the Decline of French:

After the close of 13th century it was clear that the use of French was very
weak. The people had a strong tendency to speak English especially in Church
university

The 100 years war:

During he 12th century the connection of England with the contenint have been
broken. It caused a hostile atmosphere. One of the causes of such conflect
between England and France was the interference of France in England's
efforts to control Scotland. This led to Edward III invasion of France. These
wars lasted from 1337-1453.The 100 was no doubt one of the causes of the
disuse of French.

The Rise of the Middle Class:

One of the main reasons for the restoration of the English prestige was the
improvement of the conditions of the majority of people and the rise of the
middle class.

The importance of a language is largely determined by the importance of the

people who speak it. What gives importance to the language?

During the last part of the middle English period the condition of the laboring
class was rapidly improving. (e.g. fixed money payment)The reason for the
change? In the year 1348 appeared in the southeast of England the first case of a
disease, which spread fast for it was contagious once it hits in two or three days
the victim either died or showed signs of recovery. The death rate approximated
30%. Therefore it was called "The Black Death' Plague. This calamity affected
the poor more than the rich.

The loss of great number of the poor caused shortage of labor which
consequently caused the rise in wages. The black death increased the economic
importance of the laboring class along with the importance of the English
language which they spoke What caused the rise of the importance of the
English language. After the black death (the rise of the importance of laboring
class who spoke English witnessed the rise of another group The Craftsmen and
the Merchants class. As the towns fold were engaged in trade and or in
manufacturing craft and they were unified for their mutual protection and
advantages.

Thus ocurred in each town an independent wealthy and powerful class between
rural peasants and the aristocracy Such changes in the social and economic life
benefited particularly the English-speaking part of the population.

General Adoption of English in the Fourteenth century:

At the beginning of the 14th century English was once more known by
everyone. So learned and unlearned understand English.This situation was
proved by texts from that age. More over it was even spoken by many nobles.
However French still was used at the court. Some writings indicated that French
was the language of two groups, the educated class and the French, church, low
court (educated people include legal profession) up to 1362In fact people who
could speak French in the 14th century were billingulals.(e.g Edward III knew
English.) In 1362 for the first time English was used in the parliament.

The best description to the situation is to say that in the 14th century English
became again the mother tongue of all England. As for schools it was after 1349
that English began to be used in the schools. Increasing ignorance of the French
in the Fifteeth Century;

By the 15th century the ability to speak French fluently was an accomplishment.
Even the ability to write it was becoming less general among people of position.
French was a language of culture and fashion.

When French went out of use as a spoken language in England the reasons for
using French has changed. They stated three reasons for learning French: first it
was the need to communicate with their French neighbors in France.
Second, the laws are largely in French. And finally sofesticated letters were
written in French. The first of course is valid today. But the other two
disappeared by the time.

The Use of English in Writing:

Latin was the language of writing for along time because people who could
write Latin could do so because of its international character and the feeling that
it was a language that had become fixed while the languages seemed to be
variable, unregulated and in a constant state of change. It was in the 15th
century that English succeed in displacing both Latin and French in writing. It
was the reign of Henry VI 1413-1422) that marked the turning point in the use
of English in writing.

1425 represents the time at which English begins to be generally adopted in

writing.

Middle English Literature:

The literature written in England during the middle English period reflects the
changes in the use and neglect of English. The time French was the language of
the upper class, the books they read were in French. From 1150-1250 English
was the language of the middle and lower class. After the separation of the
English nobility from France shift towards the use of English began and that
affected its literature started to have romantic literature and translations and
adoptions, from French begin to be made. The general adoption of English by
all classes in the latter half of the 14th century, gave rise to a body of literature
which represents the high point in English literary achievement in the middle
ages. 1340-1400 period of great individual writers. Chauser greatest English
poet before Shakespeare.

The literature at the latter 14th century form an outstanding period in Middle
English literature. They present proof of the Secure position of the English
language had attained. 15th century is known as imitative period because much
of the poetry written was written in emulation of Chaucer. And also called
transition period because it covers a large part of the interval between the age of
Chaucer and the age of Shakespeare Middle English literature throw interesting
lights on the fortunes of the English language.

Chapter 7
 Middle English 1150-1500

Middle English is a period of great change.This period has witnessed drastic

change in the English language more than any time.

The causes of such changes:

1. The Norman conquest.

2. Conditions that followed the conquest.

3. Tendencies to manifest themselves in old English.

Do you think changes would have happened in the language if the Norman
conquest didn't occur? Due to the conquest the changes took place rapidly. The
changes of this period affected English in both its grammar and vocabulary.

Regarding the grammar it reduced English from a highly inflected language to

analytic one. As for the vocabulary large part of the old English word-stock was
lost and thousands of French and Latin were borrowed.

Decay of Inflectional English:

The distinctive changes in grammar was marked by the reduction of inflectional

endings of the noun and adjective, making distinctions in number, case or
gender were altered in pronunciation that they lost their distinctive form and
hence their usefulness.

The loss of inflection appeared also in verbs. The reasons for the loss of
inflectional endings:

1.The phonetic changes.

2. The operation of analogy.

The earliest was the change of final-m to -n either for plural nouns or adjectives
e.g. the muðum (mouths) .mudun , Such-n of inflectional ending was later
dropped (muðu) .The vowels (a,o,u,e) in inflectional endings were transferred to
a sound called "indeterminate vowel" which came to be written "e" and rarely
(ly,u). Consequently a number of originally distinct endings (-a-u-e, -an-um)
were reduced to a uniform-e. Such changes have been found in the old English
10 century. Though the pronunciation has changed the letters were preserved in
writing due to the tendency of the (conservatives) scribes to preserve the
traditional spelling.

The Noun:

The most distinctive ending(suffix) is the -s of the possessive singular and of

the nominative and accusative plural. Since these two cases of the plural, were
those most frequently used. The -s came to be thought of as the sign of the
plural and was extended to all plural forms.(which is identical to what is used
today).In early Middle English only two methods of indicating the plural
remained: the-s or -es (from the strong declension and-en (oxen)from the weak
declension. In facts has become the universal sign of the plural. The Adjectives
Changes in the forms of adjectives as the nouns were partly a result of the sound
changes and partly a result of the extensive working of analogy. 1 distinction
between plural and singular disappeared both forms ended with-e blinda

blindan = blinde

The only ending which remained to the adjectives was often without distinctive
grammatical meaning. In the fourteenth century final-e ceased to be pronounced
yet it was maintained in writing. Thus the adjective became uninflected word by
the end of the middle period.

The Pronouns:

Due to the decay of inflections the language depend less upon formal
indications of gender, case and number(as in adjectives).

It depends on word order and the prepositions to indicate the relation of words
in a sentence. The reduction of inflection was apparent in the demonstratives
which used to have different forms for number, gender and case that
disappeared and they were reduced to what are known today this that those and
these. However regarding personal pronouns there was a need for separate
forms for the different genders and cases, thus most of the distinctions that
existed in old English were retained.

The changes happened earlier were the combination of the dative and accusative
cases under that of the dative (him, her, them)

For the nuter the form of the accusative (he, it) became the objective case
because it was like the nominative and because the dative would (him) be
confused with corresponding case of the masculine.

One of the changes (simplification) was the loss of the dual number. The change
was gradual and both the strong and weak forms were used side by side.e.g the
verbs which changes to the weak form have the old strong form preserved as in
(climb-clomb) The Verbs:

The prominent changes in the verbs during the Middle English period were the
loss of strong conjugation (inflection of verbs)

Few verbs survived as strong forms where as others have changed over the
course of time to the weak inflection.

1/3 of the old English strong verbs died out early in the Middle English. Some
were preserved in spoken English but not recorded (dialects).

A few of the old English verbs were recorded in the literary works. Moore than
200 of the old English strong verbs were lost at the beginning of the middle
English period and continued.

The great number of loss of strong verbs occured at the beginning of the Middle
English. Verbs either passed to the weak conjucation or had developed weak
forms. Today more than half of the old English strong verbs have disappeared
from the standard language. Since English was at that time the language of the
lower class and it was removed from the restraining influences of education and
literary standard, it was natural that many speakers wrongly apply the pattern of
weak verbs to some which have been strong. The tendency of the verbs change
to the weak form existed in old English but was very limited then it was
extended to the previous mentioned conditions. Towards the end of the Middle
English period such movement slowed down due to the rise of English in the
social scale And the standarizing effect of printing.

Grammatical Gender:

One of the consequences of the decay of inflections was the elimination of the
grammatical gender. Generally the decay of the inflection started in the north
and later in the south.

The gender of old English nouns was not often determined by meaning
sometimes it contradicts the meaning e.g. woman in OE was masculine. Wife
and child were neuter but some genders in OE were determined according to
their neutral gender. By the time the disappearance of grammatical gender the
idea of sex became the only factor in determining the gender of English nouns

Grammatical Changes and the Norman Conquest:

Languages usually borrow words but do not borrow grammatical structures.
Thus the effect of the Norman conquest on the grammatical changes was
indirect.

Some idioms and syntactical usage that appear in middle English were the result
of the contact with the French Whereas the decay of inflections and other
development in the middle English grammar were the result of the conditions
created by the Norman Conquest (by making English the language of
uneducated people which caused the grammatical changes to go forward
unchecked.

French Influence on the Vocabulary:

French influence was apparent with respect to vocabulary. French and English
lived side by side for along time (and the relations between people were
intimate). Thus considerable transference of words from one language to the
other was inevitable.

The interchange was mutual. However the number of the English words that
entered French was not as large as that of the French words introduced into
English.

Why were there more word borrowed from French into English?

Because English represented an inferior culture, had more to learn from French.

The number of French words into English were the greatest in number in the
whole history of the English language. This effect was the result of political and
social consequences of the conquest.

This change started slow and continued for along time. Borrowing from French
at that era made it easy to borrow from other languages.

There were two distinct phases for French borrowing (early and late)

1. The borrowing of this stage was less numerous.

2. It showed the peculiarities of Anglo-Norman phonology. 3. A bout 900 words

were the result of the contact of the lower class with a French speaking nobility
(baron, nobles servant messengers)

After1250 the Conditions Changed

1.Those who used to speak French started to use English. So they used the
French words either to supply deficiency in the English vocabulary or to cover
their own imperfect command of English. People transferred much of their
governmental and administrative vocabulary, their escleiastical, legal and
military terms, their familiar words of fashion food and social life the
vocabulary of learning and medicine.

Army and Navy:

e.g.p: 170

During the Middle ages the control of the army was in the hands of the those
who spoke French. Fashion,meals and social life p:171
Art, learning and medicine p:172

Breadth of the French Influence:

The contribution of French vocabulary into English covered all important

departments, it included thousands of all types of vocabulary nouns,adjectives,
verbs and phrases and expresions.

Anglo-Norman and Central French:

The French words introduced into English as a result of the Norman conquest
have different appearance from that

which they have in modern French. Such difference is a result of the subsequent
developments which have taken place in the two languages. e.g.:

OE ME MOE MF

Fest feste feast fete

Forest forest foret

The difference is not always revealed by the spelling but is apparent in the
pronunciation. The English word judge and chant preserve the early French
pronunciation of and ch which was softened in French in the 13th century to/ 3/
and/[/. Thus words such as; change, charge, chamber, just, jewl, majesty and
many others are considered from early borrowing.
While words like chaperon chiffon, rouge show by their pronunciation that they
have came into the language at later date.

The second reason for the difference between French and English words is that
the Anglo Norman or Anglo-French dialect spoken in England differed from the
language of Paris (central French)

Popular and Literary Borrowing:

Although most of the French borrowed words were those of everyday popular
words, much of Middle English literature was based directly on French
originals (adopting many popular speech paved the way for the entrance of The
number of words in the 15th century were less than those in the former century
yet they were more prominent because the adoption of popular words nearly
disappeared with the disappearance of French as a spoken language in England.

The Period of Great Influence:

The years from 1250-1400 mark the period of influence where English was
everywhere replacing French During these 150 years 40% of all the French
words in the language came in. Some statistics showed that the number of
French words adopted during the Middle English period was slightly over ten
thousand.15% of which are still in current use.

Assimilation:

Adopted French words were assimilated rapidly e.g. English challing were
added to them as was the case with English words, Gentle was later
compounded gentlewoman, gentleman, gentiness and gently. Apparently the
adverbial endings-ly seems to have been added to sn adjectives.

Loss of Native Words:

It is known that there are no exact synonyms in English. There are usually
certain peculiarity of meaning or use that distinguish a word from terms with
which it has much in common. There is always a tendency towards economic
usage of words which lead people to get red of a word when its function is fully
performed by some other word After the Norman conquest duplications
resulted. In such cases one of two words was lost or if both survived they were
differentiated in meaning. In most cases the old English words were lost.

Differenciation in Meaning:
Where both the English and the French words survived they were generally
differentiated in meaning. The discrimination between them has been a matter
of gradual growth but it justifies the retention of both words in the language.e.g.

English (represents living animals) French (meat)

Ox Beef
sheep calf
mutton veal

The Curtailment of O.E Processes of Derivation;

As a form of human activity language always displays (shows) tendencies

which one recognize as characteristic of the speech of a given people at a given
time. Such habits may be altered by circumstances.e.g. old English enlarged its
vocabulary by the use of prefixes and suffixes. After the Norman conquest there
was a decline in the use of these methods of word-formation.

Prefixes: many of the OE prefixes gradually lost their vitality.e.g. for-used to

intensify the meaning of a verb or to add the idea of destructive. In MOE it is
preserved in verbs such as forget, forgive.

Suffixes: the decline in suffixes was less noticeable than prefixes because some
important ending have remained active e.g.-ness, -ful, -less, some, -ish.
Generally there was a gradual change in English habits of word formation
resulting from the available supply of French words with which to fill the needs
of everyday need by the native resources of the language.

Self-explaining compounds:

E.g. bookhouse declined

Because French word could have been borrowed instead of compounding words
from the native language to create new meaning.

The Language Still English;

In spite of the extensive modification of the English language the language

retained its characteristics as English language .p: 188

Latin Borrowing in Middle English:

The Norman conquest is called the Latin influence. Latin was a spoken
language among religious men and men of learning. The number of words
entered the language through this path is less than that entered through
literature. English had some Latin terms relating to law, medicine, science,
theology and literature. Among them, several with endings like-able, ible, ent,-
dl-ous, -ive....which became familiar in English and reinforced by French. In
addition unusual words from Latin by writers of prose (stylistic) were
borrowed. The borrowing from Latin, French and Native dialects made English
rich in synonyms: English was also influenced by (Romance) the languages of
the low countries; Flemish Dutch and low German which were similar to
English. It was difficult to realize whether a word has been adopted from one of
these languages or of native origin.

Dialectal Diversity of Middle English:

Middle English has great variety in the different parts of England. This variety
included the spoken language as well as written literature. With absence of
literary standard writers naturally wrote in their dialects.

The Middle English Dialects:

We can distinguish four principal dialects of Middle English Northern, East

Midland, West Midland and southern. These dialects differ in respect of
pronunciation, vocabulary and inflection.

The Rise of Standard English

Out of this variety of local dialects emerged toward the end of 14th century a
written language which became The Rise of Standard English recognized as the
standard in speech and writing. This dialect was very close to the East Midland
dialect of London

What were the causes for the standarization of East Midland dialect?

1.The English of this region occupied a middle position. Less conservative than
the southern dialect radical than the Northern.

2. The East Midland dialect district was the largest and most
populous(inhabitance).

3. The presence of the universities Oxford, Cambridge in this region.

The importance of London English:

The most influential factor in the rise of standard English was the importance of

London as the capital of England. London was the political and commercial
center of England. The Spread of the London Standard:

In the latter part of the 15th century London standard had been accepted at least
in writing in most parts of the country. The standarization of London dialect
promoted by the introduction of printing in 1476.

Chapter 8

The Renaissance 1500-1650

Changing condition in the Modern Period:

The development of languages is affected by some events. The beginning of

Modern English period which is marked at 1500 was a result of certain
conditions among which the printing press the rapid spread of popular
education, the increased communication and means of communication, and the
growth of what may be called social consciousness.

The invention of printing in Germany about the middle of the 15th century
created a powerful force for promoting a standard,uniform language .It also
helped to spread that language throughout the country. The influence of printing
was activated by the rapid progress of education which eliminate literacy. In the
later Middle Ages almost half of the people could at least read. Moreover as a
result of popular education the printing press has been able to exert its influence
upon language as upon thought. A third factor of great importance to language
in modern time is that of commerce,transportation and the rapid means of
communication which brought the different parts of the world together.

Social consciousness:

People have a tendency to identify themselves with a certain social or economic

group. Consequently a man would speak the language of his class. However due
to the democratic conditions that prevail today a man became able to lift himself
into a different economic or intellectual or social level. He is probably would try
to adopt the standards of grammar and pronunciation of the people with whom
he has identified himself with. Awareness that there are standards of language is
a part of his social consciousness.
Effect upon grammar and vocabulary:

Such mentioned forces could be described as both radical and conservative.

Radical means anything that promotes change in language whereas conservative
force means conservative force mean to preserve the exiting status. Thus the
printing press, the reading habit and all forms of communication advocate
change and stimulate the growth of vocabulary. Semantainiously these forces
together with social consciousness promote and are likely to encourage the
maintenance of standard specially the in grammar and usage.

The Problem of the Vernaculars:

In the Middle Ages the development of English took place as a result of

Norman conquest which was peculiar to England other than the other languages
of Europe as mentioned, the conquest imposed a foreign tongue upon the
dominant social class and left the native speech in the hands of the uncultivated.

However,by the end of the Middle English period English had made a
remarkable recovery. In the 16th century the modern language faced three great
problems.

1. Recognition in the fields where Latin had for centuries been supreme.

2. The establishment of a more uniform orthography.

3. The enrichment of the vocabulary so that it would be adequate to meet the

demands that would be made upon it in its wide use.

Elaboration:

The struggle for recognition: Although English had established a position as the
language of popular literature, there was a strong tendency towards the use of
Latin in all fields of knowledge. Tendency was strengthen by the revival of
learning (words of Greek and Latin).

Latin and Greek were the keys to world's knowledge.

Much of highly sophisticated literature was read in such languages. Moreover

Latin enjoyed universal currency.

Contrary to the former opinion there were supporters of the modern

languages.p: 203 quotations.(Italian French The real force behind the use of
English was a popular demand, the demand of all sorts of men in practical life
to share in the fruits of Renaissance. The revival of learning had revealed the
richness of the civilization of Greece and and English writers Rome.

In order to learn from their knowledge in all fields (military, political and
government). In order to spread their knowledge such knowledge has to be
expressed in the language that everybody read. The demand was met by
translations and original works. e.g. the great works of Homer p:204 From a
commercial point of view, the market for English books was naturally greater
than for Latin, Arabic p:206 mentioned as one of the languages of learning
around the world at that time. By the end of the century English has won
recognition as a language of serious thought. (Sir Philip Sidney quotations
p:207in 1583.

The Problem of Orthography:

Spelling or 'right writing 'for the English and other Europeans in the 16th
century was important.The problem was that there was generally not accepted
system that everyone could conform to. The spelling of modern languages in the
Middle Ages had attempted successfully to represent the pronunciation of words
although some Norman scribes

Introduced some confusion as they tried to write a language which they

imperfectly know and carried over habits which they had formed in writing
French. In some cases there was a difference between inserted in words where
they were not pronounced (like the b in debt and doubt). Because the
corresponding word in Latin was so spelled (detium, jubitare) light,night where
the gh had formerly represented actual sound

The variability of English spelling was an important part of the instability which
people felt characterized the English language in the 16th century as compared
with Latin. In spite of the Variety in Elizabethan spelling,by 1550 many of the
features of English spelling today were becoming established.

There was a problem of spelling which was that pronunciation constantly

changes. Richard Mulcaster pp.211-212 spent efforts to stabilize spelling
through a book which included the recommended spelling for about 7,000 of the
most common words. The influence of his book was obvious on certain later
writers. During the first half of the 17th century the tendency towards
uniformity increased. The fixation of English spelling is associated in most
people's minds with Dr. Johnson (Dictionary). The problem of orthography was
settled during the period 1500-1650.
The Problem of Enrichment:

There was an effort to enrich the language. The Renaissance was a period of
increased activity in almost every field. The language was enriched as a result
of some consequences and efforts. The rediscovery of Latin and Greek
Literature drew the attention to them as the medium of literary expression. The
scholarly dominance of Latin have had left vernaculars un developed, however,
at the Renaissance this \=[‘]dominancy was broken. And consequently the
deficiency of English was revealed. The act of translation made the translator
borrow from other languages (du to the limitation of his language).This way
many foreign words were introduced. Words borrowed were mainly in
particularly needed in various technical fields (military terms) English acquired
in the 16th and early 17th century thousands of new words. The greatest number
of words were borrowed from Latin Some from Greek great many from French
and some from Italian and Spanish.

Some confusion as they tried to write a language which they imperfectly know
and carried over habits which they had formed in writing French. In some cases
there was a difference between inserted in words where they were not
pronounced (like the b in debt and doubt). Because the corresponding word in
Latin was so spelled (detium, jubitare) light,night where the gh had formerly
represented actual sound

The variability of English spelling was an important part of the instability which
people felt characterized the English language in the 16th century as compared
with Latin. In spite of the Variety in Elizabethan spelling,by 1550 many of the
features of English spelling today were becoming established.

There was a problem of spelling which was that pronunciation constantly

changes. Richard Mulcaster pp.211-212 spent efforts to stabilize spelling
through a book which included the recommended spelling for about 7,000 of the
most common words. The influence of his book was obvious on certain later
writers. During the first half of the 17th century the tendency towards
uniformity increased. The fixation of English spelling is associated in most
people's minds with Dr. Johnson (Dictionary). The problem of orthography was
settled during the period 1500-1650.

The Problem of Enrichment:

There was an effort to enrich the language. The Renaissance was a period of
increased activity in almost every field. The language was enriched as a result
of some consequences and efforts. The rediscovery of Latin and Greek
Literature drew the attention to them as the medium of literary expression. The
scholarly dominance of Latin have had left vernaculars un developed, however,
at the Renaissance this dominancy was broken. And consequently the
deficiency of English was revealed. The act of translation made the translator
borrow from other languages (du to the limitation of his language).This way
many foreign words were introduced. Words borrowed were mainly in
particularly needed in various technical fields (military terms) English acquired
in the 16th and early 17th century thousands of new words. The greatest number
of words were borrowed from Latin Some from Greek great many from French
and some from Italian and Spanish.

Chapter 9

The Appeal to Authority 1650-800

The Temper of the Eighteenth century:

The first half of the eighteenth century is commonly known as the Augustan
Age in England this period has some features:

A strong sense of order and the value of regulation which involves conformity
to a standard that the consensus recognizes as good. The most important
consideration in the foundation of this standard is reason. A great satisfaction
was felt in things that could be logically explained and justified. Reason was
often supported by the force of authoritative example if possible. The spirit of
scientific rationalism reflected in many other demands of thought. Not only in
literature but in language Latin was looked up as a model. Generally precedence
was to classical production. The 18th century, like many other period in
history,was quietly conscious of its own superiority.

Its reflection on the Attitude toward the language:

The intellectual tendencies in the 18th century represented in the efforts to

standardize, refine and fix the English Language. At this age (18th century) the
focus was on grammar, it was discovered that English grammar was un codified
or un-systematic. The ancient languages had been reduced to rule, one would
know what was right and what was wrong, but in English everything was
uncertain. In many matters of grammatical usage there was much variation even
among men of education.

This was un pleasant to an age that was looked upon as an orderly universe by
all nations around them. The respect for Authoritative example, especially for
classical example, took the form of appeals to the analogy of Latin. Generally
it was the desire of the 18th century to give the English language a position.

Ascertainment:

The procedure of reforming English in the 18th century focus on three purposes:

1. To reduce the language to rule and set up a standard of correct usage.

2. To refine it through removing supposed defects and introduce certain
improvement.

3. To fix it permanently in the desired form.

One of the main noticeable defects of English in the end of the 17th century was
the absence of a standard which means that the language did not posses certain
rules. In the 18th century the need for standardization and regulation was
expressed in the word " ascertainment" Dr. Johnson defined this word as "a
settled rule,an established standard". The need was for a dictionary to record the
proper use of words, and a grammar which should settle authoritatively the
correct usage in matter of construction.

The problem of refining the language:

During the 18th century English had some defects:

1. uncertainty.
2. The lack of a standard to which all might conform caused some corruptions.

The case resulted in a lament for the various periods in the past which were
supposed to represent the highest perfection of English For Swift the
Elizabethan age was the golden age.

Regarding language Swift was a conservative. He opposed the tendency to

innovations:

1.Tendency to clip and shorten words which should retain their full polysyllabic
form.

2. The tendency to contract verbs such as drug'd, fled

3. Some new words used in religious contexts.

The Desire to fix the Language:

One of the most ambitious hops of the eighteenth century was to establish it in a
permanent form.

The Example of Italy and France:

In an attempt to solve the problem of standardizing, refining and fixing,those

who are concerned about the language had to look at the experience of other
countries. Since Italy and France were a model of inspiration for a long time. In
Italy they had an academy and it had the objective of purification of the Italian
language. It published for this purpose in 1612 a dictionary which was modified
in several editions. In France they established The French Academy which
started with six men and increased to forty. They used to meet once a week to
talk about books and to exchange views of literature. The purpose of that
Academy was to set definite rules to their language (French). To achieve their
goals they compiled a dictionary.

Thus at the time England was lamenting the lack of an adequate dictionary, Italy
and France had both achieved this object through agency of academies.

An English Academy

Following the example of Italy and France the suggestion of an academy

occurred early in the 17th century. Learned societies had been known in
England since 1572. They were concerned with the study of antiquity and
history. It was composed of men famous in politics, law science,
literature,history and the like.

In 1664 on word there was a call for a committee for improving the English
language and Dryden was one of its advocates.Besides Dryden another famous
figure was Roscommon. Thus in 1697 the idea of an academy was published by
Defoe where he advocated an academy for England , which he
recommended as the authority that would be consulted by writers.

Swift's Proposal 1712:

By the beginning of the eighteenth century the ground had been prepared for an
academy. Swift addressed a letter to the earl of Oxford under the title:
A proposal for correcting, improving and ascertaining the English tongue.

The Effect of Swift's proposal:

The publication of his proposal marked the beginning towards the movement
for an English Academy. However Swifts proposal was opposed by John
Oldmixon .In spite of Swifts attempts no serious effort was made to accomplish
the purpose. Thus other thought that it would be useless to try again.

His proposal in fact directed the pubic and authoritative attention to the problem
of language.

Objection to an Academy:

Though the idea of an academy died hard, the 18th century showed a growing
tendency toward it.

The objection to the academy was the result of the spirit of personal liberty in
the use of language.

Substitutes for an Academy:

As the proposal of Swift Failed, some of those advocated the establishment of

an academy brought about the reforms the reforms which they believed
necessary and sat standard. Writers such as Cooke published "Proposals He
extended the reforms to changing of all strong verbs to week, the formation of
all plurals of nouns by means of for Perfecting the English Language"

s or-es, the comparison of adjectives only with only more and most. There was a
belief that a standard was to be brought about by general consent rather than
autherative edict.

There was a need for a dictionary and grammatical rules. without these there
would be no certainty in diction and no standard of correct construction. The
first was supplied by Johnson's dictionary in 1755 the latter however, was met
by some grammarians.

Johnson's Dictionary:

Publishing the dictionary in 1755 "A Dictionary of the English Language" was a
great accomplishment. It represents the effort of one man over seven years. It
supplied thousands of questions examples illustrating the use of words. Johnson
praised his dictionary as having the same function as the dictionary of an
academy. He was described as the founder of reformation and his dictionary as
the corner stone.

"The man who had great conferred stability on the language of his country"
(Boswell)

The Eighteenth-century Grammarians and Rhetoricians:

As early as the 16th century treaties on English grammar had appeared and in
the 17th were compiled by even such

men as Ben Johnson and Milton. These works were written for the purpose of
teaching foreigners the language or providing a basis for the study of Latin
grammar. It was only in the 18th century that English grammar viewed as a
subject worth studying.

The decade beginning 1760 witnessed a striking interest in grammar.

Consequently many books of grammar were published.

The Aims of the Grammarians:

The aims of the 18th century grammarians were

1. To codify the principles of the language and reduce it to rules.

2. To settle disputed points and decide cases of divided usage.

3. To point out the common errors or what were supposed to be errors, and thus
correct and improve the language.

The Beginning of Prescriptive Grammar:

To prescribe and to proscribe were the aims of the grammarians. Prescribe =

advise or order the use of. Proscribe = restrict the use of Grammarians had
settled up many disputed matters of usage. Many of the conventions now
accepted and held up as preferable in our handbooks were first introduced in the
second half of the 18th century.

e.g. you were (was) Different from (different than or to)

With regard to pronouns Lowth expressed the view that has since been
accepted, that the pronoun is determined by the construction to be supplied or
understood 278. e.g. he is older than she

He likes you better than me. Grammarians opposed the use of double negative.
Why?

Because as Lowth stated two negatives in English destroy one another or are
equivalent to an affirmative. (They haven't done nothing).

Methods of Approach:

The consideration by which the questions of usage were settled were three:
reason (logic), etymology and the example of Latin and Greek.

1. Reason: Lowth objected to / am mistaken Since it should properly mean: "I

am misunderstood and not (1am wrong)

2. Etymology: Johnson and Lowth stated" when the etymology is from an

ancient or foreign language or from obsolete roots in our language or when it is
obscure or doubtful, no regard should be had to it the case is different, when the
root either are,or strongly appear to be English, are in present use, and clearly
suggest another meaning. Beholden for obliged or indebted..." p:280

3. The example of Latin: according to Johnson it wasn't commonly cited" every

language must be servility formed after the model of some one of the ancient,if
we wish to give durability to our works." Such an attitude derived in part from
concerns with universal grammar (that grammar which only respects those
principles, that are essential to al languages). Most of the ideas of universal
grammar were derived from the literary traditions of Latin and Greek.

The Doctrine of Usage:

In the latter half of the 18th century appeared the beginnings of the modern
doctrine that the most important criterion of language is usage. Campbell
inquire what constituted the body of usage which he recognized as so
authoritative and redefined it as present,national and reputable use. Such a
definition so reasonable and sound that it has been accepted ever since.

Results:

Results of the 18th century that grammarians had achieved:

The grammarians were attempting to "ascertain" the language and give
definiteness and order to a body of uncodified practice in order to avoid the
description of English as a language without rules. Consequently a considerable
number of disputed points, rightly or wrongly,were settled and have since
became established. Thus with the settlement of many matters which were in
disputed much of the uncertainty was removed. For this and other reasons
English escaped the artificial restraints and in the influence of an academy.

Weakness of the Early Grammarians:

Though the efforts of the 18th grammarians are acknowledged , yet there were
some limitations;

1. The failure to recognize the importance of usage as sole arbiter in linguistic

matter.
2. They didn't realize that changes in language often appear to be un reasonable.
3. Their ignorance of the process of linguistic change.

Attempts to Reform the Vocabulary:

Weaknesses characterized the attempts to reform the vocabulary every one felt
competent to purify the language by proscribing words and expressions because
they were too old or too new. Individual objection to particular expression was
not limited to the 18th century.

In fact most of the words criticized are still in use and the efforts to abandon
them failed because they interfere with the natural course of linguistic history.

Objection to Foreign Borrowing:

One of the main concerns of the 18th century for the purity of the language was
to purify English from foreign words.Dryden objection" a turning English into
French" and many other writers objected to foreign words. It is not difficult to
see how French was in a strong position to influence English. French was at the
height of its prestige. Travel to France was necessary part of one's education
Latin (middle Ages = French 18th century. The number of French words
admitted to the language in the period from 1650-1800 was not that large. Many
of them were useful. The expansion of the British Empire.
The expansion of the British Empire:

In this period the foundations were being laid for that wide extension of English
in the world which has resulted in its use throughout more than quarter of the
earth's surface.

The beginning of colonization started as early as 1492 when Columbus

discovered America and Vasco De Gama reached India 1498. Their
achievements were due to Spanish and Portuguese enterprise. When the wealth
of America and Canada started pouring into Spanish and Portuguese lands, the
other countries envy and ambitions were aroused.

The English settlements began at the Atlantic boarders and spread to different
areas.

Although the American Revolution deprived England of one of her most

promising colonies, it didn't prevent the language of this region from remaining
English. Meanwhile England was getting foothold in India. By the Middle of
the 18th century the two great rivals in India as in America were England and
France. The beginning of the English occupation of Australia also. Occurred in
the 18th century. After the American Revolution they decided to exile criminals
to Australia.

Some Effect of Expansion of the language:

The most obvious effects of English Expansion are to be seen in the vocabulary.
New territories mean new experience, activities, new products all of which are
reflected in the language. Trade was an important way for transmission of ideas.

In America contact with the Indians resulted in number of words and contact
with other people in America,Spanish partly used added words to the
languagep:290= different words from different origins.

Development of Progressive verb forms:

One important characteristic in this century in English grammar is that English

is distinctly more varied and flexible in some of its verbal expressions than
other languages. The development of the progressive is attributed to the 16th
century

The progressive passive:

The extension of such form to the passive was a latter development (the house is
being built-the car is being stolen) Such structures appeared at the end of 18th
century. The history of the progressive passive shows that English is a living
and growing thing that its grammar is not fixed.

Chapter 10

The Nineteenth Century and After: Influences Affecting the Language:

The century witnessed tow great reform in the Parliament that led to
establishing English society on a more democratic basis. Such reform lessened
the distance between the upper and lower class.

The establishment of the first cheap newspaper (1816) and of cheap

postage(1840) and the improved means of travel and communication brought
about by the railroad,the steamboat and the telegraph had the effect of uniting
more closely the different parts of England and of spreading the influence of the
standard speech. During the first half of the 19th century the world war and the
troubled period following them affected the people and the language.

In the 20th century some events and changes are reflected in the English
vocabulary.The contribution came from the great developments in science and
the rapid progress in every field.

The Growth of Science

Due to the revolution in science and scientific discovery there has been need for
thousands of new terms in different fields (medicine, chemistry.One of the most
prominent events of the 1060's and 1970's were the achievements of scientific
and engineering in the exploration of space. These decades reflect the interest of
the country.

Autombile ,Film and Broadcasting:

The importance of the new word depended on the usefulness of such invention
in the life of the public.

The World Wars:

Between 1914and 1918 as a direct consequence of world war 1,the language
was affected by the introduction of many words that were military specific
representing warfare. World war II was less productive of words it made its
contribution to the language in the form of certain new words.

Language as a Mirror of Progress

Since words are symbols by means of which a man expresses his ideas,they are
an accurate measure of the range of his thought at any given time. The date
when a new word enter the language is in general the date when the
object,experience observation or whatever it is that calls it forth has entered his
consciousness. From the history of words one may realize history of
civilization.

The appearance of words like railway, locomotive about 1835 indicated that
That was the time of introducing steam railways.

Sources of the New Words:

Borrowing: Most of the words that entered the English language since 1800
have been derived from the same source have long been familiar.

Self Explaining Compounds: Self explaining compound is a second source of

new words. Its an old method of word formation. The old compounds became
familiar so that they no longer look newly coined. The new words are distinct
by a hyphen or as separate words.

Compounds Formed From Greek and Latin Elements:

The method of compounding from elements derived from Latin and Greek also
were popular. Some roots may entre into more than a word:

Auto(self)

prefixes and suffixes: It is a method of expanding the vocabulary by appending

prefixes and suffixes to existing words.

Coinage: great number of new words were attributed to deliberate inventions

some trade marks had been treated as common nouns to refer to certain items of
all brands e.g. zerox, Kleenex. Words are formed by combining the initial or
first few letters of two or more words are known as acronyms.

e.g.
Radar = radio detecting and ranging.

Opec = Organization of petroleum exporting countries.

Common Words from Proper Names:

Another source from which many English words have been derived in the past
is the name of persons and places e.g.: Sandwich the earl of Sandwich once put
slices of meat between slices of bread.

A limousine = from the name of a province in France.

More than 500 common words in English have been traced to proper names and
they must be considered as illustrating one of the sources from which new
words are still being derived.

Old Words with New Meanings:

The resources of the vocabulary are some times extended from within by
employment of an old word in a new sense

e.g.

Skyline = horizon but now it is common in such an expression as the New York
skyline.

Broadcast seeds (radio)

With each word we can convey a specific often technical meaning quite
different from the sense which these which expressions previously had.

The Influence of Journalism:

Journalism and magazine played an important role in increasing and spreading

importance (import) of the new words. In the 19th century journalism was a
new force affecting language and it had the tendency constantly to renew the
vocabulary and its ability to bring about the adoption of new words.

Changing of Meaning:

Some words may gradually change their meaning. This is a common tendency
of any language at any time e.g. lovely
=worthy to be loved She is lovely-kind nice

A box of candy might be lovely.

Cultural Levels and Functional Verities:

There were different types of languages according to the type of people using
them. There were local and class dialects technical and occupational
vocabularies slang and other forms of speech less reputable. There were the
literary standard,the spoken standard and vulgar speech. Such varieties differ in
their social implications. Thus the difference between the spoken standard and
vulgar speech is in their association with broadly different class.

The Standard Speech:

The spoken standard or as it is sometimes called the received standard varies in

different parts of the English speaking world. In England it is the type of speech
used by educated people in great public schools as well as by cultivated people.

It is a class rather than a regional dialect.

It is not the same spoken standard of the United States or Canada or Australia.
The spread of English all over the world has changed the concept towards a
standard English. The speech of England

can no longer be considered the norm by which all others must be judge. In
addition to the educated standard in each English speaking

English Dialects:

country there are local forms of the language known as regional dialects. The
United States has many different dialects however the improvement in
transportation and communication have reduced such differences. However in
Great Britain the difference between dialects is great. The dialect of Scotland
and Ireland are distinct from the standard English of England. Scotch dialect
have preserved so many old words.

English in the Empire.

In the various parts of the former English Empire as in the USA, the English
language has developed differences which distinguish it from the language of
England.
The differences were mainly apparent in pronunciation and vocabulary.

In Australia the constant movement of the convict from place to another brought
the development of a mixed dialect which became homogeneous throughout the
settled territory and distinct from any of the British dialects.

In the Republic of South Arica it has been occupied by many countries before
England among which Dutch. Some old English words are preserved in the
dialects while it is lost To standard English e.g. Africa.

Other African colonies some has retain their African language however English
was used as the official language of the country. It was chosen in order to avoid
ethnic jealousy which would arise from the selection of one of the African
languages.

In India, the Indian constitution of 1950 recognized 14 Indian languages of

which Hindi was to be the first national language. English was to serve as a
transitional language with Hindi until 1965 but it has continued to be used as an
official language. English is spoken by the influential Indian population,
including leaders in government, education, and the press. The variety
recognized as standard in India and in Pakistan will be distinctively South Asian
variety in its pronunciation, syntax and vocabulary. It is affected by the culture
and native languages of south Asia and it will affect those languages.
 Suggested Extra Reading Materials -
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aring

MCQs
What is the approximate date of the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain?
a. 410 CE
b. 449 CE
c. 476 CE
d. 1066 CE
Answer: b. 449 CE

Which language influenced Old English the most?

a. Latin
b. French
c. Greek
d. German
Answer: d. German

Who was the ruler of England during the Norman Conquest?

a. William the Conqueror
b. Harold Godwinson
c. Edward the Confessor
d. Alfred the Great
Answer: c. Edward the Confessor

Which event led to a significant increase in the influence of French on the

English language?
a. The Viking Invasions
b. The Renaissance
c. The Battle of Hastings
 JSSC CGL 2023 PAPER 2 ENGLISH

d. The Black Death

Answer: c. The Battle of Hastings

What language was spoken in the English court for several centuries after the
Norman Conquest?
a. English
b. French
c. Latin
d. Celtic
Answer: b. French

Which of the following is an Old English epic poem?

a. The Canterbury Tales
b. Beowulf
c. The Divine Comedy
d. Paradise Lost
Answer: b. Beowulf

Who is often referred to as the "Father of English Poetry"?

a. Geoffrey Chaucer
b. William Shakespeare
c. John Milton
d. Sir Thomas Malory
Answer: a. Geoffrey Chaucer

During which period did Middle English develop?

a. 5th to 11th century
b. 11th to 15th century
c. 15th to 18th century
d. 18th to 21st century
Answer: b. 11th to 15th century

What is the significance of the publication of the Gutenberg Bible in 1455?

a. It standardized the English language.
b. It marked the beginning of the Renaissance.
c. It introduced the printing press to England.
d. It was the first book printed in English.
Answer: c. It introduced the printing press to England.

Which of the following is an example of a Middle English text?

a. The Faerie Queene
b. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
c. Hamlet

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 JSSC CGL 2023 PAPER 2 ENGLISH

d. Pride and Prejudice

Answer: b. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Which historical event led to the widespread standardization of English spelling

and grammar?
a. The Great Vowel Shift
b. The Protestant Reformation
c. The English Civil War
d. The Act of Union
Answer: b. The Protestant Reformation

Who is credited with the translation of the Bible into English during the
Reformation?
a. William Tyndale
b. John Wycliffe
c. Martin Luther
d. King James I
Answer: a. William Tyndale

Which English monarch authorized the publication of the King James Version
of the Bible?
a. Queen Elizabeth I
b. King Henry VIII
c. King James I
d. Queen Victoria
Answer: c. King James I

Which language did English borrow many scientific and academic terms from
during the Renaissance?
a. French
b. Italian
c. Latin
d. Greek
Answer: c. Latin

Who is considered the greatest playwright in the history of the English

language?
a. William Shakespeare
b. Christopher Marlowe
c. Ben Jonson
d. John Webster
Answer: a. William Shakespeare

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 JSSC CGL 2023 PAPER 2 ENGLISH

Which of the following is an example of an Early Modern English text?

a. Beowulf
b. The Canterbury Tales
c. Macbeth
d. Paradise Lost
Answer: c. Macbeth

What was the first English colony in North America?

a. Jamestown
b. Plymouth
c. Roanoke
d. Massachusetts Bay
Answer: c. Roanoke

Which event marked the beginning of the American English dialect?

a. The American Revolution
b. The Louisiana Purchase
c. The California Gold Rush
d. The Civil War
Answer: a. The American Revolution

Which of the following is an example of a regional dialect in the United States?

a. Cockney
b. Appalachian English
c. Received Pronunciation
d. Estuary English
Answer: b. Appalachian English

Which dictionary is often considered the most authoritative guide to the English
language?
a. Oxford English Dictionary
b. Merriam-Webster Dictionary
c. Cambridge English Dictionary
d. Collins English Dictionary
Answer: a. Oxford English Dictionary

What is the term for the blending of different languages in a multilingual

community?
a. Language shift
b. Diglossia
c. Language contact
d. Language revitalization
Answer: c. Language contact

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What is the term for words borrowed from other languages?

a. Neologisms
b. Cognates
c. Loanwords
d. Slang
Answer: c. Loanwords

Which language has had the most significant influence on the vocabulary of
English?
a. French
b. Latin
c. German
d. Greek
Answer: b. Latin

What is the term for the process of creating new words by combining existing
ones?
a. Derivation
b. Compounding
c. Inflection
d. Conjugation
Answer: b. Compounding

Which vowel shift occurred during the Middle English period?

a. The Great Vowel Shift
b. The Back Vowel Shift
c. The Rhotic Vowel Shift
d. The Nasal Vowel Shift
Answer: a. The Great Vowel Shift

What is the term for words that have the same spelling but different meanings
and origins?
a. Homophones
b. Homographs
c. Synonyms
d. Antonyms
Answer: b. Homographs

Who is often credited with creating the first English dictionary?

a. Samuel Johnson
b. Noah Webster
c. William Caxton

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d. John Dryden
Answer: a. Samuel Johnson

What is the term for words that have opposite meanings?

a. Homophones
b. Homonyms
c. Synonyms
d. Antonyms
Answer: d. Antonyms

Which language family does English belong to?

a. Romance
b. Germanic
c. Slavic
d. Celtic
Answer: b. Germanic

Which of the following is an example of a Middle English author?

a. William Langland
b. John Donne
c. Alexander Pope
d. William Wordsworth
Answer: a. William Langland

Which variety of English is spoken in Australia?

a. Australian English
b. American English
c. British English
d. Canadian English
Answer: a. Australian English

Which English writer is known for his satirical novel "Gulliver's Travels"?
a. Jonathan Swift
b. Charles Dickens
c. Jane Austen
d. Oscar Wilde
Answer: a. Jonathan Swift

What is the term for the study of the history and development of languages?
a. Etymology
b. Linguistics
c. Philology
d. Syntax

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Answer: c. Philology

Who is often credited with standardizing English grammar in the 18th century?
a. Samuel Johnson
b. Noah Webster
c. Robert Lowth
d. William Shakespeare
Answer: c. Robert Lowth

Which language influenced the development of Early Modern English?

a. French
b. Latin
c. Spanish
d. Italian
Answer: a. French

What is the term for the study of the sounds of human speech?
a. Phonetics
b. Morphology
c. Syntax
d. Semantics
Answer: a. Phonetics

What is the term for words that have opposite meanings?

a. Homophones
b. Homonyms
c. Synonyms
d. Antonyms
Answer: d. Antonyms

Which language family does English belong to?

a. Romance
b. Germanic
c. Slavic
d. Celtic
Answer: b. Germanic

Which of the following is an example of a Middle English author?

a. William Langland
b. John Donne
c. Alexander Pope
d. William Wordsworth
Answer: a. William Langland

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1. Indo European language are believe to derive from a
hypothetical language known as……………..
A. proto – indo- european

B. germanic

C. indo- iranian

D. avestan

Answer: A. proto – indo- european

2. The earliest possible end of Proto- Indo- European linguistic

unity is believed to be around
A. 3300 b c e

B. 3400 bce

C. 3000 bce

D. 4000 bce

Answer: B. 3400 bce

3. ……………..is the language that forms part f the Iranian group

A. avestan

B. english

C. dutch

D. german

Answer: A. avestan

4. The earliest surviving written evidence of a Greek language

is………….
A. mycenaean

B. avestan
C. indic

D. germanic

Answer: A. mycenaean

5. In which language most of the ancient Greek poetry and

prose were written?
A. mycenaean

B. greek

C. attic

D. indic

Answer: C. attic

6. Insular celtic flourished in………….

A. england

B. ireland

C. germany

D. france

Answer: B. ireland

7. ……………is the last branch of Indo European languages to

appear in written form.
A. latvian

B. danish

C. albanian

D. lithuvanian

Answer: C. albanian
8. The term applied to certain changes in vowel in accented
syllables owing to the influence ofneighbouring sounds
A. umlaut or mutation

B. ablaut

C. consonant shift

D. vowel shift

Answer: A. umlaut or mutation

9. Most of the important literary works of the Old English

period were written in the ……….dialect
A. mercian

B. kentish

C. northumbrian

D. west saxon

Answer: D. west saxon

10. Beowulf was written in ………..dialect

A. mercian

B. west saxon

C. kentish

D. northumbrian

Answer: B. west saxon

11. …………was the dialect of the Jutes who were the earliest
settlers in Britain
A. kentish

B. mercian
C. west saxon

D. northumbrian

Answer: A. kentish

12. Which among are the dialects of Middle English?

A. mercian, northumbrian, northern

B. west saxon, kentish, east midland

C. northern, the midland, the southern

D. kentish, midland, mercian

Answer: C. northern, the midland, the southern

13. The dialect of Middle English in which Chaucer wrote his

poems
A. east midland

B. west midland

C. south midland

D. central midland

Answer: A. east midland

14. During the Middle English period English came under the
strong influence of the………..language.
A. latin

B. french

C. german

D. greek

Answer: B. french
15. Identify a word from French language which is common in
usage.
A. ox

B. calf

C. sheep

D. beef

Answer: D. beef

16. “ It is melancholy to think what English dinner table would

have been like had there been noNorman Conquest” Whose
words are these
A. chomsky

B. f t wood

C. a c baugh

D. macaulay

Answer: C. a c baugh

17. The influence of Renaissance is most clearly seen in the

introduction of a large number of …….. and …………… words
into English during the early modern English period.
A. greek and latin

B. french and latin

C. greek and german

D. german and latin

Answer: A. greek and latin

18. The term Inkhorn term refers to………..words and

expressions borrowed indiscriminatelyfrom the classical
languages
A. french

B. latin

C. german

D. west saxon

Answer: B. latin

19. The Anglican Prayer Book was first issued in………….

A. 1456

B. 1540

C. 1549

D. 1500

Answer: C. 1549

20. ………….had translated the Bible in 1588

A. king james

B. coverdale

C. tyndale

D. purvey

Answer: D. purvey

21. The history of the English Bible begins with the work of
…………..in 1526
A. tyndale

B. purvey

C. coverdale
D. king james

Answer: D. king james

22. Authorized version of Bible was published in…………

A. 1600

B. 1611

C. 1612

D. 1687

Answer: B. 1611

23. The authorized version of Bible was made according to the

suggestions of ……….
A. coverdale

B. dr johnson

C. king james i

D. king james ii

Answer: C. king james i

24. The vocabulary of the authorized version of the Bible

adopted mainly from…..
A. kentish

B. latin

C. french

D. anglo saxon

Answer: D. anglo saxon

25. “ After reading St. Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews, Homer and
Virgil are disgustingly tame tome Milton himself barely
tolerable” Who said these words?
A. tennyson

B. coleridge

C. wordsworth

D. arnold

Answer: B. coleridge

26. Printing was introduced into England in 1476 by …………….

A. william bailey

B. coverdale

C. william caxton

D. william jones

Answer: C. william caxton

27. Which dialect was used by William Caxton for printing ?

A. west midland

B. east midland

C. kentish

D. central midland

Answer: B. east midland

28. The remarkable changes in the pronunciation of vowels

which took place during the transition from Middle English to
Modern English are commonly referred to as the ………
A. great vowel shift

B. consonant shift

C. addition
D. mutation

Answer: A. great vowel shift

29. The Old English Period has been called the period of …………
A. leveled inflections

B. lost inflection

C. less inflection

D. full inflection

Answer: D. full inflection

30. The Middle English Period has been called the period of
……………
A. leveled inflections

B. lost inflection

C. less inflection

D. full inflection

Answer: A. leveled inflections

31. The New English Period has been known as……………

A. leveled inflections

B. lost inflection

C. less inflection

D. full inflection

Answer: B. lost inflection

32. “ How barbarously we yet write and speak. Your lordship

knows, and I am sufficientlysensible in my own English” Whose
words are these?
A. tennyson

B. dryden

C. johnson

D. wordsworth

Answer: B. dryden

33. in the 18th century the need for standardization and

regulation of English was summed up in the word………..
A. standardization

B. addition

C. ascertainment

D. regularization

Answer: C. ascertainment

34. Who defined ascertainment as a “settled rule, an

established standard.”
A. dryden

B. tennyson

C. swift

D. dr. johnson

Answer: D. dr. johnson

35. “ A proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the

English Tongue” is the title of the letter by ………….
A. swift

B. dryden
C. tennyson

D. dr. johnson

Answer: A. swift

36. Dr. Jonhson’s “ A Dictionary of the English Language” was

published in ………
A. 1765

B. 1766

C. 1755

D. 1789

Answer: C. 1755

37. Who is the author of “ A Dictionary of the English

Language?
A. jonson

B. dr. johnson

C. swift

D. king james

Answer: B. dr. johnson

38. Who is the author of the book “Practical Grammar of the

English Tongue”
A. william jones

B. werner

C. dr. johnson

D. william loughton

Answer: D. william loughton

39. “The Rudiment of English Grammar” was written by………
A. joseph priestley

B. william loughton

C. werner

D. dr. johnson

Answer: A. joseph priestley

40. Who is the author of “ The British Grammar”?

A. robert lowth

B. james buchanan

C. loughton

D. swift

Answer: B. james buchanan

41. Who of the following announced that many languages came

from one old base language?
A. sir william jones

B. sassetti

C. jacob grimm

D. joseph greenberg

Answer: A. sir william jones

42. What was the second earliest form of language seen on

earth?
A. cave drawings

B. cuneiform

C. english
D. indo- european

Answer: B. cuneiform

43. Which f the following words might be of Vicking Descent?

A. skate

B. crabby

C. rate

D. a and b

Answer: D. a and b

44. Around how many words did Shakespeare invent?

A. 20.000

B. 9, 000

C. 10,000

D. 8000

Answer: A. 20.000

45. During the Middle English period, many words were

borrowed from which two languages?
A. celtic and old norse

B. latin and french

C. urdu and iroquoian

D. spanish and latin

Answer: B. latin and french

46. Which Anglo- Irish writer proposed the creation of an

English Academy to regulate EnglishUsage and “ascertain” the
language?
A. jonathan swift

B. samuel johnson

C. dryden

D. oliver goldsmith

Answer: A. jonathan swift

47. The Philological society’s New English Dictionary on

Historical Principles, begun in 1879,was eventually published
under which title in 1928?
A. roget’s thesaurus

B. the king’s english

C. oxford english dictionary

D. webster’s dictionary

Answer: C. oxford english dictionary

48. “The Ecclesiastical History of the English People”, a key

source f information about Anglo Saxon settlement is the work
of ……….
A. william jones

B. venerable bede

C. king james i

D. william langland

Answer: B. venerable bede

49. Who is the author of The First English Dictionary?

A. dr. johnson

B. robert cawdrey
C. john wilkins

D. thomas sheridon

Answer: B. robert cawdrey

50. The First English Dictionary “ Table Alphabeticall” was

published in…..
A. 1608

B. 1700

C. 1678

D. 1604

Answer: D. 1604

51. Who is the author of the essay “ Essay Upon Projects” that
proposes an academy of 36“gentlemen” to dictate English
usage?
A. daniel defoe

B. jonathan swift

C. oliver goldsmith

D. john wilkins

Answer: A. daniel defoe

52. The Authorized Version of English Bible was published in

which year?
A. 1607

B. 1611

C. 1612

D. 1600
Answer: B. 1611

53. Which language is the most closely related to Modern

English?
A. frisian

B. german

C. gothic

D. islandic

Answer: A. frisian

54. Which language is the most closely related to Modern

English
A. frisian

B. islandic

C. gothic

D. german

Answer: B. islandic

55. Cynwulf wrote during which stage of Old English?

A. prehistoric

B. late old english

C. primitive

D. early old english

Answer: D. early old english

56. Who wrote the “ Essay towards a Real character and a

Philosophical Language”?
A. john wilkins
B. james hermes

C. thomas sheridan

D. william jones

Answer: A. john wilkins

57. When part of one word is combined with part of another in

order to form a new word ,carrying with it the ideas behind
both the original terms, is known as a ……………..word
A. loan word

B. noun word

C. portmanteau word

D. blend word

Answer: C. portmanteau word

58. Which among is an example of Portmanteau word

A. melodrama

B. tragedy

C. nickname

D. forlorn

Answer: A. melodrama

59. Which among the following is the contribution of

Shakespeare?
A. utopian

B. idealism

C. multitudinous

D. fairy tale
Answer: C. multitudinous

60. Identify the word that derived from Greek language

A. formula

B. phenomenon

C. fableaux

D. stratum

Answer: B. phenomenon

61. Identify the word that borrowed from Latin to English

A. formula

B. phenomenon

C. criteria

D. analogy

Answer: A. formula

62. Identify the word that borrowed from French to English

A. phenomenon

B. guillotine

C. theatre

D. genius

Answer: B. guillotine

63. Who is the author of the book “The Growth and Structure of
the English Language”?
A. otto jespersen

B. robert lowth
C. william bullokar

D. willaiam cobbett

Answer: A. otto jespersen

64. Name of the group of related languages all derived from

vulgar Latin within historical time sand forming a subgroup of
the italic branch of the Indo – European language family.
A. italic languages

B. sardinian languages

C. romanian languages

D. romance languages

Answer: D. romance languages

65. Identify the language that is included in Romance languages

A. spanish

B. sanskrit

C. german

D. arabic

Answer: A. spanish

66. Identify a word that is originated from Dutch language

A. rainbow

B. landscape

C. shampoo

D. water

Answer: B. landscape
 School of Distance Education

UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT
School of Distance Education

HISTORY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Core Course of MA English
SET
I Semester CAdmn.)
(2019

Multiple Choice Question Bank

1. Indo European language are believe to derive from a hypothetical language known
as……………..
A) Proto – Indo- European B) Germanic
C) Indo- Iranian D) Avestan
2. The earliest possible end of Proto- Indo- European linguistic unity is believed to be around
A) 3300 B C E B) 3400 BCE C) 3000 BCE D)4000 BCE
3. Sanskrit belongs to the ……………sub branch of Indo European Language
A) East Germanic B) West Germanic
B) C ) Germanic D) Indic
4. Vedic Sanskrit is preserved in ……………….
A) The Upanishads B) The Vedas
B) C) Literature D)Caves
5. ……………..is the language that forms part f the Iranian group
a) Avestan B) English C) Dutch D) German
6. The earliest surviving written evidence of a Greek language is………….
A) Mycenaean B) Avestan C) Indic D) Germanic
7. In which language most of the ancient Greek poetry and prose were written?
A) Mycenaean B) Greek C) Attic D) Indic
8. Insular celtic flourished in………….
A) England B) Ireland C) Germany D) France
9. ……………is the last branch of Indo European languages to appear in written form.
A) Latvian B) Danish C) Albanian D) Lithuvanian

History of English Language Page 1

 School of Distance Education

10. ……………is the term applied to a process in which vowel sounds undergo a change,
according to whether they occur in a stressed or unstressed syllable, mainly seen at work in
the principal parts of strong verbs.
A) Ablaut B) vowel shift C) Addition D) Consonant shift
11. The term applied to certain changes in vowel in accented syllables owing to the influence of
neighbouring sounds
A) Umlaut or mutation B) Ablaut
C) Consonant shift D) vowel shift
12. Which among the four distinct dialects of the old English period?
A) Northambrian, East midland , the midland group, Kentish
B) Northamrian, Mercian, West Saxon, Kentish
C) Mercian, South Midland, East Midland, Northern
D) Northern, The southern , East midland, West Saxon
13. Most of the important literary works of the Old English period were written in the ……….
dialect
A) Mercian B) Kentish C) Northumbrian D) West Saxon
14. Beowulf was written in ………..dialect
A) Mercian B) West Saxon C) Kentish D) Northumbrian
15. …………was the dialect of the Jutes who were the earliest settlers in Britain
A) Kentish B) Mercian C) West Saxon D) Northumbrian
16. The Middle English period begins with the………………of 1066
A) French Invasion B) Norman conquest
B) C) Renaissance D) Reformation
17. Which among are the dialects of Middle English?
A) Mercian, Northumbrian, Northern B) West Saxon, Kentish, East Midland
C) Northern, The Midland, The southern D) Kentish, Midland, Mercian
18. The dialect of Middle English in which Chaucer wrote his poems
A) East Midland B) West Midland
C) South Midland D) Central Midland
19. During the Middle English period English came under the strong influence of the
………..language.
A) Latin B) French C) German D) Greek
History of English Language Page 2
 School of Distance Education

20 Identify a word from French language which is common in usage.

A) Ox B) Calf C) Sheep D) Beef
21 “ It is melancholy to think what English dinner table would have been like had there been no
Norman Conquest” Whose words are these

A) Chomsky B) F T Wood C) A C Baugh D) Macaulay

22. The influence of Renaissance is most clearly seen in the introduction of a large number of
…….. and …………… words into English during the early modern English period.

A) Greek and Latin B) French and Latin

C) Greek and German D) German And Latin
23. The term Inkhorn term refers to………..words and expressions borrowed indiscriminately
from the classical languages
A) French B) Latin C) German D) West Saxon
24. The Anglican Prayer Book was first issued in………….
A) 1456 B) 1540 C)1549 D) 1500
25. ………….had translated the Bible in 1588
A) King James B) Coverdale C) Tyndale D) Purvey
26. The history of the English Bible begins with the work of …………..in 1526
A) Tyndale B) Purvey C) Coverdale D) King James
27. Authorized version of Bible was published in…………
A) 1600 B) 1611 C) 1612 D) 1687
28. The authorized version of Bible was made according to the suggestions of ……….
A) Coverdale B) Dr Johnson C) King James I D) King James II
29. The vocabulary of the authorized version of the Bible adopted mainly from…..
A) Kentish B) Latin C) French D) Anglo Saxon
30. “ After reading St. Paul„s epistle to the Hebrews, Homer and Virgil are disgustingly tame to
me Milton himself barely tolerable” Who said these words?

A) Tennyson B) Coleridge C) Wordsworth D) Arnold

31. Printing was introduced into England in 1476 by …………….
A) William Bailey B) Coverdale C) William Caxton D) William Jones

History of English Language Page 3

 School of Distance Education

32. Which dialect was used by William Caxton for printing ?

A) West Midland B) East Midland
C) Kentish D) Central Midland
33. The remarkable changes in the pronunciation of vowels which took place during the
transition from Middle English to Modern English are commonly referred to as the ………
A) Great vowel shift B) Consonant Shift
C) Addition D) Mutation
34. The Old English Period has been called the period of …………
A) leveled inflections B) lost Inflection
C) less inflection D) Full Inflection
35. The Middle English Period has been called the period of ……………
A) leveled inflections B) lost Inflection
C) less inflection D) Full Inflection
36. The New English Period has been known as……………
A) leveled inflections B) lost Inflection
C) less inflection D) Full Inflection
37 “ How barbarously we yet write and speak. Your lordship knows, and I am sufficiently
sensible in my own English” Whose words are these?
A) Tennyson B) Dryden C) Johnson D) Wordsworth
38. in the 18th century the need for standardization and regulation of English was summed up in
the word………..
A) Standardization B) Addition C) Ascertainment D) Regularization
39. Who defined ascertainment as a “settled rule, an established standard.”
A) Dryden B) Tennyson C) Swift D) Dr. Johnson
40. “ A proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue” is the title of
the letter by ………….
A) Swift B) Dryden C) Tennyson D) Dr. Johnson
41. Dr. Jonhson„s “ A Dictionary of the English Language” was published in ………
A) 1765 B) 1766 C) 1755 D) 1789
42. Who is the author of “ A Dictionary of the English Language?
A) Jonson B) Dr. Johnson C) Swift D) King James

History of English Language Page 4

 School of Distance Education

43. Who is the author of the book “Practical Grammar of the English Tongue”
A) William Jones B) Werner
C) Dr. Johnson D) William Loughton
44. “The Rudiment of English Grammar” was written by………
A) Joseph Priestley B) William Loughton
C) Werner D) Dr. Johnson
45. Who is the author of “ The British Grammar”?
A) Robert Lowth B) James Buchanan
C) Loughton D) Swift
46. What does the go- go theory believe?
A) Language began with sudden cries
B) Language came from sudden cries
C) Language began with commands
D) Language evolved when people sat down at decided words
47. Who of the following announced that many languages came from one old base language?
A) Sir William Jones B) Sassetti
C) Jacob Grimm D) Joseph Greenberg
48. What was the second earliest form of language seen on earth?
A) Cave Drawings B) Cuneiform
C) English D) Indo- European
49. How did King James I contributed to English Language?
A) He ruled England and forced everyone to speak a specific language
B) He translated Bible
C) He published the King James Bible
D) None the above
50 Which f the following words might be of Vicking Descent?
A) Skate B) Crabby C) Rate D) A and B
51. Around how many words did Shakespeare invent?
A) 20.000 B) 9, 000 C) 10,000 D) 8000

History of English Language Page 5

 School of Distance Education

52. During the Middle English period, many words were borrowed from which two languages?
A) Celtic and Old Norse B) Latin and French
C) Urdu and Iroquoian D) Spanish and Latin
53. Which Anglo- Irish writer proposed the creation of an English Academy to regulate English
Usage and “ascertain” the language?
A) Jonathan Swift B) Samuel Johnson
C) Dryden D) Oliver Goldsmith
54. The Philological society„sNew English Dictionary on Historical Principles, begun in 1879,
was eventually published under which title in 1928?
A) Roget„s Thesaurus B) The King„s English
C) Oxford English Dictionary D) Webster„s Dictionary
55. “The Ecclesiastical History of the English People”, a key source f information about Anglo
Saxon settlement is the work of ……….
A) William Jones B) Venerable Bede
C) King James I D) William Langland
56. Name of the fist English Dictionary
A) Table Alphabeticall
B) Oxford Dictionary
C) Cambridge Dictionary
D) A Dictionary of the English Language
57. Who is the author of The First English Dictionary?
A) Dr. Johnson B) Robert Cawdrey
C) John Wilkins D) Thomas Sheridon
58. The First English Dictionary “ Table Alphabeticall” was published in…..
A)1608 B) 1700 C) 1678 D) 1604
59. Who is the author of the essay “ Essay Upon Projects” that proposes an academy of 36
“gentlemen” to dictate English usage?
A) Daniel Defoe B) Jonathan Swift
C) Oliver Goldsmith D) John Wilkins
60 The Authorized Version of English Bible was published in which year?
A) 1607 B) 1611 C) 1612 D) 1600

History of English Language Page 6

 School of Distance Education

61Which language is the most closely related to Modern English?

A) Frisian B) German C) Gothic D) Islandic
62. Which language is the most closely related to Modern English
A) Frisian B) Islandic C) Gothic D) German
63. Cynwulf wrote during which stage of Old English?
A) Prehistoric B) Late Old English
C) Primitive D)Early Old English
64.Who wrote the “ Essay towards a Real character and a Philosophical Language”?
A) John Wilkins B) James Hermes
C) Thomas Sheridan D) William Jones
65. When part of one word is combined with part of another in order to form a new word ,
carrying with it the ideas behind both the original terms, is known as a ……………..word
A) Loan word B) noun word
C) Portmanteau word D) blend word
66. Which among is an example of Portmanteau word
A) Melodrama B) Tragedy C) nickname D) forlorn
67. Which among the following is the contribution of Shakespeare?
A) Utopian B) Idealism C) Multitudinous D) Fairy tale
68. Identify the word that derived from Greek language
A) Formula B) phenomenon C) Fableaux D) Stratum
69. Identify the word that borrowed from Latin to English
A) Formula B) phenomenon C) Criteria D) analogy
70. Identify the word that borrowed from French to English
A) Phenomenon B) guillotine C) theatre D) genius
71. Who is the author of the book “The Growth and Structure of the English Language”?
A) Otto Jespersen B) Robert Lowth
C) William Bullokar D) Willaiam Cobbett
72. Name of the group of related languages all derived from vulgar Latin within historical times
and forming a subgroup of the italic branch of the Indo – European language family.
A) Italic languages B) Sardinian Languages
C) Romanian Languages D) Romance languages

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73. Identify the language that is included in Romance languages

A) Spanish B) Sanskrit C) German D) Arabic
74. Identify a word that is originated from Dutch language
A) rainbow B) landscape C) shampoo D) water
75. The word……………has been derived from Indian Language
A) rainbow B) water C) shampoo D) skipper
76. In linguistics ………….is the study of words , how they are formed, and their relationship to
other words in the same language
A) Ontology B) Morphology C) Phonology D) Etymology
77. The branch of linguistics and logics concerned with meaning
A) Morphology B) ontology C) Semantics D) Etymology
78. Structural linguistics is associated chiefly with the name of the American linguist
……………..
A) Leonard Bloomfield B) Norm Chomsky
C) Zelling Harris D) Franz Boas
79. …Immediate Constituent Analysis„ was first introduced by…………
A) Zelling Harris B) Roulon Wells
C) Bloomfield D) Norm Chomsky
80 “Aspects of English Syntax„” is the work of ……….
A) Norm Chomsky B) Bloomfield
B) C) Zelling Harris D) Roulon Wells
81. Transformational-Generative Grammar was developed by……
A) Bloomfield B) Norm Chomsky
C) M A K Halliday D) Henderson
82. ………..put forward a theory called …Scale and Category Grammar„
A) Bloomfield B) J R Firth
C) Norm Chomsky D) M A K Halliday
83. The Firthian or Hallidayan theory may be said to represent the………..School of Linguistics
A) American B) British C) French D) German
84. ……….is an example of Freak formation
A) air- raid B) teetotal C) aviator D) Daisy
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85. …………..is a semantic process by a term which at one time had a specialized and restricted
meaning comes to have a wider application.
A)Specialization B) Generalization
C) Deterioration D) Polarisation
86.A very large number of words have undergone a peculiar kind of change of meaning which
consists in the addition of what has been called …..
A) Generalization B) Specialisation
C) emotional connotation D) Deterioration
87…………occurs when a word gains association with a negative stimulus, to then hold negative
connotations.
A) Elevation B)Shift C) Deterioration D) Generalization
88. ……………is a type of semantic change that happens when a word„s meaning improves or
becomes more positive over time .
A) Deterioration B) Amelioration
C) Generalization D) Specialization
89. …………..is a polite word or expression that is used to refer to things which people may find
upsetting or embarrassing to talk about.
A) Anaphora B) Euphemism C) Hyperbole D) Metaphor
90……………is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two
or more groups that do not have a language in common.
A) Pidgin B) Creole C) Romance D) Patois
91. The dialect of a particular region, especially one with low status in relation to standard language
of the country is known as………..
A) Pidgin B) Creole C) Patois D) Romance
92. ………….have resulted from the interactions between speakers of nonstandard varieties of
European languages and speakers of no- European languages
A) Pidgin B) Creole C) Patois D) Romance
93. What is the dialect of the working class of East End London ?
A) East Anglian B) Lancashire C) Cockney D) yorkshire
94. American English derives from …….. century British English.
A) 16th B) 15th C) 18th D) 17th

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95. Who is the author of “Decolonizing the Mind”?

A) Ngugi wa Thiong B) Chinua Achiba
C) Salman Rushdie D) Bill Ashcrofthe
96……….. was the first major theoretical account of a wide range of postcolonial texts and their
relationship with bigger issues of postcolonial culture.
A) Decolonizing the Mind
B) Empire Writes Back
C) Imaginary Homelands
D) D) Post Colonial Linguistic Voices
97. Authors of “The Empire Writes Back”
A) Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, Helen Tiffin
B) Eric Anchimbe, Stephen A Mforth
C) Homi K Bhabha, Gayatri Spivak
98. Who wrote “ Nation and Narration”?
A) Gayatri Spivak B) Homi K Bhabha
C) Salman Rushdie D) Harish Trivedi
99. “Imaginary Homelands” is the work of ………….
A) Gayatri Spivak B) Homi K Bhabha
C) Ranajit Guha D)Salman Rushdie
100.The institutionalized study of English in India began with the …………of 1835
A) Macaulay Minute B) Charter Act
C) Wood„s Despatch D) Government of India Act

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ANSWER KEY

1 A 21 C 41 C 61 A 81 B

2 B 22 A 42 B 62 B 82 D

3 D 23 B 43 D 63 D 83 B

4 B 24 C 44 A 64 A 84 B

5 A 25 D 45 B 65 C 85 B

6 A 26 D 46 C 66 A 86 C

7 C 27 B 47 A 67 C 87 C

8 B 28 C 48 B 68 B 88 B

9 C 29 D 49 C 69 A 89 B

10 A 30 B 50 D 70 B 90 A

11 A 31 C 51 A 71 A 91 C

12 B 32 B 52 B 72 D 92 B

13 D 33 A 53 A 73 A 93 C

14 B 34 D 54 C 74 B 94 D

15 A 35 A 55 B 75 C 95 A

16 B 36 B 56 A 76 B 96 B

17 C 37 B 57 B 77 C 97 A

18 A 38 C 58 D 78 A 98 B

19 B 39 D 59 A 79 C 99 D

20 D 40 A 60 B 80 A 100 A

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