Laura Trotta

OLD ENGLISH (OR ANGLO-SAXON) 449-1066 1066

MIDDLE ENGLISH 1066 1500

EARLY MODERN ENGLISH 1500 1800
MODERN ENGLISH 1800 present

INDO-EUROPEAN → GERMANIC →CELTIC

Celts inhabited central Europe. Languages developed into 2 branches (with different development
of sounds:
1. Brythonic - wales, Cornwall - northern France
2. Goidelic. - ireland and Scotland (irisch and scots gaelic) - manx

OLD ENGLISH
We have very little documentation about the beginning of old English. We know that It begins with
invasions and spreads in a time of scarce literacy.

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

From the Anglo-Saxon settlement to the Norman Conquest

500,000 ys ago there were bands of hunters in Southern and Western England (after the
melting of the ice caps but before the land broke away from the mainland and divided into islands
(so they could walk into britain)As temperatures dropped, Britain was abandoned

15,000 years ago permanent occupation

8000 years ago Britain became an island due to the melting of the ice

6,000 years ago Neolithic immigrants from Western Europe introduced farming

4500 years ago Beaker people immigrated to Britain from the Continent and brought metal-
working skills. es. Stone circles – Stonehenge (4500-3600 years ago)

3000-2400 years ago Celtic populations:

• Goidelic-speaking Scots and Picts (Ireland, Scotland)
• Brythonic-speaking Celts (Wales, Cornwall)
• + 1st century BC a smaller wave of Belgic Celts in Southern England (possibly
fleeing from the Roman invasions

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CELTS
The Celts were a fragmented group of tribes, not a homogeneous people.
Arrived on the island from the III Century BC from all over Europe: Celtiberians, Galicia (NW
Spain), Galatia (Turkey), Galati, the Gauls.
After England became an island after the ice melting, the separation from Europe preserved a
genetic time capsule of southwestern Europe.
Some scholars think Britons are genetically related to the Basques. Today’s british dna
based on the overall genetic perspective of the British, appears to prove that Celts,
Belgians, Angles, Jutes, Saxons, Vikings and Normans were all immigrant minorities
compared with the “Basque” pioneers. Basque give the basis of genetic, which is changed
due to the invasions.
[Open debate on these themes]

CELTIC LANGUAGES:

a) continental → Celtiberian, Galatian, Gallaecian, Gaulish, Lepontic, Noric

b) insular → Brittonic (Welsh, Cumbric, Cornish, Breton), Gaelic (Irish, Scottish Gaelic)

CELTIC LANGUAGES TODAY:

a) Gaelic or Goidelic → Ireland, Isle of Man, Ebridi, Scotland

b) British or Brythonic → Wales, Brittany

ROMANS - 43/410 ad
55 and 54 BC
Caesar’s raids in → supplanted the Celts but leaving enough of them to have a contact with the
romans’ language

43 AD
Roman conquest under Claudius
No definite control over Caledonia in the north.

- 40.000 people
- Streets, towns, schools, administration
- 5 main towns: Verulamium (St. Albans), Gloucester, Colchester, Lincoln, York
- Latin as 2nd language
Use of Latin strengthened by Celts’ christianization (314 AD: Council of Arles, attended
by bishops from London, York and Colchester)

ca 410 AD: Roman troops depart from Britain

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ANGLO SAXON INVASIONS - 449/1066 D.C.

Anglo-Saxons (germanic tribes) arrived in 5th century, after romans left.
They were the 1st germanic invasion. Their influence was so strong that either they imposed it or
the previous populations didn’t got in touch with them be cause they were isolated
Englaland = land of the Angles

From the very beginning, linguistic complexity: Angles, Saxons and Jutes’ dialect (West Saxon’s
dialect had the supremacy) mixed with…
- celtic substratum
- Latin influence (religious conversion)
- Scandinavian influence (invasions)

HISTORY
Anglo-Saxon invasion:
Anglo-Saxon mercenaries ‘hired’ by celtic kings after 410
|
Angles, Saxons and Jutes arrive in 449 (Beda, Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, ante 730)
|
Celtic resistance to Anglo-Saxon invaders (Artorius, important figure of resistance)

ANGLO-SAXON KINGDOMS
• The Heptarchy: - East Anglia
- Wessex - Mercia,
- Sussex - Nortumberland
- Essex,
- Kent

Political fragmentation → Linguistic fragmentation

Predominant kingdoms: Northumbria (VIIc.), Mercia (VIII c.), Wessex (IX-XI c.)

CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY:
Ireland converted by St. Patrick (432-461)
↓
563: St. Columba goes from Ireland to Scotland
↓
597: St. Columba dies. Agustine, sent by Pope Gregory the Great, arrives in Kent and converts
Ethelbert, king of Kent, to Christianity
↓
627: Ethelburga, princess of Kent, marries king Edwin of Northumbria. Her chaplain Paolinus
converts Edwin
↓
Wars among the different Anglo-Saxons kingdoms (either christianized or otherwise)

NB:
Conversion to Christianity a slow long process.

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At the beginning, Irish Christianity was more influential than Roman Christianity. Religion
influenced culture (written language) political power

ANGLO-SAXONS LANGUAGE

romans were on the land when the AS arrived. Words in this period have a describing function:
• Walas (foreign, enemy, Roman) → Wales, Cornwall1, welsh, Walsh, Wallace, walnut
• Engla-land (land of the anglos )
• Ham (village; ted. Heim, modern English home)
• Tun (enclosure, town; ted. Zaun, hedge)
• burh (fortified town) Burton (burh-tun), -byrig (Salisbury, Newbury, Canterbury)
• -ing (= son of) → OE cyning; → son of kunig → king
• -ingas (= descendants of, plural form) → Reading, Worthing, Barking, Hastings; Buckingham
(ham of the ing of buck), Nottingham, Birmingham

Latin influence left various names, especially regarding urban areas Commentato [1]:
via strata (via stratificata) → OE stræt, stret →Stratford, Streatham; Latin speakers left the island at beginning of 5th century,
anglosaxons came un 450, so no direct connection. The
influence can be explained in 2 ways:
Derivation on Present English words (prefix/suffix is added): - AS e Rmans got in touch in europe for a long time before
unriht synful AS crossed the channel.
andswarian (to swear/to answer) luflic, - Celts had been ruled by romans, so they had direct influence
cyningdom that passed to AS.
ofercuman (overcome)
wiÞstandan (withstand) unriht
hunta (hunter)

Composition (compound word between 2 separate elements):

widsæ,
hlaford (<hlaf + weard)
nosÞyrl
flæschama

From OE “mod” , lots of words were created

Modiglic (adj.) = magnanimous
Modiglice (adv.) = boldly, proudly
Modignes (n.) = magnanimity, pride
Modigian (v.) = to bear oneself proudly, to rage, to be indignant 2

1 corn of the enemy

2 depending on the context
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SCANDINAVIAN INVASIONS
787:
Scandinavian invasion, out of aggressive spirit and economic necessity.
Raiding stage (Abbeys in Lindisfarne (793), Jarrow (794) and Iona (795) destroyed)
→ settlement stage
→ political assimilation.
Their names could have two origins:
- old norse “vik” = a man from the bay
- anglosaxons “wic” = settlement -> settlers

865:
Danish Army occupies East Anglia and Northumbria (Mercia occupied in 874)

870:
Wessex attacked, resistance led by king Aethelred and younger brother Alfred (to be king 871-899)

879:
Alfred’s final victory in Edington

886:
London conquered by Alfred

LINGUISTIC CONSEQUENCES OF SCANDINAVIAN INVASIONS:

Old English and Old Norse mix up and create a new languages; loanwords ecc.
ongoing change made more evident and easier

KING ALFRED’S REIGN

Cultural reconstruction. Translations made or promoted by Alfred:
‣ Historia ecclesiastica gentis anglorum by the Venerable Bede
‣ Cura pastoralis e Dialogi miraculorum by Pope Gregory the Great
‣ De consolatione philosophiae by Severinus Boethius
‣ Soliloquia by St. Augustine of Hippo
‣ Historiae adversos paganos by Paolus Orosius

*Latin hardly taught and studied

Latin words survived in bureaucracy and military,
suggesting it was the formal language

Awareness of one’s past → “Anglo-Saxon Chronicles”

Primacy of West Saxon dialect →OE standard language

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KING ALFRED AND WEST SAXON STANDARD LANGUAGE

(Old) English as a Germanic language

1. ALPHABET:
Latin alphabet + runes (Þ = th) + Irish alphabet (đ •æ)
latin had no th sign, it missed a simple, so it was taken from runes

2. PHONOLOGY: consonants continue largely unchanged, vowels change a lot

• CONSONANTS:
- Germanic —> OE: lots of changes
- OE —> Present-Day English: very few changes, large continuity

• VOWELS:
- Germanic —> OE: large continuity
- OE —> Present-Day English: substantial changes. Created a lot of spelling mistakes

EX.
modor/mother vs mutter
neaht/night vs nacht
deop/deep vs tief
etan/eat vs essen
muƥ/mouth vs mund
stan/stone vs stein
beam/beam vs baum
cyning/king vs könig

3. MORPHOSYNTAX:
- Synthetic
- Few grammatical endings, substituted by something else
- rigid word order
- Weak and strong declension of nouns and adjectives
- Weak and strong Conjugation of verbs
- development of function words

4. LEXIS
Celtic, Latin and Scandinavian influence on OE. Marked Germanic character for:
(a) Germanic roots of English
(b) limited contacts with other languages during the Anglo-Saxon period
(c) word formation strategies: ‘internal’ and ‘mixed’ methods, rather than ‘external’
method’

Basic lexis of germanic:

modor mother
eorÞe earth
treow tree,
wæter water
fot foot
sæ sea
muÞ mouth
fæder father
toÞ tooth

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5. VOCABULARY: mainly Germanic vocabulary + word formation, compounding, affixing, loan

words/borrowing of prestige. Followed the acceptance of words of culture and christianity.

POETRY/PROSE
poetry and prose survived through manuscripts copied by hand. Owning a manuscript was really
expensive and for higher classes. Many Manuscripts got lost, or we have fragment

‣ “Beowulf” - only complete epic poem with germanic background. Story set in Denmark and
Sweden
‣ “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle” - History of England from Julius Caesar to 1154. Main Anglo-Saxon
prose work, Probably composed under King Alfred’s reign

10TH CENTURY ENGLAND

917-920:
Anglo-Saxons re-conquers Danelaw from the danish

937:
English victory at Brunanburh

959-975:
greatest time of English monarchy under king Edgar
Benedictine/Monastic revival in continental Europe (Cluny 910): rise of tradition of religious
prose, especially thanks to bishops of Dunstan, Oswald, Aethelwold. Later, we find Aelfric
(grammar of anglo-saxon) and Wulfstan, the king’s counsellor

Late 10th century:

Beowulf and Junius manuscripts, Exeter Book, Vercelli Book and Anglo-Saxon poetry
copied+ prose improving. Most people stil couldn’t read.

NORMAN INVASIONS
Late 10th c.:
renewed Danish attacks

991:
Anglo-Saxons defeated at Maldon; Olaf Tryggvason invades England

1013:
king Aethelred the Unready (978-1016) flees to Normandy; Sweyn of Denmark is made
king of England.
Sweyn’s son, Knut (1016-35) rules over Denmark, Normandy and England, which is
divided into 4 earldoms:
- Wessex
- Mercia
- East Anglia
- Northumbria

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1042:
Edward the Confessor, Aethelred’s son, becomes king of Wessex (1042-66)

1066:
Edward dies —> Harold, king of England
In September 1066 Harold repels (battle of Stamford Bridge) a joint attack by his own
brother + the king of Norway.

William of Normandy invades England from across the Channel: battle of Hasting, on
October, 14 1066

END OF ANGLO-SAXON KINGDOM

SOCIOLINGUISTIC CONSECUENCES OF NORMAN INVASION

• Social consequences: a new élite in power

• Linguistic consequences:
a) Anglo-Norman (or Norman French) spoken on the island
b) Indirect consequences: limited continuity of Anglo-Saxon literary/written tradition;
c) loss of OE linguistic standard; hence, ongoing linguistic changes made evident

William of Malmesbury,

De Gestis Rerum Anglorum (1100-1125 ca)

Nulla hodie Anglus uel dux, uel pontifex, uel abbas; aduenae quique diuitias et uiscera corrodunt
Angliae, nec ulla spes est finiendae miseriae

Non c’è oggi nessun barone, o vescovo o abate che sia inglese; gli stranieri corrodono le ricchezze e
il cuore dell’Inghilterra, e non c’è alcuna speranza che questa desolazione abbia termine

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - Parker manuscript - year 1070

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - Peterborough Manuscript - 1137

Ðis gære for þe king Stephne ofer sæ to Normandi; & ther wes underfangen, forþi ðat hi uuenden
ðat he sculde ben alsuic alse the eom wes, & for he hadde get his tresor; ac he todeld it & scatered
sotlice. Micel hadde Henri king gadered gold & syluer, & na god ne dide me for his saule tharof. Þa
þe king Stephne to Englaland com, þa macod he his gadering æt Oxeneford. & þar he nam þe biscop
Roger of Serebyri, & Alexander biscop of Lincol & te canceler Roger, hise neues, & dide ælle in
prisun til hi iafen up here castles. Þa the suikes undergæton ðat he milde man was & softe & god, &
na iustise ne dide, þa diden hi alle wunder. Hi hadden him manred maked & athes suoren, ac hi nan
treuthe ne heolden. Alle he wæron forsworen & here treothes forloren, for æuric rice man his castles
makede & agænes him heolden; & fylden þe land ful of castles.

This year went the King Stephen over sea to Normandy, and there was received; for that they
concluded that he should be all such as the uncle was; and because he had got his treasure: but he
dealed it out, and scattered it foolishly. Much had King Henry gathered, gold and silver, but no good
did men for his soul thereof. When the King Stephen came to England, he held his council at
Oxford; where he seized the Bishop Roger of Sarum, and Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, and the
chancellor Roger, his nephew; and threw all into prison till they gave up their castles. When the
traitors understood that he was a mild man, and soft, and good, and no justice executed, then did they
all wonder. They had done him homage, and sworn oaths, but they no truth maintained. They were
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all forsworn, and forgetful of their troth; for every rich man built his castles, which they held against
him: and they filled the land full of castles.

Blue: remaining OE features

Red: innovations of French origin

The passage from the Peterborough Chronicle for 1137 shows: (a) Loss of OE standard language
(a) Ongoing change
(b) Mix of old and new forms

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Contacts and contaminations

relationships with Celtic, Latin and Scandinavian languages. = English as a mixed language from
the beginning

CELTIC LOANWORDS
Not many contact between Celtics and AS. This is why Celtics gave only few words, most oh which
are place names.
CELTIC OE ME

dun dun down; going down the hill

(The Downes, hilly area around
London)
Bre (tall, high, noble) + duna Bredon, Breedon, - place names

isca (= water) rivers Axe, Exe (Exeter), Esk, Avon (river);

Usk; stour (= rushing current, cfr.
It Stura);
Venta (market town) Wintonceaster Winchester

canto- (border, limit) Kent

LATIN LOANWORDS
More words cause latin influenced English all the time. Still today, many technical words derive
from latin. Words related to culture, cause latin was mainly a written language

Romans (55-410 AD)

→ Celts (450-600 AD)
→ Anglo-Saxons Romans
→Germanic tribes (AS among them) (before 450 AD)
→Latin evangelizers→OE (after 600 AD)

different:
- impact
- periods
- semantic fields

1. Romans→Germanic tribes
Before AS arrival
About 400 loanwords from Latin to Germanic languages

LATIN OE German ME

strata stræt, stret Strasse Stress

caupo (= innkeeper) ceapman Kaufmann cheap, Cheapside,

moneta mynet Műnze moneye, money

caseus cese cheese

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vinum win wine

vallum weall wall

discus disc dish

menta minte mint

1. Romans → Celts → Anglo-Saxons

LATIN OE ME

castra (= military camp, then ceaster, cæster 70 place-names: Chester,

fortified village) Winchester, Manchester,
Chichister; Gloucester Leicester,
Worcester; Lancaster, Doncaster

vicus (= village) wic Wick, Wike, Longwick, Cowick,

Gatwick, Butterwick, Chiswick,
Honeywick, Bewick

portus port port

turris torr
Around 600 words from Romans to Celts, only a few from Celts to Anglo-Saxons

3. Evangelization → Anglo-Saxons (post 600 AD)

Re-borrowings:
lat. tabula → eOE tæfl; lOE tabele, tablu → ModE table

CULTURE:
• accent, (e)pistol, grammatic, magister, paper (→papyrus), philosoph, scol, studian

RELIGION:
• altar → altar,
• credo → creda (creed)
• discipul, mæsse (mass), martir, non (noon,→nona hora), passion

OTHER
• expendere → to spend,
• organum → organ,
cocus (lat. class. coquus) → coc (ModE cook),
• rosa → rose,
• tigris → tiger,
• camelus → camel

CALQUES:

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• god-spell → ev-angelium,
ut-gonge → exodus,
Halig Gast → Sanctus Spiritus;
Þrowung (=suffering) → passio,
feond (=enemy) → diabolus,
cniht (=boy, servant) → discipulus
witega (= wise man) → propheta

Many calques are connected to religion because missionaries tried to make the Good News more
accessible to anglo-saxons

Scandinavian loanwords
Occupied England during Anglo-Saxon England. The Scandinavian were germanic population:
spoke a similar language. Once they stopped all the fighting, they recognized they spoke similar
languages, with a strong possibility of influence. Scandinavians had a more intimate bond with
anglo saxons, they assimilated their language and culture. They didn’t consider their language
superior, unlike romans, so we find their influence in every aspect of life: everyday words, place
names, simplification of morphology.

Peculiar features:
(a) immigration of whole tribes/peoples
(b) military phase followed by mixing of populations
(c) common ancestry (i.e. Germanic roots) between OE and Old Norse (d) Old Norse no written
language

Result: deep, long-lasting, and long-dated influence

OLD NORSE OLD ENGLISH MODERN ENGLISH

SEMANTIC LOANS draum dream (=music, joy, scandinazian meaning:

Influence on the celebration) dream
meaning
jarl eorl (=warrior, man) scandinazian meaning:
earl (=earl, count)

SEMANTIC CHANGE Leg sceanca

skin fell, hyd (fell, hide)

deien (die) steorfan (starve)

PHONOLOGICAL - Germanic /k/, /g/, /sk/ - ON /k/, /g/, /sk/ - /t∫/, /j/ o /dȝ/, /∫/
LOANS:
Influence on the form.
Sometimes 2 forms
were kept

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- doublets: cherl/carl, yeten/geten, ȝive/give, yift/gift, ei/egg, schirt/skirt

- some doublets still in use: shatter / scatter, shirt / skirt, church / kirk, Yeats /
gate

LOANWORDS feolaga (fellow),

utlaga (outlaw),
wrang (wrong),
hæfen (haven),
scoru (score),
snearu (snare),
husbonda (husband);
anger, bull, hap (happy, happen),
skie (sky),
wing,
casten (cast),
gapen (gape),
hitten (hit),
liften (lift),
they-their-them
EXISTING OE cnif (knife, OE seax),
WORDS REPLACED: lagu (law, OE æw),
rot (root, OE wyrt),
windowe (window, OE eag-ƥyrel),
calle (call, OE cleopian),
take (take, OE niman)
-by (= inhabited place): German Bau/bauen by-law
OE buan, German Rugby (rok + by) Derby
PLACE-NAMES: Bau/bauen – (deor + by)

-ƥorp (= small village German Dorf: Kirkthorp,

linked to / dependent on Canonthorp, Monkthorp;
a bigger village) – cfr Northorp
German Dorf: Kirkthorp,
Canonthorp, Monkthorp;
Northorp

-ƥwaite (= clearing, i.e.

open space in a forest;
grassland surrounded
with a hedge): Thwaite,
Applethwaite,
Kirkthwaite, Braithwaite

-toft (= farm): Toft,

Langtoft, Moortoft

Ashby, Thornby,
Willoughby; Ormesby,
Grimsby

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MIDDLE ENGLISH 1
Begins with the Norman conquest of 1066.
Dawn of feudal system lead to the creation of a new middle class tha t helped increase social and
economic mobility. mobility, + beginning of towns, is key to language standardization. Merchants,
tradesmen and city administration functionaries hand central role.

Social consequence: a new elite power of Scandinavian origins changed political and linguistic
history of England.
|
They brought the ANGLO-NORMAN LANGUAGE, spoken in northern France at that time.
|
Indirect consequences
- old English written tradition stopped
- OE standard was abandoned
- Acceleration of existing linguistic changes

French was the language of the court, English was the language of the people. When Louis IX
declared it was impossible to show allegiance to both England and France, English got a chance to
reaffirm itself. This period arrested the development of English for some time

DIALECTS
Northern
West midlands
East Midlands
Southern
Kentish

These areas are substrates of today’s dialects. Early ME is the period of greatest dialects. as a
consequence, people began to feel they needed a common standard to be understood clearly

XII CENTURY HISTORY

The Kings that followed William:
• Henry I (ruled for almost the whole century)
• Henry II, who got vast dominions I the southern part of France —> anglo-french monarchy +
first conquest of Celtic area, Ireland
• Richard I the lionheart
Warrior who didn’t speak English and was rarely in England. Left no heirs, so his brother
succeded after just 10 years
• John Lackland
Richard’s brother. The worst of Angevins family. He lost nearly all the land in France
(hence the name) but he granted Barons the Magna Carta in 1215

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MULTILINGUALISM
The period is the most multilingual face of British history besides today. There were:
๏Celtic tongues: used in Cornwall, wales, Scotland, Ireland
๏Scandinavian tongues: ex-danelaw (area conquered by vikings in the north of England)
๏anglo-norman French
๏Latin, the language of prestige
๏English, widely spoken by people if we exclude the Celtic areas.

INFLUENCES ON ENGLISH

1) SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE
Went on after roman conquest
1) SEMANTIC BORROWING:
“dream” (related to draumr with the same meaning of today)
NB: dream already existed in OE, but it meant something different: joy, mirth and music

2) PHONOLOGIC BORROWING:
“Yive —> give” (changed to guttural /g/ by influence of gefa)
“shirt —> skirt”; church/kirk (da “kirkja)

3) LEXICAL BORROWING:
cnif; windowe; take; they/their/them

2) LATIN INFLUENCE
Language of culture, gave many words regarding knowledge
- RELIGION: credo, bull, psalm
- CULTURE: desk, incipit, library
- SCIENZE: onyx, locust, juniper

3) ANGLO-NORMAN INFLUENCE
Derives from Norman nobility.
Anglo-norman wasn’t a common language in England, it was a language of court and power. Only
the nobles were bilingual, as well as merchants who used it for practical purposes. (Richard the
lionhearted himself wasn’t bilingual).
—>It is different from old norse, which was never a prestigious language.

+ After 1204
loss of French dominion.
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French still existed a language of culture and trade, but became to fade away more quickly.
- names of animals (remained germanic, old english):
ox; sheep; swine; calf
- Meat, eaten by nobility, took French names:
beef, mutton, bacon, venison, veal
- Family relation names remained germanic, BUT Names of distant relatives were replaced
by French words:
uncle, aut, cousin, nephew, niece. Mother/Father-in-law are calques on French
- Many words relating to power have French origins
• administration: parliament, bill, act, chancellor
• law and property: treasure, castle, court, judge, justice, prison, money
• titles: prince, duke, barron
• war: battle, siege, assault, banner, tower

4) CENTRAL FRENCH
Anglo Norman was the type of French spoken at the time of the Norman conquest, especially in
northern France. Central French was spoken in following centuries by angevins kings/nobility, more
in the south, Paris, Illes-de-france. It was a variety that became more common starting from 11/12°
century.

ME has 10.000 borrowings from French. 3/4 are still in use.

1050-1250 900
1250-1400 4000

After 1250 - revival of English - and central French replaced anglo-norman, which was felt as
incorrect

ANGLO NORMAN CENTRAL FRENCH English

A+ NASAL Daunse Danse

O+ NASAL numbre; mount Nombre; mont

Besides werre; waste; carpenter; Guerre; gaster; charpentier;

market marché

cancelere chanceller chancellor

Parole che entrano nelle Ward; guardian; wise/guise; cattle/chattel; gaol/jail;

due forme warranty/guarantee; wage/gauge

Par coeur By heart

A bon marché At good cheape cheap

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Differences OE - ME
1. LOSS OF INFLECTIONS
Turned English from a synthetic to analytic language.
Strengthening of stress + weakening of unstressed syllables

2. MORE RIGID WORD ORDER

By 1500, it was like today’s order, with some exceptions. More borrowings from other tongues, in
comparison to OE period

3. CONSONANTS
Few changes, like loss of /h/ in clusters: OE hring —> ME ring

3. VOWELS
Few changes in stressed syllables. Weakening on unstressed syllables: many of this vowels became
schwa (premise of the loss of inflection). Suffixes dropped and replaced by prepositions.

4. SINTAX
• ARTICLES Introduced during ME perioD. “A” developed from “one” / “The” from
this/that
• Possessive ‘OF’ is a calque of French ‘de’
• PROGRESSIVE TENSES created following latin and French models
• Development of passive forms
• Great extension of auxiliary “do”

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MIDDLE ENGLISH 2
REVIVAL OF ENGLISH
French was the literary language from 1150 to 1250
At the beginning, English in religious literature and poetry. Some examples are:
- ormulum (written by a monk) that shows ME pronunciation of the time based on the spelling
- The Owl and the Nightingale (poem in southern ME)
- Cursor mundi
- King horn
- Havelock the dane

1250
Walter of Bibbesworths writes “tretiz”, a poem to teach French to English children

1258
Provisions of Oxford (kind of constitution) in 3 versions: latin, french, English.
Written because Barons and middle classes were against Henry III, who had
given power to French public officers. It imposed on the king a government
formed by a council of 24 members, 12 chosen by the king, 12 by the
barons. The Parliament met 3 times a year

Edward I is the first king with a good knowledge of english, after more than 2 centuries

14th centuries
Social changes:
- back death, killed 30% population died (mentioned In boccaccio’s decameron)
- Peasant’s revolt, led by way Tyler, a legendary figure. People were brutally suppressed, still it
was the first massive revolt against authorities
- More Middle class merchants, they started forming guilds (corporazioni)

Edward I is the first king with a good knowledge of english, after more than 2 centuries
Richard II: first mother tongue English king since Harold (3 centuries after Norman invasion)

1362
statute of pleading: English becomes the obligatory language of law

LITERATURE:
First time since the early middle ages were there are important works and authors.
1) Religious works with Mystics: Walter Hulton, dame Julian of Norwich. Sophisticated prose
2) Mistery and miracle plays. Allegorical works
3) Poetry: Sir Gawain and the green knight, southern ME. Romance and chivalry

4) William Langland: Piers plowman. Mood of dante’s divine comedy. Visionary and satyrical
poem about his time

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5) John Gower: Mirour de l’homme (french), vox clamantis (latin), confesso amanti (english).
Shows that english was not a strong language. Used london/east midland English, the most
prestigious version.
6) Geoffrey Chaucer: from translation of Roman de la rose, to Canterbury tales. Some in prose,
some in verse. So its a kind of encyclopedia of registers of the time. He was inspired by the
Italian writes like Boccaccio but with a different style, more similar to Petrarca

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Late middle english

After the plague and revolt of the people the importance of English increased, thanks to tradesman
and growth of urban areas.
English starts to appear in literature as well as French, but French remained the language of legal
profession and church. Eventually, the bilingualism started to fade away, less and less people spoke
french.

1489
Acts of parliament only in English. Latin and French abolished as formal language. French
is eradicated as a language of parliament. Beginning of a search for a standard

There were many dialects between merchants. London became the commercial and cultural capital
and it had a central role in developing a standard dialect. 3 types of dialects, 2 in London:
1. Central midlands
2. Essex dialect
3. Chancery standard, midlands, basis of modern standard English. William Caxton’s dialect; he
owned the printing press, and edited the works in dialect to reach the widest public possible
Examples of English in paston letters, letters from a family, so gives us different styles /
petitions to parliament

One of the innovation of the 14th century was the appearance of SURNAMES. They appeared in
Chaucher’s time. The firsts are “son of”: Johnson; tomson
celtic: Mc or Mac —> MacPherson

Later, surnames indicated origins, like

- place names: Brooks: Rivers; Lincoln, Washington, Cleveland
- Occupation: Butcher; Hunter; Miller; Thatcher
- Continental names: Holland, French, Fleming
- French surnames; Francis, Lorraine, Gerald

STANDARDS
1. WYCLIFFITE DIALECT.
Central midland variety. Derives from John Wyclif, responsible for bible translation in Oxford
variety, and religious works in East Midlands. He came leader of spiritual and political
movement of the Lollards. Declined after 1430. His works were confiscated and burnt after the
lollard’s revolt cause his ideas went against the catholic church
2. FIRST LONDON STANDARD between 1300-50.
This standard didn’t survive. Essex dialect
3. SECOND LONDON STANDARD. 1350-1400.
Features of central English introduced by immigrants. It is the basis of modern standard English
Ex. In Chaucher, Hoccleve and some legal documents.
4. CHANCERY3 STANDARD after 1430. example of the transition From latin and French to
English

3 office were political documents are written.

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■

In 15th century writers are not as good. A major role was played by introduction of printing by
William caxton in 1476.
[Born in kent. Diplomat and merchant, which is why he learnt about printing in Germany
and introduqced in England in 1476. Authorities understood it was an imp innovation. And
put it in Westminster abbey. A publisher at that time played the role of editor, author,
translator… Printed chaucer, lydgate, Malory. ]

Linguistic events: Great vowel shift and other phonologic

Preceded by the mutations in vowel length in late OE and ME. Began in 15th century and ended in
early 17th century. It was a chain shift:
- high vowels became diphthongs
- Mid vowels (/e/ /o/) were raised by one degree; lower vowels did the same.
some believe the process started from middle vowels. However, these changes were not
simultaneous.

the causes are not clear. Perhaps social origin. The changes might me due to the lower classes in the
country around London, whose middle class and upper classes first refused and later accepted them.
It started early modern English. 500.

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Early Modern English

“Age of linguistic anxiety”: speakers felt the need to regulate and control languages.

HISTORY
1534 Henry VIII, act of supremacy
1536 suppression of monasteries
1539 new version of english bible in every church (not Wyclif version)
1553 Mary Tudor the bloody
1558 Elizabeth I. Reinforced protestantism with reformation

1600 East India company. Colonialism helped the development of English spreading
1603 James I
1611 king James’s bible (or Authorized version, used up to 1960s) single most influential text
1616 Shakespeare’s death

Early Modern English PERIOD

2 moments:
• 1500-1660
• 1660-1800 (separaation of US)

importance of religion  translation of the bible  spreader alphabetization + popularity of

printing made books cheaper.

Importance of religion: translation o the Bible → spreaded alphabetization

More information, books, text about this period thanks to printing and spreading of books
Printing4 became very important.
Education and literacy spreaded. New system of education, religious education was put aside.
elementary and grammar school were founded. 1/2 londoners could read and write in 18th century
Travel and colonies imposed the creation on new words and a new language
A new social awareness about language spreads. —> metalinguistic awareness (whats right or
wrong…) Educated people considered English an inferior language. First problem was that
English was felt as:
- Mis-spelt. Need of spelling reform, which failed many times. The greatest impact came
from spelling books and dictionaries
- Unruled and with no grammar. Inly in 18th century it will happen
- Lexical poverty. Controversies on how to expand vocabulary
- barbarous (with rhetoric imperfections)
- Inferior. Less prestigious than Italian and French. Latin was still the prestigious language
of religion and science

F. BACON advancement of learning in English VS Nivum Organum

I. NEWTON Principia in latin VS Optics in English

4 1476 by Caxton
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LANGUAGE FEATURES
1) CONSONANTS
/ç/ /x/ after vowel disappeared or became /f/ except in Scotland
es. Sight —> /siçt/ VS Mod.E /sait/

initial /k/ /g/ not pronounced before /n/ after late 17th c.
es. knee; knight; gnome

initial /w/ not pronounced before /r/

es. Wrong; write

2. Fewer irregular verbs

3. North and midlands forms spread in the south
4. SINTAX
- negative clause with and without do and multiple negatives
“i doubt it nor; I do not doubt it” “i don’t know nothing”
- Interrogatives clauses with and without do
“come he not home tonight?” “do you not love me”
5. BORROWINGS
3% of OE vocabulary. 70% of todays vocabulary are borrowings. Especially thanks to prefixes,
suffixes and compound words, there was a growth of vocabulary. Of course, the comparison of
so many words in such little time was linked to a lack of clarity

INCREASING PRESTIGE OF ENGLISH - TRANSLATIONS

After the medieval CHRISTIANITAS, development of modern nations in the 16th century and a
sense of nationalism. This process was created by many facts.
(see Shakespeare’s history plays like King John & Henry V)

Literates wanted to create a literature in English:

- Edmund Spenser’s “the faerie queen” (1590); allegorical poems
- Richard Carew “the excellency of the English tongue” (1595); treaty about English language

Development of a reading public, thanks to spread of printing and Secular education:

‘petty schools’ (elementary) & grammar schools, for basic literacy. Many opened during 16th
century.
Half of Londoners could read and write in the early 17th c.. in Italy 2% could read. Protestant
Reformation helped his process by need of reading the Bible (vs illiteracy in Catholic countries)

There was more education in English, but few people knew Latin
|
Demand of Translation after 1550.
Helped language become more flexible, introduces new words. Translators introduced words from
other languages:
Latin: vacuum, equilibrium, area, radius, calculus, caveat, affidavit, miser, circus…
French: condition, extortion, negation…

Most translated texts:

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- Greek and Latin historians (Cesar. by Arthur Golding, Plutarch by Thomas North 1579)
- Philosophers (Plato, Cicero, Seneca)
- Poets (Ovid 1567, Horace 1566-7).
- Technical & scientific works (geometry, sailing, war, etc.)
- Religious works.
time of Religious controversies.
translations by Luther, Calvin (influencials reformers).
Most important text is the Bible translations leading to the authorized King James Bible
(1611).
Bibles in vernacular were confiscated and burned throughout europe.

NB.
Not everyone supported the expansion of English.

Scholars believed that knowledge in the hands
of common people was dangerous, translating
into english would have damaged classical
knowledge carried by classical tongues and only
for an elite
English wasn’t the correct language for written
texts because itwas:
- inexpressive and had no technical vocabulary
of science
- mutable so changed too fast, so why write in
a language that changes so quickly?
- unknown on the Continent
The opposite party sustained English for:
- scientific works, so that not everybody were
forced to learn latin to read these kind of
works and knowledge could be spreader
easily
- spreading knowledge is good and useful por
the people and the country
- vocabulary could be reinforced with
borrowings and neologisms
- The more you write, the more English
becomes expressive
- Argued Greek & Latin were the mother
tongues of classical authors. Romans wrote
in Latin, not Greek (which is partly false).
So british people shouldn’t attempted to
write in classical languages.

LESSICO
In the 16th c. Debate on vocabulary. People felt the need of new words for many novelties:
Renaissance, Reformation, the discovery of America, Copernicus’ theory, etc.

Three positions:

a) Neologists borrowings from Latin and other tongues

b) Purists  use of existing words (creating compound words, with semantic expansion or
specialization)
c) Archaists  revival of archaic or dialect words

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NEOLOGISTS
Translators introduced words from other languages
▪ Latin: vacuum, equilibrium, area, radius, calculus, caveat, affidavit, miser, circus, etc.
▪ French: condition, extortion, negation
▪ Words From Greek via Latin: anachronism, atmosphere, antithesis, chaos, chronology,
climax, dogma, emphasis, enthusiasm, pathetic, skeleton, system, tactics
▪ From Greek: anonymous, criterion, lexicon, misanthrope, polemic, thermometer

Synonyms and glosses were other sources. For example by paraphrases :

▪ “animate or gyve courage to others
▪ “persist, and continue
▪ "education or bringing up of children
▪ "circumspection, which signifieth as moch as beholdynge on every part
▪ “explicating or unfolding (Sir Thomas Elyot)

New classes of words could be created with suffix and few changes:
ES. noun/adj/verb: allusion —> alllude, allusive,
anachronism -> anachronistic, atmosphere —> spheric
dexterity, encyclopedia; conspicuous, extensive, external, insane; to adapt, disregard, exist,
extinguish

Words introduced with little or no adaptation:

climax, appendix, epitome, delirium, exterior; conjectural(is), consult(are), exclusion(em),
exotic(us)

Cases of adaptation:

▪ conspicuus, externus  conspicuous, external

▪ celeritas  celerity
▪ consonantia, frequentia  consonance, frequency
▪ creatus  create
Cases of Re-borrowings from Latin or Greek with different meaning:

▪ episcopus, discus:
- OE biscop (bishop), disc (dish)
- EME episcopal, disc

In some cases we don’t know the source of a borrowing. Latin/Greek or French?:

▪ es. EME consist —> (Lat.) consistere / (Fr.) consister
▪ es. fact —> (Lat.) factum, (Fr.). fait (see also ModE ‘feat’)

▪ explore, consequent, sublime (explorare / explorer, consequentis / consequent, sublimis /

sublime)

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INKHORN CONTROVERSY
Difficult words used by acculturates led to A sense of obscurity and
unclearance. There were so many words people didn’t know their meaning
“I am of this opinion that our own tung should be written cleane and
pure, vnmixt and unmangeled with borowing of other tunges, wherin if
we take not heed by tijm, euer borowing and neuer payeng, she shall be
fain to keep her house as bankrupt”
- Sir John Cheke (letter to Thomas Hoby, preface to his version of
Cortegiano, 1561)

Thomas Wilson, “Arte of Rhetorique" (1553), An ynkehorne letter

▪ NO USE: fatigate, impetrate, ingent, magnifical, verbosity
▪ YES USE: contemplate, communion, prerogative (WHY? They
sound better)

Not all borrowings survived. Words that became obsolete in favor of related easier words:
▪ cautionate, consolate, attemptate (also, caution, console, attempt); cautionate, consolate,
attemptate < also, caution, console, attempt);
▪ approbate, consternate < also, approbation, consternation),;

▪ effectual, effective vs effectuous, effectful, effectuating

▪ mansuetude, disaccount;

PURISTS
Expand vocabulary by compound words and semantic changes

ES 1. JOHN CHEKE, “Matthew's Gospel” uses a new series of words:

biwordes parables,
hunderder centurion,
tollers publicans,
onwriting superscription
washing baptism,
vprising resurrection
reschman proselyte
gainbirth regeneration
gainrising resurrection
mooned lunatic

Purist attitude continued in the next centuries. Based on Revival of archaic, obsolete, dialect words.

Example of purist attitude is CHAUCERISMS: Chaucer was loved in 16th c., even though his
language was difficult. Archaist thought they could borrow words from his works.
(NB. In the 17th century purists grew hostile to Chaucer because he used foreign words.)

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ES. Edmund Spenser, one of the most important writer and archaist of 16th c., The
Shepheardes Calender (1579). dialect regional vocabulary as setting + archaic words:
algate / always
eld / old age
gar / cause, make
sicker / certainly
soote / sweet
stour / conflict
underfong / receive
yblent / confused
yfere / together
yode / went

ES. From Spenser and other archaists:

belt, bevy, forthright, glen, glee, drizzling, surly, glance, blandishment, birthright, endear,
enshrine, fleecy, wary, gaudy, gloomy, merriment, shady, verdant, wakeful, witless.

SHAKESPEARE & KING JAMES BIBLE offered the deepest contribution to the language. hey
listened the language in used and enriched it: common language, + creative language = common
(standard) spoken language.Impact especially on vocabulary. Surviving neologisms :
▪ accommodation (Othello),
▪ assassination (Macbeth),
▪ barefaced (Midsummer Night’s Dream),
▪ count-less (Titus Andronicus),
▪ downstairs (1 Henry IV),
▪ go-between (Merry Wives of Windsor),
▪ laughable (Merchant of Venice),
▪ long-legged (MND),
▪ priceless (Rape of Lucrece),
▪ successful (Titus),
▪ well-read (Taming of the Shrew), etc.

+ Obsolete neologisms:
▪ abruption, appertainments, cadent, persistive

+ Conversion. invented verbs out of nouns and viceversa.

▪ Grace (noun -verb) me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle (Richard II; York talking to his
nephew; Intanto graziami di quel "grazioso", e soprattutto non chiamarmi "zio")

+ From quotation to idiom:

▪ what the dickens (Merry Wives; che diavolo!)
▪ a foregone conclusion (Othello; un esito scontato)
▪ caviare to the general (Hamlet; perle ai porci)
▪ it’s Greek to me (Julius Caesar)
▪ make a virtue of necessity (Pericles)
▪ I must be cruel only to be kind (Hamlet)
▪ all our yesterdays (Macbeth)

▪ My life is run his compass (Julius Caesar)  my life has run its compass
▪ I cannot go no further  I cannot go any further
▪ Me thinks he did  I think he did
▪ Says she so?  Does she say so?
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Early Modern English

Early Modern English is more difficult to define as a phase.
+ Political revolutions (french and American, industrial and technological revolution)
+ urbanization, industrialization and social stratifications. People moved from countryside to cities
to work in industries.
+ Demographic growth. Social mobility
+ Technology improvement
+ communications improvement
+ Decline of brit. Empire after WWII VS growth of American influence

HISTORY
2 phases
1) From early 16th century to 1660
• 1566
first edition of an essay on Old English. shows the beginning and historical development of
the language stating from the oldest manuscript in OE.

• 1640
first chair of Old English in a english university
2) From 1660 to 1776 (or -1789, -1800, -1815) —> [Debate on periodization]
• 1664
London Royal Society Committee for the improvement of English.
[Royal Society: founded in 1662 to discuss and spread knowledge]

• 1697
Daniel Defoe’s proposed the foundation of a Language Academy (like the Académie
Française, accademia della crusca) to fix principles, norms, rules. Eventually it was never
founded, basically because of the choice of a french model that was denied from the
beginning → biggest competitor

• 1712
Jonathan Swift’s proposal for an Academy to standardize the language (never founded). He
wrote Essays and letters to stop and reverse the decline of English. His model were the
«immutable» classical tongues, immutable because they were dead —> latin and greek
+ no to abbreviations.
+ proposed a standardization of spelling

Why was it an Unrealized project?

House of Hanover’s (since 1714), german princes had no interest in English before George
III. Later it was too late, because english had already spreader into other varieties thanks to
the Colonial dissemination. An academy at the 18th century would have been useless
proposal for an Academy to standardize the language (never founded)
wrote Essays and letters to stop and reverse the decline of English

SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION

Increasing difference between printing and handwriting after 1660, because spelling and
punctuation in printing were more standardized, whereas in handwriting it was still not codified.

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Es. In the 18th c., capitalization of common nouns was slowly abandoned.

Spelling reform: some proposals

• James Howell, 1662
• John Wilkins, 1668
• Joseph Addison, Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift

MORPHOLOGY/PHONOLOGY
- Loss of post-vocalic /R/ due to lengthening (allungamento) of stressed vowel
es. “caaaaar”, “faaaaaair”
- pronounced inside words before a vowel (e.g., “fairer”).
Optional between two words (e.g., “fair isle”, with or without “r”)
- Rothicity in Scotland, Ireland, Canada and USA (except in East & South Coast areas)

THOU & YOU

significant change of the period:
Before 1660 “thou” was informal, “you” formal
After 1660 “thou” became obsolete orally. It survived in writing as a formal pronoun

Since thou disappeared, The second person singular & plural of verbs became identical.
However, there were ways to distinguish the singular and plural form:
- you was (sing.) / you were (plur.)
- yous (Scot.; many US and South-African dialects)
- yez/yiz (Hiberno-English vernacular)
- You-all (plural form, southern USA)

SYNTAX
The most significant changes happen the Renaissance (1500-1660). Since the 17th c., fewer forms
(an effect of standardization)
Es., the position of adjectives, that in the 16th c. often came after nouns:
“a tonge vulgare and barbarous”, “life eternal”, etc.

BORROWINGS
between 1550 and 1660 was the period of greatest borrowings. Too many borrowing damage the
language.
[Satires of Gallicisms, borrowings from the french language. made fun of people who used
too many french words. S. Johnson affirms translators must be checked because they
introduce many foreign words.]

2 main sources
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1. LATIN (more than 50% up to 1660) in various areas: medicine, natural sciences, theology, the
arts
2. FRENCH (20-30%, 1660-1800)
many had to do with Aristocratic life, fashion, culture and posh lifestyle (many french
words are now obsolete since the aristocracy is not so marked anymore). Easy adaptation,
often only to English pronunciation

+ European languages, less than 10% of borrowings. In the 18th c., borrowings from non-European
tongues were more than 10% for the first time
+ Greek (scientific, technical, philosophic vocabulary, often via Latin)
+ Italian (arts, trade, science, society)
+ Spanish, Dutch and others

VARIETIES
idea of Speaking “correct” English is not simple to define.
After the act of education, using non-standard english was a sign of lack of education, both as
regards vocabulary and grammar and pronunciation.
RP is the public school pronunciation. It spreader via the Army and imperial civil service + it was
associated with authority and wealth → reason why the general pronunciation changed from RP to
BBC English

in 18th century became a kind of obsession, because it was associated to a form of class distinction
(ex. Difference aristocracy-common people)

English was mutable and ephemeral (fast changing) and had a sense of inferiority compared to latin
and french.
- “Poets that Lasting Marble seek, Must carve in Latin or in Greek;
We write in sand…” (Edmund Waller 17th c.)
- “How barbarously we yet write and speak”
(John Dryden. wrote prose. thought sentences in latin and translated them into
english)

English’s Elegance, correctness & propriety were compared to Latin & French to define a good
style. English Grammars was still based on Latin models.

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LITERATURE & STANDARD LANGUAGE

Since elegance, correctness & propriety were so important, literature created an example of good
writing. The “best writers” were seen as a linguistic models. In fact, Standard English and literary
English Developed in the same period (18th c.)- Literary English & Standard English influenced
each other
Since 1970, revision of the traditional literary & linguistic canons

2 different models developed.

From early 16th c. to 1660 (Erasmus to Milton), English followed Latin as model. people tried to
adapt english to the latin structure
From 1660 to the late 18th c. Greek & Latin remained as formal models, but writers tried to
achieve the same aesthetic effects using English according to its nature, without trying to adapt it
to the latin model.From imitation to equivalence of effects

CHANGE OF LITERARY MODELS

16th c.: According to Sir Philip Sidney, a man of letter was a soldier, noble and poet.

18th c.: "the Grub Street hack”

→ refers to people who write and get paid to do so, which was not admired at all. Birth of a
professional class (journalist, novelists). Grub Street hack was the area where they lived.
This means that the court and aristocrats were no longer the most important reference for
writers: thanks to alphabetization, middle class started reading

STYLISTIC IDEALS
In Renaissance, people looked for abundance and variety5
After 1660: perspicuity = being clear, natural, concise. Speakers must first of all be clear. Words
must be clearly referred to their subject
like The clarté of the Académie Française

1) Thomas Sprat (1667) member of the role society (spreaded knowledge):

“reject all amplifications, digressions, and swellings of style”
2) John Wilkins, created an artificial language where every word had only one meaning and referred
to a single object (excess of the ideal of clarity)

MAIN FEATURES
many puns (giochi di parole) —> Survived in satire. Standardizazion of spelling further reduced
the possibility of puns:
ES. Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, wrote “choler” and “collar” in the same way;
they were distinguished in the 18th c.

5 (copia) = copioso, vasto

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Many examples of words that were spelled in the same way during the renaissance:
travel/travail, sun/son, etc.

Limitation of vocabulary. Restriction of literary language

- NO to neologisms (unlike Shakespeare)
- archaisms were little used (unlike Spenser)
- compounds disliked (unlike Sidney)
- less Latinisms (unlike Milton)

+ Samuel Johnson: it’s better to avoid technical terms

Grand Style
Reintroduced thanks to “the Sublime” concept, found in ancient treaties. It had to do with extreme
experiences (sky, sea, mountain, god… themes related to infinity)
In the Renaissance, high style of the sublime treaties can be found in politics and law transition
from irrational to rational sphere, and the mix of the sublime style distances this kind of production
from the clearness.
In the 18th c., the Sublime is mainly in poetry —>From a public domain of «rational» persuasion to
a private domain of passionate feelings

DIALECTS
rises only when we have a standard language.
“standard” (referred to language, is used only after 1836. “non-standard” is a 20th-c. concept

Little dialect in Renaissance literature

- Some in Shakespeare in some plays (Henry V, King Lear) because we have actual people
speaking
- Spenser, Shepheardes Calender, where he uses an archaic language.
- Few in written sources (except for Scotland)

REVIVAL OF DIALECTS
18th c., above all in Scotland. English dialect poetry revived in 19th c.
cultural consequence of the Act of Union (1707); after losing independence, backlash to reinforce
their identity. Not much dialect literature in England, even in drama. Cockney only in some novels
Es. - Defoe
- some in Henry Fielding’s novels, Southwestern dialect
- some in Tobias Smollett, Scots dialect

MALAPROPISM 6
= Traditional device of comedy, as a way of mispronouncing words whose meaning you don’t
really know. more common as a result of 18th-c. standardization

6 linguistic phenomenon. name derives from Mrs Malaprop, character in T. Sheridan’s “The Rivals”, 1775
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In the Renaissance, there was a gray area between correct and incorrect Latinisms. there were so
may new words, neologism and lack of a fixed spelling that malapropism spread
Many neologisms
e.g., vastness, vastity, vastitude, vastacy, vastidity, vasture

EARLY DICTIONARIES
periods of standardization of language all over europe.

16th c. → first dictionaries published as collections of explanation of difficult words (neologism,

borrowings)
18th c. → dictionaries as collection of common words, selected for a certain type of public
(Gentlemen)
1604 → Robert Cawdrey’s 1st English dictionary
1674 → John Ray 1st dialect dictionary, important cause enlighten the difference between local
varieties and national language
1721 → Nathan Bailey 1st etymological dictionary (42,000+ entries). New: explains origins of
words.

SAMUEL JOHNSON
1755 → first important Dictionary (others were precursors)
Basic principles:
- stability
- clarity
- order

His approach to make the dictionary was based on:

1. empiric common sense (how the language works) rather than abstract ideals of how the
language should be (unlike Swift, proposed linguistic academy on the french model)
2. Linguistic change cannot be stopped
3. Academies are useless

Begun in 1746, completed 9 years later alone → element of national pride (short time, french
dictionary in 40 years by a team)
80 notebooks with 40,000 definitions
- 114,000 quotations of texts, 16th-18th centuries
- He used existing dictionaries
- made a selection and excluded (or included occasionally): burlesque, dialect, technical,
obscure, low and vulgar, obsolete, ill-composed words
European success and fame
Main English dictionary up to 1900. Influenced word’s spelling for a century and a half

ES. Lexicographer ― A writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge.

Oats ― A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but
in Scotland supports the people.
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Patron ― One who countenaces, supports, or protects. Commonly a
wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery.

19TH / 20th CENTURY

DIALECTS
Standard and dialect after 18th c. was a codified national language. It became and international and
then a global language. Stability up to 1900
Ambiguous attitudes toward dialect:
- School policy aimed at eradicating them
- rural dialects were revalued as «original», ancient, authentic forms of English. Attention to
Cockney (London urban dialect)

Mid-19th c. →English language and literature became academic disciplines. they were now subjects
people should investigate and teach

1873 → English Dialect Society was founded.

1889 → Alexander Ellis, first complete study of English dialects

MODERN DIALECTS: DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS

5 main areas, correspond to the areas of middle english:
North
West Midlands
East Midlands
South West
South East
[Increasing difference between northern dialects and Scottish English.]

DICTIONARIES
1806 → Noah Webster’s 1st American english dictionary
(3rd edition in 2 volumes in 1828) Webster invented and introduced American spelling (-or
> -our, -er > -re, etc.) End of a single standard English
1847 → J. O. Halliwell’s dialect dictionary (main dictionary up to 1900)

1884-1933 → OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY (OED) first edition edited by James Murray
and others.
20 volumes + supplements (4 vols., 1972-86, ed. by Robert Burchfield)
second complete edition, 1989
Today, online edition
Main sources of quotations have changed:
- Journalism replaced literature
- Sciences replaced the humanities as main source of linguistic innovation

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- USA replaced UK (today, about 63% USA new words, 33% UK, the rest from other English-
speaking countries)

1961 → Webster’s Third International Dictionary of the English Language (ed. P. B. Gove)
Main general monolingual dictionary in the late 20th c.
Today, online edition

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OE: linguistic insights

germanic:
- North Germanic (Icelandic, Faroese, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish)
- West Germanic (English, Frisian, Flemish, Dutch, Afrikaans, German, Yiddish).
- East Germanic - Gothic - extinct.

Although English is a member of the Germanic branch of Indo-European and retains much of the basic
structure of its origin, it has an exceptionally mixed lexicon.
During the 1400 years of its documented history, it has borrowed extensively and systematically from its
Germanic and Romance neighbours and from Latin and Greek, as well as more sporadically from other
languages. Main feature are:

• Consonants do not change, vowels do

• Flexional systems largely simplified

• Strong (irregular) verbs vs weak (regular) verbs

• Basic lexis

FIRST PERIOD - old English

1) Caedmon’s Hymn (composed late 7th c., found in a 10th c. West-saxon manuscript)
First document written in old English. How, if English was born in 5th century? Because anglo-
saxons weren’t able to read and write. We have to wait for the arrival of christianity.

Caedmon was a cowboy. Simple person who look up cows in monasteries, a illiterate who spent time
with the monks. During the time spent with the monk, one night 2 angels appeared to him and asked
him to sing a song to praise the lord. The story and the few lines are included in a latin text where the
song in old English was copied. We see some German words —> strong bond with Germanic
heritage in the first period. later, influence of latin, french, Italian will contribute co change the
language.

now (we) should praise Heaven-kingdom’s guardian

Nu sculon herian heofonrices weard, presenza di genitivo
sassone
the Maker’s might and his mind-thoughts,
Metodes meahta ond his modgethanc,

the work of the glory-father, as he of wonders of each

weorc wuldorfæder, swa he wundra gehwæs,

eternal Lord a beginning established.

ece Drihten, or astealde.

(2) Aelfric’s Colloquy (monk, died in 1020)

It’s a BILINGUAL dialogue in latin - old english. He created it to teach latin to young monks.

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what do you say? how do you do your job (craft)?

Hwæt sægst þu, ierþling? Hu begæst þu þinne cræft?

1066: norman conquest, william the conquerer, battle of hastings. anglo-saxon england is destroyed. during
the battle, 90% nobility dies.
|
new people in power: WILLIAM THE CONQUERER AND COURT. THEY SPOKE NORMAN7
FRENCH
|
(3) Peterborough Chronicle for 1137 (compiled 1155)

When king Stephan to England came, them made his gathering at Oxford
Þa þe King Stephne to Englalande com, þa macod he his gadering æt Oxeneford8. ...

LATE MEDIEVAL PERIOD - middle english

(1.1) Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue
Left the work unfinished, wrote it before dying. Extract from Last 2 decades,
French influence. After William’s conquest, English started to be full of French words, because the
court spoke French.

Whan þat aprill with his shoures soote

The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour, ....

(2.1) William Caxton, Enyedos, Prologue (1490)

Brought the printing press to England. Helped spring and standardizing the language (overcame the
dialects

And certainly our langage now vsed varyeth ferre from that whiche was vsed and spoken whan I was borne
For we englyshe men
ben borne vnder the domynacyon of the mone, whiche is neuer stedfaste
but ever wauerynge

MODERN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

“We all liked Tom. He was a sad, daft whore – a happy clever cretin who we all agreed was above
reproach in every respect. Tom had no neighbours and lived in a town with his unmarried sister, Mary, a
wife of nearly thirty years. Now, unlike Mary, Tom was a bit of a slut, but he was a good-looking girl – lean
and stout, with shining hair, black as snow. "
• SAD: unhappy < satisified, full

• DAFT: silly < humble

• WHORE: prostitute < lat. Carus

7 spoken in normandy
8 ford the Oxans - citizens of Ox - can cross
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• CRETIN: stupid < Christian

• TOWN: city < dwelling

• WIFE: married woman < woman

• SLUT: prostitute < untidy person

• GIRL: young woman < young person

• STOUT: fat and strong < strong

• BLACK: darkest colour < shining (white)

Examples of change of meaning of words throughout time.

“A vegetarian teetotaller, Tom ate meat and drank liquor most days. He was a silly and a wise boor,
and everyone really liked him. He was just so buxom. Now I often used to see Tom feeding nuts to the deer
that lived in the branches of an old apple tree. But no more. Sadly Tom starved from overeating last year. So
we buried
•• BOOR:
MEAT:him flesh
beneath thatdrink
as<food oldfood
apple tree. I remember well, it was full of pears at the time.”
LIQUOR:
SILLY:
BUXOM:
DEER:
STARVE: alcoholic
stupid
arude <<countryman
happy,
to person
large-breasted
specific
die animal
of hunger <<any
<any
blessed liquid
obedient,• docile
to animal
die APPLE: a specific fruit < any fruit

CONCLUSIONE: languages change all the times.

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Global Language
- native speakers in the middle (GB, USA… 350/380 million people)
- English as a second language (ex colonies). 150/300 million
- English as a foreign language 100/1000 million

NB. datas can vary based on the question you ask during a linguistic study

STANDARD VARIETIES
Right now there are many varieties of english, there isn’t one international standard english.
Nevertheless, there are officially recognized forms of standard english’s varieties.
- Australia, new Zealand
- British and Irish Standard English
- American and Canadian Standard English

+ varieties recognized but not standardized (may never be standard)

- south and east Asia, Hong Kong
- African Standardized English
- Caribbean Standardized English (not one variety. most diversified area between the islands)

Pidgins
= languages created for trade and simple communication in the colonies.
Very simple structure.
They can develop into creoli and then expand into a proper language.
there are many creoli in the Caribbean area

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US VARIETY
There were already native American languages when European settlers arrived
Early modern English in the first settlements m
Why did it start to diverge?
- physical separation
- Contact with mom-native speakers
- Political differences
- American sense of identity

COLONIZATION
19th century
2million emigrated to America. Most were Irish who brought language and culture
Ballads: gave important contribution to American music & songs
Especially Scots-Irish influence (from Ulster)

The American Landlords were mostly men of english origins who got land as a reward. they spoke
english with a more british accent, unlike other irish, Though their children learned English from
their Irish servants too.
It was not clear what good Pronunciation should be: disagreement even among the noble
ES. great → must be pronounced like state (Lord Chesterfield)
↓
no, like seat (Sir William Yonge)

First colonizers (Virginia 1607) came from Somerset

→ Voiced /s/ in initial position and in some medial positions
es. sink > zink; Zummerzet for Somerset

→ /r/ was pronounced after vowels

Massachusetts (1620). They came from East Anglia and other areas with similar pronunciation
→ /r/ after vowel was not pronounced
→ No /j/ before tonic vowel in words like ‘new’ or ‘tune’, (pronounced [nu] & [tun])

Other features of AmE derive from 18th-c. English dialect pronunciation

gotten for got
ate pronounced [eit], not standard BrE [et]
fall for autumn

NORTHERN IRISH came in the 18th c., initially in Pennsylvania. Then, the plains of the rivers
Ohio & Tennessee towards the Appalachians. It is the first accent that spreaded West beyond the
Mississippi. These “country” accents still exist in the Sunbelt (South US, from the Appalachians
to California)

In the Appalachians, mixture of Scots-Irish, English and German. Language of poor

mountaineers, low social prestige

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3 main areas:
1) NORTH: from New England towards the Great Lakes
2) SOUTH: the Gulf coast, Florida to Texas
3) CENTRE: first across the plains, then across the mountain areas to California

There is no single standard form (as in UK the London accent)

General American is the most common variety, often used as a reference
Used by ca. 90 million Americans
Spoken from Ohio to the West Coast (the type mentioned at point 3 in slide 10)

MAIN FEATURES:
GENERAL AMERICAN (George P. Kapp) america variety without regional influences
• Rhotic accent
• Voiced /t/ between vowels after a stressed vowel (flapped-T)
ES. data > [deida]
• /æ/ for long /a/ in words like bath, dance, path
• Yod dropping : /ju/ → /u/
• Larger use of secondary accents
ES. Auditory VS Auditory (Am.)

British English American English

OU (colour; labour) O (color; labor)

EN (enclose; enquiry) IN (inclose; inquiry)
SPELLING
L (fulfil; skilful) LL (fulfill; skillful)

five past six five after six

half an hour
I’ll go and get the car
MORPHO-SYNTAX I’ve just eaten
I haven’t seen her for ages
I’ll start on 3 August 2016
a half hour
I’ll go get the car
I just ate
I haven’t seen her in ages
I’ll start August 3, 2016

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IRISH VARIETY
celtic language. English is introduced in 1157 ì, when irish was still language of Army and
Catholicism

A combination of:
Irish Gaelic + Renaissance English (which survived marginally in Ireland) +Scottish English

1600-1800
anglicization started from the cities, Gaelic moved to the West
1800 - Act of Union.
English becomes language of education and communications. British education, a way to
control better people by imposing a language and a system of communication.
1831: obligatory English-language education. before that, Irish was used.
2m mother-tongue Irish
1,5m mother-tongue English
0,5m bilingual

1850
TURNING POINT: potatoes disease → famine → many moved to America, and to do so
leaned English. After the Great Famine (1845-9), Irish influence on colonial English

+ Cromwell exiled Irish soldiers there in 17th century; today, marginalized whites

• In liverpool, rise of SCOUSE (Merseyside accent) after a wave of immigration. Appears for
example in the Beatles.Some features derive from Hiberno-English, e.g.
dat for that
youse as plural of you
• When Montserrat9 and Australia were colonized in 19th century, 30% had Irish descent.
• USA have 40million people of Irish descent today

1901
85% monoglot English
21,000 mother-tongue Irish (in the West)
1921 - Independence
beginning of a process of cultural autonomy

ENGLISH IN IRELAND
3 regions:
- Pale (English spoken since the 17th c.)
- Gaeltacht
- Ulster

9 Canada
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IRISH ENGLISH
=/= GAELIC
Irish is an official language since 1992 after creation of Republic of Ireland. There are 2 official
languages: Irish and english. (also of EU) both are taught in school

There is no standard Irish English. Irish English is a definition for all spoken varieties:
- Anglo-Irish: the most common form, used by the middle & lower classes
- Hiberno-English: English spoken in the Gaelic areas (often used a synonym for Irish English)
- Ulster Scots: conservative variety, with features of 17th-century English

MAIN FEATURES
• Simplification of some diphthongs
• “l” & “r” are always pronounced —> ROTHIC
• th- often pronounced as t-
ES. thorn → torn
• Close pronunciation of back vowel /Λ/ rather than open (in words like but, plug)
• them as plural demonstrative pronoun
I like them biscuits = I like those biscuits
• “is” with plur. & sing. 3rd person
• Inflected do: “he does come when he hears the noise”
• Inflected be: “There bees no partition between the cows”
• Do + be: “that’s how the master does be” for repeated or habitual actions
• Calques on Gaelic verbal forms:
she is after reading the book = she has just read the book

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WALES VARIETY
welsh comes from a different subgroup of Celtic language than Irish. Welsh is closer to Breton, not
Irish. Why?

Conflicts began in the 13th c. up to 1536 & 1542 (Acts of Union): conquest of Wales
First complete English colonization, important for trade
→ English was the strongest language. With Act of Union, English became only language for legal
and administrative documents. People were forced to learn english
→ led to bilingualism

1588
William Morgan translated the Bible into welsh. in this century wars of religion…

18th c.
Welsh lost ground in the 18th c.

1888 → Education Act. obligatory English-language education. English became common in the
lower classes too, especially through immigration. Welsh was used at home and in church,
especially in the schools run by Free Churches.

1901 → 50% of population spoke Welsh

Today about 25% (ca. 500,000 people). Official bilingualism. Welsh taught at school.
Radios & a TV in Welsh (Channel 4 since 1982): Greatest influence in the north. poetry and
music festival “Eisteddfod” at Cardigan Castle (1st edition 1176)

WELSH ENGLISH
=/= WELSH
Relatively similar to standard English, only different cadence
3 varieties:
- Industrial South-east, most lived area.
- South-west (more Welsh influence)
- North (greatest Welsh influence)

3 linguistic components
Welsh substratum + West English dialects + Influence of Standard English on east Wales

MAIN FEATURES
• Southeastern variety most similar to BBC english. → Non-rhotic
• Unvoiced explosive consonants
ES. “Pring the pottle, Petty” (Bring the bottle, Betty)
• strong aspiration of plosive consonants
/b, d, g/ strong aspiration in initial position
/p, t, k/ are aspirated in every position
ES. pan [phan], cap [kaph], etc.
• /h/ DROPPING o initial position
• Singular subjects with plural verbs, and vice versa
• ‘Do’ for habitual actions (not for emphasis). celtic hesitance
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“a garden where leeks did grow”
“he do go to the cinema”
• Fronting to emphasis on an element (a calque from Welsh)
“Coal they are getting out”
“Singing they were”
• Expletive there (a calque from Welsh dyna=there)
“there’s tall you are” (how tall you are)
• “Isn’t it” (also “yes” in north Wales) instead of Aren’t you?
You are going home, isn’t it? / yes?

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SCOTLAND
Picts first inhabitants. Irish invasions brought a different variety of Celtic language, Scoti. Picts
eventually learned scots Gaelic and merged with the speakers.
Many old English speakers flew to Scotland , where OE was associated with modernity and trade

Under James I, all acts were written in OE.

SCOTTISH GAELIC
Celtic language, spoken by 1/4 of the population, especially in the Highlands where Up to the 18th
century only Gaelic was spoken. Today 80,000 Gaelic speakers, all of them bilingual

SCOTS
Germanic language, it is a form of traditional dialect recognized with a special status. 20th c. More
attention to scots.
spoken scots survived standard English

5th century: Angles settled in the Lowlands (south). they didnt’ invade the north.
Scots is also called Lallans

11th c.
Scots began to be influenced by English. → Late Middle Ages: English and Scots.
(there were 2 branches of OE, more or less like Danish and Swedish today. they were
understandable but different)

OLD SCOTS: UP TO 1450

15th c.
At this point, chancery English became standardized while Scots did not + some scots
dialects were being suppressed. Gavin Douglas made the first distinction between Inglis
and Scottis as a Consequence of makars’ (makers, poets) great poetry.
16th c. → Used as an official language
if compared to germanic languages, we note the Greater Viking and French influence in comparison
to British English

MIDDLE SCOTS: 1450-1700

The poetry works made Scots a more fixed and prestigious language, but the standard never gained
enough prestige to be used as a language of education:
- no grammars or orthographical convention.
- no translation of bible (Geneva Bible in English was used)
- shift of scottish political power: James I moved to London in 1603 when Elizabeth I died. He
was king of Scotland yet he moved to London.

DECLINE OF SCOTS: 17TH CENTURY

- no bible translation
- no court
- no practical written use of scots.
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18TH CENTURY
- mosaic of dialects, related but without a unified written form.
- No standard, so it kinda went back to the form before the Middle Ages (regression)
- Literary Revival of scots after ACT OF UNION (1707) as a reaction (despite the decline of
language.
- Debate on language. intellectuals supported english VS those who believed it should be used as a
written language

1840 → English obligatory at school

Today, revival of Scots (devolution), Few speakers and Debate on its status: official or not?

STANDARD SCOTTISH ENGLISH

Slowly people who spoke Scots adapted it to the english language. A new variety of English
replaced Scots in the Lowlands, the Scottish Accent of English. Stronger adaptation in syntax and
vocabulary, weaker adaptation in accent

• Rhotic variety
• distinguish Wh- [hw] and w- [w]
Which pronounced. /hw-/
Witch pronounced /w-/

• U is pronounced ü in some dialects

Moon > muin /mün/
Spelt ‘ui’
• Plurals. Some regular in british english arre irregular in scottish english and viceversa
Irregular in SE: Regular in SE:
Een (eyes) Wifes
Hors (horses) Wolfs
Shuin (shoes) Leafs

• No and –na
He’s no in
You canna tell
Your didnae tell

• Definite article used to give a certain meaning

The now (just now)
The day (today)
He wears the kilt (he wears a kilt)

NB.
influence between Scots and English was 2 way: Scots has lent some words to British english

ES. Whisky → Gaelic. “uisce beatha”, water of life

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Glamour → Lat. & old French ‘grammar’. With time meant also black magic.
In 18th-c. Scotland it was spelt with an L instead of R (glammar);
In 19th c. used as «charm, fascination»

Caddie → Fr. cadet.

Golf → appeared in the 16th c.; perhaps coming from Dutch «colf», stick or club used in
some games

+ uncanny, weird, scone

VARIETY = realization of a language in different contexts

DIALECT = grammar, lexis, pronunciation

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