Characteristics of Earlier English

Question 1

Old English & Middle English period

Answer 1

Old English: 450-1100

Middle English: 1100-1500

Question 2

Major change between Old and Middle English

Answer 2

Old English started to become less synthetic and more analytical.
Middle English began to express relations with word order.

Question 3

Word order in Old vs Middle English

Answer 3

Old English word order is quite flexible.

Middle English SVO word order becomes dominant.

Question 4

Norman Conquest date and story

Answer 4

In 1066, following the death of Edward the Confessor, many claimants fought for the crown in England.
Edward’s successor Harold defeated Harald of Norway in September 1066, and William Duke of Normandy took over in October 1066.
It is perhaps the most important event affecting the linguistic development of English.

Question 5

Linguistic landscape after 1066

Answer 5

Latin: Official written language of law and records.
English: Stigmatized, spoken by peasants.
French: Spoken and written by aristocrats.

Question 6

English in 1360

Answer 6

English was officially accepted alongside French as the language used in parliament, law and legal documents.

Question 7

Where was the impact the clearest?

Answer 7

The impact of the powerful, well-educated French-speaking elite had a clear influence in the lexicon.

Question 8

Domains affected by French

Answer 8

• Art: painting, sculpture
• Literature: volume, poet
• Law: attorney, arrest
• Military: battle, army

Question 9

Derivational morphology

Answer 9

Several affixes of French origin were extended to native English stems.

• ery
• ous
• ment

Question 10

Words were borrowed from what two major dialects?

Answer 10

Norman and Central French

This sometimes gives rise to doublets of Norman and Central French origin.

Question 11

Stylistic consequences of borrowing

Answer 11

English: informal, everyday
French: formal
Latin: learned